{"id":12845,"date":"2025-06-25T06:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T06:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12845\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T06:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T06:49:10","slug":"causes-what-to-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12845\/","title":{"rendered":"Causes, What to Do About It"},"content":{"rendered":"

CREATINE<\/strong><\/a> IS MORE <\/strong>popular than ever<\/a>, and many guys credit the supplement for helping them build stronger muscles, boost their athletic performance and improve brain function. But taking creatine sometimes also brings an unwanted side effect<\/a>: weight gain. <\/p>\n

Creatine<\/a> is a naturally occurring compound that helps supply energy to your muscles. Your body makes about half of what it needs in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. The rest typically comes from your diet\u2014mainly red meat, seafood, dairy, and other high-protein animal products, according to the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lately, more people<\/a> are turning to creatine supplements<\/a> to help support their muscle energy levels. But like any supplement, they can come with side effects.<\/p>\n

Weight gain is a well-known one, says Kristyen Tomcik<\/a>, Ph.D., an assistant professor of nutrition at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. He says he experienced it personally during the first couple of weeks of going back on creatine after stopping the supplement for a while. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think the thing that people should know when it comes to creatine is that it’s not weight gain in the sense of you are gaining fat mass,\u201d Tomcik explains. <\/p>\n

Why creatine can cause weight gain<\/p>\n

THE NUMBER ON <\/strong>the scale may tick up after you start taking creatine because the supplement can increase \u201ctotal body water,\u201d says Aubrey Grant<\/a>, M.D., director of sports and performance cardiology at MedStar Health in Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis happens because creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, where it pulls water into the muscle cells through osmotic effects,\u201d he explains. This often results in about a 1- to 3-pound weight gain in the first week or two of supplementation. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a predictable physiological response, and for most users, it is not harmful,\u201d Dr. Grant says. <\/p>\n

And, it\u2019s not fat gain, he emphasizes. <\/p>\n

The water weight gain from creatine is like what happens when you start a low-carb diet \u2014 just in reverse, Tomcik says. With creatine, your muscles hold more water. With low-carb diets, you often lose water weight at first because your body is depleting its stored carbohydrates, or glycogen, which hold water.<\/p>\n

Water retention is more common during the early stages of taking creatine, Dr. Grant says. After a few weeks, the water weight gain usually plateaus, Tomcik explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, some degree of increased intracellular water in the muscles will persist as long as creatine supplementation is continued,\u201d Dr. Grant adds. <\/p>\n

Does it also increase muscle mass? <\/p>\n

ONE OF THE<\/strong> most studied benefits of creatine supplements<\/a> is its role in increasing lean muscle mass and strength, Dr. Grant says. Creatine improves energy stores in the muscles, allowing for greater energy availability during short bursts of high-intensity activity<\/a>, such as weightlifting or sprinting. <\/p>\n

Research<\/a> suggests that supplementing creatine could increase muscle mass and lean body mass when combined with strength training. Tomcik says creatine typically gives you extra energy to \u201cdo a little more volume in the gym,\u201d which over time usually translates to gaining muscle mass. <\/p>\n

This might also increase the number you see on the scale. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone is training hard, creatine can contribute to actual increases in muscle mass, not just water weight,\u201d Dr. Grant says. \u201cThat form of \u2018weight gain\u2019 is generally desirable.\u201d <\/p>\n

What to Do if You Gain Weight on Creatine <\/p>\n

MOST CREATINE WATER <\/strong>weight is minimal and will level out over a few weeks, Tomcik says. \u201cIt\u2019s not really anything to worry about.\u201d <\/p>\n

Also, if you experience lean muscle gain, \u201cthat\u2019s likely beneficial, especially for performance and metabolic health,\u201d Dr. Grant says. <\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re pairing your creatine supplements with a poor diet or not strength training, you may gain weight that\u2019s not favorable, Dr. Grant adds. When using creatine, he recommends having a structured resistance training routine, maintaining a balanced diet with adequate protein, and staying hydrated, as creatine increases muscle water content, so you need to hydrate more. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going full on with a 20-gram-a-day loading dose of creatine and not feeling great or your weight is increasing, Tomcik suggests cutting back to 3 to 5 grams a day and possibly increasing it slowly. <\/p>\n

When to Worry <\/p>\n

CREATINE SUPPLEMENTS ARE<\/strong> safe for most men, especially when you take 3 to 5 grams a day, Dr. Grant says. <\/p>\n

However, talk to your doctor before starting the supplement if you have kidney disease or a risk for kidney disease. Also, see your doctor if, after taking creatine, you experience bloating, GI distress, blood pressure increases, or significant weight gain without strength improvements. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, for healthy men using creatine responsibly and paired with a solid training program, small increases in weight should not be a source of concern \u2014 they are often a marker of increased lean body mass and performance adaptation,\u201d Dr. Grant says. <\/p>\n

The Creatine Supplements We Recommend<\/p>\n

Best Creatine For Athletes Of All Ages<\/p>\n

\"Creatine<\/a>Thorne Creatine Monohydrate<\/p>\n

Best Entry Creatine<\/p>\n

\"Creatine\"<\/a>Related Stories\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Erica Sweeney is a writer who mostly covers health, wellness and careers. She has written for The New York Times, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Parade, Money, Business Insider and many more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CREATINE IS MORE popular than ever, and many guys credit the supplement for helping them build stronger muscles,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[13591,13593,13584,9518,13589,1198,210,13590,13588,13592,9480,13586,1182,5841,67,132,68,13594,13587,13585],"class_list":{"0":"post-12845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-case-western-reserve","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-creatine","11":"tag-creatine-supplements","12":"tag-dr-aubrey-grant","13":"tag-fitness","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-kristyen-tomcik","16":"tag-lean-body-mass","17":"tag-medstar-health","18":"tag-mens-health","19":"tag-muscle-mass","20":"tag-nutrition","21":"tag-strength-training","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-washington-dc","26":"tag-water-retention","27":"tag-weight-gain"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114742674245207822","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}