Hardstylin or anyone with some fitness knowledge.

[matéo]

I understand that with creatine wether it be monohydrate or any other variation the water retention in your muscles builds up making you appear a little more bloated. One thing im concerned with is if creatine has any relation to fat. If I missed a day or two would that creatine store as fat or turn into fat. Besides me arms, stomach, chest, etc will my face also appear to be bloated? Will the gains that I experience be soley water retention and/or muscle? I have spent the last month getting to a comfortable weight and I really don't want to change much about that. What about when i come off of creatine will my strength wither? Is there a chance that with a god diet and 25 minutes of cardio a day that I wont experience any gains? in the mean time I'll check some fitness forums but feel free to help me out. thnx.

[matéo]

nvm got it.

Fat is Fat and Muscle is Muscle and Never the Twain Shall Meet
It has often been rumored that a person's muscle turns to fat after stopping creatine. There is no more truth in this happening than there is in an apple turning into a banana? They are simply two different entities. Nevertheless, muscle can be replaced by fat given the wrong set of circumstances.

As mentioned above, after stopping creatine you'll lose some size due to loss of muscle water. You'll also experience a drop in energy level because of the slow degradation of surplus creatine stored within our muscles; remember that creatine is an energy source.

There's only one way you'll gain fat. That is if you reduce your energy expenditure dramatically, or stop working our altogether, while not adjusting your caloric intake. Under these circumstances the excess amounts of calories (food) you consume will be stored as fat.

Take Home
You will lose some size and strength after stopping creatine. This is unavoidable. The lost size, however, results from loss of water and not muscle tissue. The decrease in energy results from less creatine in our muscles. The only way that you will gain fat is if you consume more calories than you burn after stopping creatine.

Therefore, after stopping creatine for a prolonged period, be sure to maintain your exercise intensity, or alternatively, reduce caloric intake.

[hardstylin]

Originally Posted by matéo

I understand that with creatine wether it be monohydrate or any other variation the water retention in your muscles builds up making you appear a little more bloated. One thing im concerned with is if creatine has any relation to fat. If I missed a day or two would that creatine store as fat or turn into fat. Besides me arms, stomach, chest, etc will my face also appear to be bloated? Will the gains that I experience be soley water retention and/or muscle? I have spent the last month getting to a comfortable weight and I really don't want to change much about that. What about when i come off of creatine will my strength wither? Is there a chance that with a god diet and 25 minutes of cardio a day that I wont experience any gains? in the mean time I'll check some fitness forums but feel free to help me out. thnx.

1) Creatine has nothing to do with fat. UNLESS your taking some kinda premix creatine product with like 70grams of sugar per serving THAT can cause some fat to happen :) but if your taking just creatine in some water or with a protien shake you should be fine.

2) Missing a day or two again will do nothing as far as storing fat goes. But most people say not to miss any days or your creatine levels will drop off the charts and you will have to start a brand new loading phase to get the levels in ur blood up again.

3) At first most weight gain will be just water, and its not like a crazy bloating type water gain, its more of soft gain, ur muslces will look a bit more full and less ripped i quess, it shouldnt make ur face bloat at all. But over a few weeks ur water levels will peak out and most of the weight you gain will be muscle.

4) Everyone is different for me my strength goes up very mildly on creatine i gain 5-10lbs here and there and am able to push out a few more reps, If you do a proper cycle by the time you come off of it you probly wont notice any strenght loss i never really do.

5) i do 30min of cardio each day in the morning and then my normal workout after work and i still notice the gains of creatine, but creatine is sketchy some people get fuck all of it some people get insane results. But as long as ur taking enough of it and eating right and DRINKING LOTS OF WATER you should notice it.

For you first 5 days i would take 30grams a day 15g in the morning 15g after weights. Then after just take 15g a day after your workout. Try and take it with your after workout meal/protien shake for best results.

[matéo]

its interesting b/c every FAQ I read on body building sites say that the loading fase is crap and not to worry about it.

Will taking creatine interfere with my physical goals of cutting my muscles and getting more defined abs?

[mojo]

it shouldnt hinder your definition as long as your not sticking strictly to a strength routine of heavy-ass weight and limited reps...break it up and do lighter endurance excercise to help define the muscles a bit more, but overall its going to be body fat that covers up your muscles so focus on keeping to a good diet.

[Lenny]

look for products containing creatine ethyl ester malate such as bsn cellmass. no loading required, and low excess water weight or so they claim. i've found it to work well. and no it will not interfere with your goals. the things that will lose you definition are excess water and fat so make sure you maintain a decent diet and get plenty of rest in addition to training as hard as possible.

ps - for someone starting out supplements like creatine are ok but not all that nescesary until you've established a routine and know your strength. You'll make decent progress while your body adjusts to training and you're diet. When you begin to hit the wall, then products like creatine/akg will help you push through and up your gains... or so i've found. glutamine and protien should be your best friends right now =)

[matéo]

Originally Posted by (LJF)

look for products containing creatine ethyl ester malate
ps - for someone starting out supplements like creatine are ok but not all that nescesary until you've established a routine and know your strength. You'll make decent progress while your body adjusts to training and you're diet. When you begin to hit the wall, then products like creatine/akg will help you push through and up your gains... or so i've found. glutamine and protien should be your best friends right now =)

I have definately established a routine and know my strength pretty well. I have been working out for the last 2 years pretty steady in terms of weight training and just introduced cardio into my workout which has allowed me to get to my ideal weight. I have hit a wall though and I think the main cause is diet. i'm at about 2400 calories a day but only get about half my body weight in protein. So you're right thats probably the first thing i should isolate. Talking to some other guys at the gym it seems as though if I do start taking creatine it should be something like N.O.-Oxygen which contains only 1 gram of creatine per serving whereas cell tech or just plain monohydrate contain 5-10 plus dextrose.