Holy shit. Creatine.

[Cellar Yeti]

You people are ridiculous.

Creatine. Not even once.

[chrisjs]

You people are ridiculous.

Agreed

[Richard]

Okay, had a workout, and didn't feel any different so far. My face felt pretty hot though, that's the only thing I noticed during the workout. However, this is the first time I've worked out after working at my new job which is an 11 hour day. So I guess I should expect to be fatigued, but I did alright. Thing I notice most now is that I don't feel tired from the work out. I'll keep taking it and see what happens. Definitely no diarrhea or cramps so far. Before I drank it, I made sure it had completely dissolved in the water.

[Cellar Yeti]

You won't notice much if anything for a few days. I suggest loading at 25g for 5 days, you've been Vegan for a while, you only produce about 1g of your own creatine daily, it will take a few days for your muscles to become saturated. And drink a metric fuck ton of water. 1+ gallon a day (3.78+ Liters . You will start to retain water and your muscles will become super hydrated.

You're not going to be moving cars, but you will get an extra few reps, and a little more gas, most likely.

[Petitpois]

There is an article about creatine for vegans here: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/weightlifting#creat

I have no particular opinion about it, maybe I will give it a try one day (but only after years of practice and lots of research)...

[Tyler14]

I'm fine with how I'm progressing now. The reason I've started working out is to help my performance for basketball. If I didn't play basketball and only focused on weightlifting then maybe I'd give it a shot.

[Belle.le.disko]

I'm going to try creatine. I purchased micronized from Optimum Nutrition. http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Nutrition ... B0001FSWCM

How do you take your creatine? I read that some take it pre-workout, or the last 10 minutes of workout, or post-workout. What if you don't work out that day? Then, when do you take it?

I read that taking it mixed with fruit juice will help iwith absorption. Is this how you guys take it?

thanks!

[fraserlee]

The following is why I will never take creatine.

Back in my bodybuilding heyday, I knew an ex-Marine bodybuilder named Josh. He naturally put on muscle so fast that he had to ease off his leg routines here and there so his quads wouldn't split his pants wide open. He had one of the most incredibly balanced forms I'd ever seen, reminiscent of a smaller Schwarzenegger. We used to climb dry waterfalls together in Colorado while I gave him advice on his girlfriends.

One day, he announced to me that he was going to supplement with creatine. I gave him a quizzical look and asked him why in the hell he thought he needed that since he already had it so easy in the gym. I think he might have suffered from Muscle Dysmorphia, where a guy is obsessed with being bigger and never feels big enough, sort of like the reverse of anorexia. He said he was a skinny kid growing up although I could never imagine it.

Anyway, I didn't see him in the gym for three months, then he showed up all of a sudden. I did a double take and then stared at him. I almost didn't recognize him. His face was all sunken around the cheeks and eyes, like a corpse, and his skin was actually grey. I'm not joking: grey. All the color was gone, like the life was sucked out of him. His mass wasn't much different but he was missing fat in a way that made him look like an alien. Not one to ignore things, I walked right up to him and asked him what the hell was going on. He dodged the topic a bit but I got it out of him eventually that he had been using creatine.

A few months after that, I saw him again. He appeared normal now, healthy and fit. He thanked me for pointing out how awful he had looked and confessed that nobody else had the guts to tell him to his face except for his girlfriend and I. He said it scared the shit out of him how serious he let it get and he wouldn't do it again. He never told me how much he was taking.

To this day, I can still see his skin. Gives me the willies. I'll never take the stuff.

Baby Herc

Thank you, Herc. I finally decide not to try creatine.
But my weight stops from gaining after 6 months of workout. So confused.

[fraserlee]

I've been considering taking this, but worry about side effects and stuff. It's so hard to find out the truth on these things, and the long term effects. I don't know anybody who has taken it, who is even over 40, so I don't know how it could affect you in later life. I read that "studies" say it is safe to take 5g per day, but I dunno who conducts these studies or what they really are.

I just wanted to say exactly the same thing. I was very close to buying Weider creatine couple of days ago, and then I said: no, you will not take anything synthetic in your body! That is just against everything I believe considering nutrition... I will eat natural foods and work out regularly and I will be satisfied whatever the results... I would not want to get bigger and stronger and then sick

Same reason for me. I am a strong believer in naturally-grown whole foods

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

I'm partial to creatine myself sometimes, figured it can't be a bad thing as we're likely to be naturally low in it due to our diet.

Can't say I notice too much from taking it, I either use a 100% pure micronised creatine or a Kre-Alkalyn capsules. I've only ever used it when I've been PL'ing but I'm thinking it wouldn't be a bad thing to use now I'm trying to run faster.

[Cellar Yeti]

Man, I made this forever ago. I just kinda take creatine mono now. Idk, I don't feel anything from it anymore but it's cheap and I figure as a Vegan, what the hell.

[MindyVegan]

DOMS is delayed onset muscle soreness. If you're in tune with your body you can pick up these differences. I'd put money on the fact it's not a placebo effect for myself. I tend to process nutrients faster because of my missing guts.

Yeah creatine does shit or nothing to some people. I suppose I am lucky. But I honestly thing it's because of all the steroid therapy I underwent as a kid. I am know it stunted my growth and am positive it damaged a lot of my mechanisms for protein synthesis nutrient absorption and the like.

I never felt much from creatine, but definitely agree on BCAA helpinng with DOMS! But, frankly, I'm jealous you get a response from creatine!!! LUCKY!!!

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

I never felt much from creatine, but definitely agree on BCAA helpinng with DOMS! But, frankly, I'm jealous you get a response from creatine!!! LUCKY!!!

Finally, so great to see you on here Mindy

[Dev]

The following is why I will never take creatine.

Back in my bodybuilding heyday, I knew an ex-Marine bodybuilder named Josh. He naturally put on muscle so fast that he had to ease off his leg routines here and there so his quads wouldn't split his pants wide open. He had one of the most incredibly balanced forms I'd ever seen, reminiscent of a smaller Schwarzenegger. We used to climb dry waterfalls together in Colorado while I gave him advice on his girlfriends.

One day, he announced to me that he was going to supplement with creatine. I gave him a quizzical look and asked him why in the hell he thought he needed that since he already had it so easy in the gym. I think he might have suffered from Muscle Dysmorphia, where a guy is obsessed with being bigger and never feels big enough, sort of like the reverse of anorexia. He said he was a skinny kid growing up although I could never imagine it.

Anyway, I didn't see him in the gym for three months, then he showed up all of a sudden. I did a double take and then stared at him. I almost didn't recognize him. His face was all sunken around the cheeks and eyes, like a corpse, and his skin was actually grey. I'm not joking: grey. All the color was gone, like the life was sucked out of him. His mass wasn't much different but he was missing fat in a way that made him look like an alien. Not one to ignore things, I walked right up to him and asked him what the hell was going on. He dodged the topic a bit but I got it out of him eventually that he had been using creatine.

A few months after that, I saw him again. He appeared normal now, healthy and fit. He thanked me for pointing out how awful he had looked and confessed that nobody else had the guts to tell him to his face except for his girlfriend and I. He said it scared the shit out of him how serious he let it get and he wouldn't do it again. He never told me how much he was taking.

To this day, I can still see his skin. Gives me the willies. I'll never take the stuff.

Baby Herc

Are you serious ? Just taking 3 gram protein that too only for 2 months in a lifetime , can it cause this ? It has to be steroids.

[Rolandnaf]

Ive been thinking about taking it lately as Ive been working out harder and I find my memory isnt as sharp as it used to be, but from what Ive read, it doesnt sound like something youre supposed to take long term. Although I could very well be wrong about that. For those of you who take it, how much do you take? And did you do a loading stage for the first week of taking it? Also, are all brands of creatine vegan?