Does Creatine Make You Gain Weight? What Do Experts Say?
Want to consume the nutritional supplement creatine to increase strength, endurance, and athletic performance? Are you wondering, does creatine make you gain weight? Read the article to understand the impact of the medication and the way it can be resolved.
The supplement is one of the most popular fitness products in the market and is used by people regarding fitness levels. It is widely popular. However, there are severe potential side effects of the medication.
Contents
Does Creatine Make You Gain Weight? What Do Experts Say?
Creatine is a natural essence that is found in seafood and red meat. The human body also produces creatine in the kidney, pancreas, and liver in minimal amounts. This creatine is used to create energy in the body in the form of ATP, leading to normal bodily function and movement.
The supplement is consumed orally, which binds with the phosphate molecule, thus, forming the creatine derivative such as phosphocreatine. It is stored in the body, and it is further used to create energy in the body. During workouts, the ATP is burned in the body every 8 to 10 seconds. The Creatine supplement is therefore consumed if the body’s energy level is low.
The ability and performance of the body are aided by the supplement of the amino acid leading to practical functions throughout the day and an increase in fat-free body mass.
What Is Creatine?
The amino acid in the form of the nutritional supplement creatine is consumed to make the body fitter and athletic and increase energy. This supplement is finished, your body produces ATP molecules which are then used for energy by the cells.
The nutritional supplement creatine is available in the market because it benefits strength, athletic performance, endurance, and muscle mass. The supplement improves body composition and helps in achieving fitness goals.
Even with the popularity, you want to know, does creatine make you gain weight? At times, it does. Are you worried does creatine make you fatter? Well, you will find a solution in the article.
Why Is Creatine Prescribed?
The majority of creatine is stored in the muscles, as much as 95%, while 5% of the amino acid is stored in the kidneys, liver, and brain. Creatine is a significant element for the body to function; hence, a gap in creatine leads to muscle mass deterioration.
According to some reports, the supplement also helps improve conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. If you have issues of depression, the supplement also helps improve depression to a certain level.
Benefits
- One of the benefits of creatine is improvement in athletic performance. It also builds strength and increases muscle mass.
- Another benefit is that if you consume creatine, it raises your anabolic hormones.
- The third benefit is that the amino acid supplement increases cell hydration by increasing the water content of the muscle cells. It is called a cell volumizing effect, where the supplement helps muscle growth and mass. This raises the question, does creatine cause weight gain? Yes, it does.
- The fourth benefit is that protein breakdown is reduced with creatine consumption. Thus, it leads to muscle mass breakdown.
- The last benefit identified is If you consume the supplement, it will help lower the myostatin levels, which will increase the growth potential and increase new muscle growth.
Side Effects
- A side effect is that the supplement will cause compartment syndrome.
- You might also suffer from dehydration and muscle cramps with the consumption of creatine.
Do You Gain Weight From Creatine?
So the question is, does creatine make you gain weight? Yes, the consumption of creatine might indeed impact weight by increasing it. However, there is no evidence of the exact impact of the medication.
There can be other reasons that are influenced by the medication leading to weight gain. There are different reasons leading to weight gain. The reasons are as follows:
Non-Muscle Weight Gain
Creatine does not help the body in gaining non-muscle weight, such as fat. You might experience a rapid growth in weight. However, they do not constitute any fat. One scoop of creatine comprises 5 grams; hence, if you consume it orally, there is no chance of gaining any fat.
Muscle Mass
So, how much weight can you gain from creatine in a month? The consumption of creatine supplements increases the size and strength of muscle, and it effectively increases endurance and everyday functionality. If someone consumes creatine supplements, they will gain muscle mass.
Water Weight
Creatine supplements might increase the water weight of the body by retention of fluid. Rapid body weight with fluid retention leads to an increase in the water weight of the body. It happens because the process of creatine makes the muscle cells absorb water.
It is through this process that the body bloats and puffs in different areas, such as the legs, stomach, and arms. At times, the supplement makes the muscle appear more prominent when you start taking the supplement.
How To Cope-Up With Weight Gain?
You wonder sometimes, do creatine make you fat? There is no evidence that creatine does increase weight gain, but based on the observation and experiences of supplement users, the weight gain is temporary.
Hence, there are specific strategies that you can implement to resolve the issue. The focus is to maintain the balance in the body so that there is no extra water retention.
Reduce Carbohydrate Intake
Consuming carbs will help you acquire energy; however, carbs also contribute to water retention in the body. It is, therefore, essential for you to limit or restrict the carb intake to 225 to 325 Milligrams Every Day.
Increase The Water Consumption
You have to drink more water to resolve the body’s water retention issue. With more water consumption, the body will urinate more, leading to no retention of the water content.
Be Patient
If your body is retaining more water, exercise will help you lose the excess water. With the increasing level of workout, you will lose more water, making the body fitter.
Reduce Sodium Intake
You need to eat more vegetables and fruits to live a healthy life. You have to stop eating food that identifies as junk and fast food products because they contain high amounts of sodium, which retains more water in the body.
To maintain an effective balance of sodium in the body, you need to limit it to 2300 milligrams every day.
Conclusion
Please read the article to learn about does creatine make you gain weight. You will also learn about how to treat gaining weight. Comment down below about whether you want to start the supplement.
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