Creatine

[Chocolattecoffeecup]

If you've found creatine, what benefits have you experienced, if any?

What has it done to your appearance?

Very abrupt questions. Makes your post seem like research for an article.

yes I take it. Not sure I’ve noticed anything that I can attribute to it.

They're just questions! 😂 Not sure how else I could have worded it!

I take it for muscle recovery when strength training but I feel it has benefited me more than that with aches and pains feeling less and better cognitively.

creatine hasn’t changed my appearance though. Are you confusing it with collagen? That supposedly helps skin appearance etc

It doesn't change your appearance. It helps with cognitive issues like brain fog during.menopause. I exercise almost daily and my muscles recover quicker, I think its improved my strength too

@Choconuts @Keepoffmyartichokes No I'm not confusing it with Collagen. I take collagen and I've noticed an a
improvement in my skin. What I mean by appearance is that creatine is supposed to make your muscles look more plump especially if you have a loading phase plus I think can make your muscles hold water? It can also make you put on a few lbs for this reason so I'm wondering whether to wait to take it in case it makes me look bigger when I have a couple of events coming up.

I take it and have noticed huge cognitive improvements. It may have helped me get stronger in the gym but no other positives/negatives.

I'd take it for 3 months and see how you go.

I take it, I gained a few pounds and got physically smaller. It enables you to work out harder , thus building muscle and recover faster. I swear by it.

i don’t know if you’re male or female. But it’s very hard indeed for women to bulk up. Generally more muscle makes us leaner.

You don’t need to load, it can give gastro issues, your muscles will still hit saturation, but it will take 3-4 weeks.

I didn’t load. No need.

Can you take it in e.g. porridge? I see it advertised to go in drinks, but I'm more likely to actually take it in porridge.

High levels of creatine can be a sign of kidney failure. Wouldn't take a supplement that would mask this. More people have it than you'd think.

My DH takes it although he doesn’t really know why as he doesn’t think it does anything much. It just gives me a dodgy tummy.

Weird post
Are you usually this paranoid?

I have been taking creatine about a month. I have notice two things - my sleep is much improved, and I have more endurance in the gym (I weight train 3 x week). I am f, mid 50s.

That’s how I take mine

That's creatinine not creatine

I take it consistently (I have done for six years now), I strength train and I feel I’m stronger but I am quite sure that is a by product of consistent training and not just creatine. For cognitive function as an older athlete it is encouraged too. It is one of the most researched supplements! I have 5g each morning, the timing doesn’t appear to matter, it is the consistency that is important

I was told it can cause water bloating but that's more if you do a loading phase which I didn't do and I didn't notice anything significant in my appearance

Creatine shouldn’t really be heated up, it loses effacy and breaks down. I simply put mine in about a fifth of a mug of some cold water, stir it in, knock it back. Takes two seconds, Job done.

also important to take consistently and in the morning.

i swear by it as I’ve noticed a big improvement in my fitness,

You’ve the wrong substance, it’s creatinine not creatine, creatine is recommended for everyone.

Don’t do it if you are an endurance athlete. Makes you retain water like anything. I tried it for about 3 months. It definitely helped with muscle recovery and I saw gains in strength training but lugging around an extra 2-3kg of water during a race was a killer.

Me n my partner swear by it, we both cycle and it really does help harder efforts and recovery.

It can cause stomach issues though, so if you can accept the extreme "tartness", try Creatine HCL, you need less as its absorbed more easily.

Take it like a shot, washed down with water....

@FernandoSor HCL avoids this.

If it gives you stomach issues has anyone found eating before you take it helps?

No, it does not.... try micro dosing, instead of 4/5grams a day, try 3 doses of 1gram gradually build up the dose to 2 x 2gram, then one 4/5 gram.

Or use the HCL version.

It really only has a higher risk of causing an upset tummy if you do the loading phase, which is taking large quantities, and even then not guaranteed,

I didn’t load and no issues, all loading does is get you there faster, ie within a week or two, versus full muscle saturation after 3-4 weeks if you just take the recommended dose daily,

I don't eat porridge every day. I take a Berocca with collagen every day so may be able to add it to this but I imagine it's not going to taste great!