creatine: i've gained 12+ pounds in 6 days, ugh, am i doing it wrong?
 

started the optimum nutrition micronized, instructions say to load up by taking 1 tspn 4x a day for 5 days.

did that and now i am completely bloated, distended gut, stomach is upset often. bodyfat hasn't increased but the bloating is severe. does that subside? what's the point.

There's no point to you taking creatine. While true your body does need creatine to recover and build muscles, you don't need to supplement it.

Remember there's two types of water retention. The first is water inside the cells. This is good water, it means your body is properly hydraded. The second is water outside of the cells, which in excess amounts causes bloating.

Bottom line is this: Unless you're a hardcore professional bodybuilder taking creatine as a supplement isn't going to make you any stronger and you're not going to look better because the bloating will hide the hard chiseled look of lean muscle. Just save the money. :)

eat lean baby.. lots of meat/fish/eggs and you will grow..

Nothing wrong there, it will be easier after the load up period. At least it´s working for you. You will lose the liquids after you end the creatine.

Yowsa! 12 lbs in that 6 days is not good buddy clam.
:Oh crap

As for how to balance it all out. I would probably listen to WC on it. He seems to know a lot of about physical training, and over all health and nutrition.

Just remember to drink loads of water and take carbs with each serve.

Sounds like something is wrong, you should probably stop right away. Shouldn't gain more than 2-3 pounds fist week.

you are hurting yourself with that gain rate!

How's your sodium intake? That can also lead to bloated feeling. Are you trying to build up body builder like muscle, or are you more looking for that hard gauze stretched over skin look? When you start talking about very low body fat, water plays a huge part of the over all appearance.

i can see that my muscles are fuller, my bodyfat is the same so i'm not really retaining water there, but my gut man! underneath the muscles, just bloated outtttttttt.

i'll finish up this jar and prolly discontinue.

that's what was rally bothering me, my diet is dialed in.

i think 20g/day was a lot eh, so i hope it settles down,i'l finish the jar and go from there.
yeah :thumbsup
i could prolly go with more water, i'm still at <1gallon/day. the carbs have have dialed in for the delivery. i've also been taking it with chia seeds- they hold 8x their weight in water, helping with absorbtion.

12lbs? Get off that thing now!!!

it's ~1000-1200mg/day, not enough, i sweat A LOT when i workout, both cardio and resistance training. yes, trying to add strength and size over the next 90 day session. i've gotten my bf down to 7.7-8%. so i can see the changes from the creatine prettly clearly.

my gut is like a distended 6 pak, the bloating is underneath the muscle.

I dont use any loading period nowadays, just the 5 grams a day. It just takes a bit longer to get the same effect.
I used to gain 8-10 pounds of water within those 5 loading days and I also lost the same amount within few days after ending creatine. You will also lose some of the gained maximum strength when you stop taking it.

you think it will settle down while i still take 5g/day?

Creatine basically makes it so your body can heal and build muscle faster. less time between big workouts. If you take a shit load like that your going to get bloated as fuck. Back off and build your body the right way healthily!

Don´t think so. You will carry that extra water as long as you take the 5 grams.
You could try to reduce salt and drink loads of water. Or eat pineapples or something to get rid of the extra water.
If you use lots of salt, try some anti-salt product with magnesium and potassium.

that's not how i understand what creatine does.

i feel i am building the healthy way, i've read a lot backing up creatine as a viable supplement and felt it worthy of a test. i certainly did not let up on my nutrition or exercise plan due to trying it.

from everything i have read you need more water.

quoted-
"I find the more water I drink, the less bloat I have and at a certain point, I have no bloat what so ever.

When on creatine, I MUST drink at least 1.25 gallons a day, if I dont then I get the bloat. So I make that I get that down EVERYday when I'm on creatine..

Even if I drink .75 of a gallon, not enough, slight bloating occurs.
If somehow I drink less than that, oh man, bathroom trouble!!! "

fuck, it's hard to drink that much! but that's pretty much what's needed for the creatine

1.25 gallons of water a day is a ridiculous amount to be drinking unless you are somewhere really hot and sweating it out.

Creatine Hydrochloride - i take that...

no bloating...




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its water weight, dont worry about it..

use it for a while to build up your beginner gains if you are just starting lifting then taper off and just supplement with good protein sources (lean meats).

and the gallon of water a day stuff is bro-science, you drink when you are thirsty all those idiots that drink a gallon+ a day are just over working their kidneys, you have a thirst mechanism for a reason.

Uh yea dude, that happens when you don't drink over a gallon of water a day and work out heavy. You have to do those two things on creatine or you'll feel bloated and look unusual(water weight).

no its easy man.. get a water bottle, sip on it the whole day.. i easily drink 2 gallons a day without even noticing.. its when u drink it by the glass then u forget.. but carry a water bottle or a gallon of water everywhere, and u'll be drinking 2 gallons a day in no time

Get your kidneys & Heart checked. when you hold excessive water from creatine its usually an underlying problem
ds

Dyna Mo, you kill me with these posts. You are the official GFY health, diet, supplement Guinea pig.

You are becoming one of my favorite reads because i know you are very on point with what you say and you try everything out according to the directions. You give an honest assessment on if it works or not, if it does what it says, etc.


Keep up the healthy living research, because when you post and others chime in, i always learn something new.:thumbsup

Save your money: Get a bottle of testosterone cypionate and trenbolone enanthanate.
ds

That's because you haven't forgotten to take a shit like Mo has :1orglaugh


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what warman said.

checked for what? i asked the doc the last time to check my heart and he said "what for? are you having any issues?" i said no, he looked at my pressure and pulse and said don't bother.

i think this is more gas bloat though eh, feels like it.

3 years ago before I stopped lifting I was drinking 1.5 gallons in the winter and at least 3 gallons in the summer. I'd go through about .5 of a gallon just during my work out.

My pee didn't have color, ever.

i know huh1:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh creatine is as far as i was going with the supps though, i think i'll just stick with whey protein as my only supp going forward, i don't like how the creatine makes me feel, but... i was loading, 20g a day for 160 pounder is a lot i'd imagine.

yeah, i'm going the healthy route for here on out. so no gear here.
:1orglaugh:1orglaugh youa re prolly right, i've taken prolly 6 shits today already so i am sure i forgot at least 1! :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

The biggest positive health related change I have ever made is drinking at least a gallon of water a day. :thumbsup


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it's the #1 nutrient, but didn't y'all have to work up to that amount? i am making progress towards the 1 gallon a day, but i certainly can't just start drinking a gal+ a day.

please dont spread misinformation. Creatine does not bloat you up. ive been shredded and have muscle straiations visible on every muscle on my body except by ass on 5g of creatine monohydrate. Its a great staple supp dyna, however a loading phase is not neccessary

Wait, now creatine doesn't bloat?


Lol...

yea because steroids are miracles and take the place of hard work and diet? Tren is one helluva harsh compound, a lot of guys start sweating yellow and brown because of it, not to mention you get very little sleep while on something like that. Test is best, but its not needed for what dyna is trying to accomplish. Theres no need to shut down natural test production by introducing exogenous hormones to the body

yeah, i think that was too much but still trying to figure out this gut issue.

The side effects of creatine include bloating and looking "thick". That usually happens when one doesn't drink enough water while loading on creatine.

As was mentioned earlier, the "loading phase" is just from the old days. You don't need to do it anymore.

What you do want to do is take it post workout after something to spike your blood sugar for about 30 minutes. Dextrose works the best but regular grape juice works as well. Just drink it spread out over 30 minutes to keep your blood sugar spiked the whole time. You don't need to do it, but it helps get the creatine to the muscles, same with your post workout protien.

Creatine works different for different people and I think it has to do with how much meat you eat. I eat zero meat so it has a very noticeable effect for me and I use it daily. I can get several more sets out of each exercise when using creatine and you do get better pumps. People who eat a lot of meat sometimes don't see any results. But it all depends.

I would say stop taking it for a day or two to normalize out from that crazy loading phase then go to the daily 5 grams.

no it does and shouldnt, if your bloating up your taking entirely too much of it. i find taking it on training days only after muscle saturation has occured works best for me. If your still having an issue on 5G's on training days only try a creatine ethyl ester like Green Mag by controlled labs

going over my food intake, i've increased carbs, the fibrous ones - grains, seeds, fruits, vegs. over the last week too eh. at least by 2x

Creatine is good muscle stimulant and protector but you need solid workout and good diet plan to do it right.

So, you bitch about people spreading misinformation, and you follow up by saying creatine doesn't bloat you up, and then with this comment? Lol, stop it.

creatine forces more water into the muscle cells not ontop of and inbetween muscle fibers, it will not take away from that shredded look unless your going out for a competition.

I drink 2-3 1 liter bottles of S. Pellegrino water everyday. I no longer drink Cokes or beer and the carbonation doesn't make it seem like water. The rest is easy.


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ok ill run to the bathroom and take a picture of me and then post it and u can see how lean i am and tell me im bloated up...you do the same ok? and not for nothing but i said when you take TOO MUCH youll get bloated...reading comprehension > you.

You've already posted pics of yourself, not impressed.

And you =/= all.

Creatine can cause bloating, plain and simple. You're wrong.

this is on point with how i am currently taking it. 5g pwo with my insulin spiking meal.

since i'm doing the 6 day split, i can take it 6 days/ 1 day off eh?

[QUOTE=mgtarheels;17302470]You've already posted pics of yourself, not impressed.

And you =/= all.[/QUOTE=mgtarheels;17302470]

that was about 4 months ago, im almost into single digit bf percentage at the same weight boss. IT CAN cause it im not saying it doesnt, but at the right dosage and with the proper amount of water it wont.
Dyna try 3g's a day everyday and see how that works out for you.