Creatine: How to minimise water weight gain

[themanali]

Curious question in regards to Creatine.

I'm a soccer player and used creatine regularly a couple of seasons ago. I was shocked with the positive impact it made to my muscular endurance and all round fitness. Only issue I had was that I gained approx 4-5 kgs whilst taking it. Is there any way to minimise the amount of water weight held but get a good effect from the creatine?

I'm coming into my pre season late and at 89kgs as I've just come back from back to back surgeries on my ankle.

Cheers

[AdamWW]

You didn’t gain 4-5kg if water from creatine.

Also, creatine increases intramuscular water, not the water under your skin...

[PSBallard]

Take creatine, stay hydrated, and don't worry about water weight...

[LFAesthetics]

who cares, the water is not stored in any unflattering place, be happy with your few lbs of j00cy fake muscle.

[themanali]

How many grams would you recommend taking per day? 2-5g?

[nemLifts]

I've never actually tried this but maybe if you cut out the loading phase and reduced your daily creatine intake by half, you might gain less water weight. That being said, you probably wont get the full benefits of creatine depending on the dosage.

Another way to reduce water weight is by cutting any EXCESS sodium out of your diet. A single high sodium meal can cause me to gain upwards of 3 pounds (lasting for 3 days). Only way to get it off afterwards is patience and good hydration.

[themanali]

I've never actually tried this but maybe if you cut out the loading phase and reduced your daily creatine intake by half, you might gain less water weight. That being said, you probably wont get the full benefits of creatine depending on the dosage.

Another way to reduce water weight is by cutting any EXCESS sodium out of your diet. A single high sodium meal can cause me to gain upwards of 3 pounds (lasting for 3 days). Only way to get it off afterwards is patience and good hydration.

I like this idea. I will certainly try and do this. Appreciate it champ

[Mrpb]

I like this idea. I will certainly try and do this. Appreciate it champ

You never need a loading phase. Just take 3 grams every day.

The actual number is 0.04 per kg. So about 3.5 in your case.

You can't have the positive effect of creatine without an increase in water weight.

[Millz12323]

If creatine makes you gain a lot of weight then you should be thrilled as that's a pretty good indicator that it's working

[Millz12323]

You never need a loading phase. Just take 3 grams every day.

The actual number is 0.04 per kg. So about 3.5 in your case.

You can't have the positive effect of creatine without an increase in water weight.

On a few of these fitness podcasts they tend to recommend up to 0.1 grams per kg. Which for most people is now than 3-5 grams. Am I just wasting money taking more than 3 grams or is there some evidence to show lower intakes are just as good

[themanali]

I'm going to start at 3g per day and see how I go.

So overall cut Sodium and drink more water to get the most out of it aye

[AdamWW]

I'm going to start at 3g per day and see how I go.

So overall cut Sodium and drink more water to get the most out of it aye

Sodium has nothing to do with it...

Why do you care about water so much?

[themanali]

Sodium has nothing to do with it...

Why do you care about water so much?

It's more the expectation to be at a certain weight come my season start.

Considering I've only ever really used it once just want to see the affects of regular use on weight.

[AdamWW]

It's more the expectation to be at a certain weight come my season start.

Considering I've only ever really used it once just want to see the affects of regular use on weight.

Wait, so, for soccer you HAVE TO be a bodyweight? Why? It's not a weight-class sport...

[themanali]

Wait, so, for soccer you HAVE TO be a bodyweight? Why? It's not a weight-class sport...

Yeah mate at my level unfortunately so. I'm expecting them to be a bit lenient considering the surgeries I had.

But still wanna be at my best.

[AdamWW]

Yeah mate at my level unfortunately so. I'm expecting them to be a bit lenient considering the surgeries I had.

But still wanna be at my best.

I've never heard of that... interesting.

[nemLifts]

I'm going to start at 3g per day and see how I go.

So overall cut Sodium and drink more water to get the most out of it aye

You might've misinterpreted my first post. I said cut out EXCESS sodium. AKA don't binge on really salty snacks or have meals that are known to have too much sodium. The body still needs sodium.

If you really want to see the effect sodium has, try going a few days without any salty snacks or foods excessively high in sodium (or just eat healthy). Make sure to measure your weight each day (for at least 4-5 days). Then try upping your sodium intake (like eating a few slices of pizza with extra cheese) for a day. Odds are if you keep drinking the same amount of water you usually do, your weight will go up by a couple of pounds the next day.

[nemLifts]

Wait, so, for soccer you HAVE TO be a bodyweight? Why? It's not a weight-class sport...

I know that certain programs expect you to be within a certain weight range for a given height. They assume weight to height ratios are linear with performance. Too much generalization

[Mrpb]

Yeah mate at my level unfortunately so. I'm expecting them to be a bit lenient considering the surgeries I had.

But still wanna be at my best.

So they weigh you one time? There are many tricks that you can use to cut a few kgs short term.

[PSBallard]

There seems to be some confusion on here about how creatine works... Your body produces ~2g of creatine every day. When using the supplement, you want to take more so over time your creatine levels build up within your muscle. As mentioned before, you do not have to do a "loading phase" as long as you are consistently taking more than your body is producing/consuming (2g). If you do a "loading phase" you may increase the speed of the buildup. However, I always recommend just taking 5g one time a day at your most convenient time (wake up, pre, shake, bedtime, etc.).

There was a study in the past that showed creatine post-workout may create a minimal boost, but I still go with my recommendation above due to convenience.

[Daliceo]

I agree with a lot of the people here. Just take it , the weight gain is exactly what you want in this case