What Happens to Weight Loss and Muscle Growth When You Take Creatine

Creatine is a well-established supplement for exercise performance and recovery. Although it does not directly impact weight, it may change body composition by improving strength and muscle mass.

How Creatine Affects Muscle Mass and Fat Loss

Taking creatine does not directly lead to weight loss. However, creatine can help support muscle maintenance and growth, which indirectly supports fat loss. Creatine can help aid in fat loss by potentially promoting the following:

• Increased muscle mass: Muscle mass is active tissue, meaning it burns calories at rest. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. Increasing muscle mass may support fat loss when paired with a calorie deficit and other lifestyle factors like regular movement, adequate sleep, and stress management.
• Improved muscle repair and growth: Creatine increases intracellular water content, which supports muscle growth and repair. It also increases your body’s capacity to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP), or energy for the cell, supporting growth and repair.
• Increased basal metabolic rate (BMR): Muscle mass is one factor that impacts BMR. Studies show that increasing muscle mass with strength training can slightly increase BMR, which can result in burning more calories at rest. Changes are modest, and this alone may not lead to significant fat loss.
• Improved exercise performance and recovery: Creatine does not directly impact fat burning during exercise. However, creatine may improve exercise performance and recovery, allowing you to exercise at a higher intensity and more often, which may play a role in fat loss.

How Creatine Affects Exercise Performance

According to the International Society for Sports Nutrition (ISSN), creatine supplementation increases high-intensity exercise performance, may support exercise recovery, and may reduce the risk of injury.

Creatine can support exercise performance by potentially helping with the following:

• Enhances energy production in your cells: This allows you to exercise at a higher intensity or for a longer time.
• Increases muscle mass during strength training: When paired with strength training and carbohydrates, creatine can improve strength and muscle mass.
• Promotes quicker recovery in endurance athletes: For example, creatine has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers and soreness in marathon runners.

Creatine may benefit various workouts, including endurance sports, team sports, and resistance training. It may enhance performance, reduce soreness, and support lean muscle mass, which may play a role in weight loss.

Risks and Side Effects

Creatine is safe for most healthy adults and comes with minimal side effects. However, everyone responds to it differently, and there may be side effects or risks for some people, such as the following:

• Water retention: Water retention is common with the loading dose of creatine or when taken at high doses. However, it often subsides over time with exercise. Bloating and other digestive issues have been reported with creatine use, but no good evidence to date suggests this is a common side effect.
• Interactions: Creatine may interact with specific medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen), diuretics, cimetidine, drugs for kidney health, and Probenecid (a treatment for gout).
• Potential for dehydration or kidney strain in high doses: Some research suggests that creatine may cause dehydration or muscle cramps by redistributing fluids, but no evidence supports this. Studies also show it doesn’t strain or damage the kidneys in healthy adults when taken at recommended doses.

The best way to mitigate side effects is to avoid high doses and stick with the recommended dosing of 3 to 5 grams (g) per day. Though many people take a loading dose, evidence suggests this may be unnecessary. Staying hydrated is also essential.

Who Should Avoid Creatine?

Creatine should be avoided in:

• Children
• People who are pregnant or breastfeeding
• People with kidney disease

Always check with your healthcare provider to determine whether creatine is appropriate for you.

How to Use Creatine for Weight Loss

If you’re taking creatine to lose weight, consider building lean muscle mass through strength training combined with a diet and exercise plan promoting a slight calorie deficit. Here are some tips for using creatine to support weight loss:

• Dosage: The standard recommended dose for creatine is a loading dose of 20 g per day for seven days and then 3 to 5 g per day following the loading dose for skeletal muscle benefit. Because creatine does not directly contribute to fat loss, there isn’t a standard amount recommended for those with fat loss goals.
• When to take it: You can take creatine before or after a workout. However, emerging research suggests there may be a slightly greater benefit to taking it after a workout. Consuming carbohydrates, a key macronutrient, along with creatine may also increase creatine uptake into the muscle.
• How to take it: Though you can mix creatine with water, it may be more palatable when mixed into foods and beverages. You can add it to a smoothie, coffee, or tea or blend it into oatmeal, overnight oats, or energy balls.
• Supportive fat-loss strategies: Combine creatine with other fat-loss strategies, such as a healthy diet, exercise (e.g., resistance training), adequate sleep, and stress management. Eating in a calorie deficit with adequate protein to support muscle maintenance and satiety is also essential.

Creatine may be one tool you include on your weight-loss journey, but on its own, it will not lead to weight loss. It is essential to combine it with other fat-loss strategies, such as an effective workout program and diet.