Is it smart to take creatine while trying to cut?

[JeffDM5]

I have heard both answers for this.... im just wondering if I should take creatine monohydride while im trying to cut 15 pounds. thanks

[Australian made]

If you wanna try and hold onto your muscle n strength then yeah go for it. If you feel too bloated then stop.

[OCCFan023]

Yea I like to take mono to help with some strength retention. You have to understand though that you can't strictly judge your process from scale weight (and your mirror results may be a little off due to potential bloat.) If you know your body though you will be able to judge progress even with potential side effects from the Mono.

[jmh80]

I think it's a fine idea. The bloating goes away - and as mentioned it will help with strength.

Go for it.

[cranghel099]

i'd be a mistake not to

[devildog1469]

i agree the creatine will help keep strengh and also as you start to cut back on carbs the creatine will keep your muscles full and not smooth out

[illfoo]

Speaking of which, I'm cutting right now and ran out of my mono about a week and a half ago... and my strength and endurance went down the crapper. I forgot how much I love the stuff.

Stick with the creatine, I think the bloat is way overblown and probably has more to do with massive amounts of sugar some people ingest with their CM.

[CryingEmo]

The bloat is real, but the caveat is, how can you maintain strength when you get off... do you loose all of the strength?


You'd think there would be some sort of gains that got solidified over time. Say you're on for 2 months, and you make small gains. The you come off and lose strength--do you loose all the strength you've gained, or some? It's so hard to judge........

[cranghel099]

The bloat is real, but the caveat is, how can you maintain strength when you get off... do you loose all of the strength?


You'd think there would be some sort of gains that got solidified over time. Say you're on for 2 months, and you make small gains. The you come off and lose strength--do you loose all the strength you've gained, or some? It's so hard to judge........

you should lose ZERO strength, the only thing that may slow down is the rate that u were gaining strength, but creatine is JUST a supplement, the gains received by any supplement are marginal, especially for an intermediate to advanced lifter.

creatine is one of those supplements were it's really unnessary to even stop taking. If you feel like your losing results from it, drop your dose to 2 to 3 grams a day for a month er so, than bring it back up. Creatine has a lot of benefits, enough to keep it as a staple in my arsenal of supplements.

[fogie13]

I've read in several places that staying on creatine for more than 2 months isn't the greatest thing for your liver or kidneys. I thought that assertion was bunk till i talked to a few more people about it and read around a bit online. Sorry i don't have the posts handy here, but if anyone thinks wants to elaborate on it...

[cranghel099]

I've read in several places that staying on creatine for more than 2 months isn't the greatest thing for your liver or kidneys. I thought that assertion was bunk till i talked to a few more people about it and read around a bit online. Sorry i don't have the posts handy here, but if anyone thinks wants to elaborate on it...

I'm pretty sure there are no clinical studies that demonstrate that, at the same time there is no research that creatine is NOT harmful to the liver/kidneys. This is probably due to the fact that most clinical studies are short term studies. Personally, i feel that the kidneys/liver are capable of metabolizing creatine on a long term basis, specifically if the dosage is reduced to 2 to 3 grams. I think dosage probably plays a factor as well, i've heard some people dosing it well over the recommended amount. Potentially, it could be harmful if it were dosed well over the recommended amount for a couple of months; that's just my view though.

[CryingEmo]

May be harmful if you let it dehydrate you. Then again, if you let yourself become dehydrated without creatine... same difference.

[OCCFan023]

Creatine actually aids in hydration levels. It's just a matter of supplying the machine with the oil.