Creatine & Losing Weight

varians

Hi folks,
This is my first post.

I'm just starting my new diet / health / gym regime.

I could do with shedding a few pounds ( about 25 to 30 id say !)

What i want to know is, do you think its safe to use creatine while trying to lose weight.

I go to the gym in the morning before work and do about 40 - 45 mins cardio (Rowing, Cycling, Cross-Trainer)

I also do some weights 2 or 3 nights a week because i know the more muscle mass you have the higher your Metabolic rate which means more calories burned just sitting there.

I want to use creatine to help me build muscles faster, but is it worthwhile while i am doing the cardio.

I am confused can you please help me ?????

rasherboy

it is but u do realise that while you are on creatine you will be a few pounds heavier because of extra water retention! so if you are looking to lose weight i wouldnt bother with creatine! just diet!

varians

But if i wanna build muscle at the same time as lose weight.
Would it be a good idea

Transform

NO GET THE BASISCS RIGHT FIRST.

Creatine should in general only be used when you have reached a decent level in your training. There is no confusion just be certain you are doing the simple things regualrly.

rasherboy

varians wrote:

But if i wanna build muscle at the same time as lose weight.
Would it be a good idea

depends do you want to lose weight or fat? as in get lighter or heavier but with less fat?

Sangre

rasherboy wrote:

it is but u do realise that while you are on creatine you will be a few pounds heavier because of extra water retention! so if you are looking to lose weight i wouldnt bother with creatine! just diet!

Yeah because when people say they want to lose weight its ACTUALLY the water weight not the fat...

varians

I wanna lose fat (Hence all the morning cardio)
But i want to gain muscle at the same time...

rasherboy

seriously man it sounds like you just need a proper diet! creatine is for basically big muscle building but you would need to be doing more then morning cardio you would idealy need to be doing short sprints or heavy weights!

varians

I am doing weights also 3 nights a week

Sangre

If you're getting enough protein in your diet along with a correct diet you should be able to gain muscle mass and lose weight although it can be hard.

Wait for some others to post or do a search of the forum as I've never attempted it myself.

Cake Fiend

Creatine doesn't increase your muscle mass itself, beyond the higher water retention. AFAIK, its purpose is to provide your muscles with phosphates, increasing your energy efficiency or some such. The upshot of this is that you can train harder/longer. Which should benefit fat loss as well as muscle gain, eh?

Gillo

Bare in mind that muscle weighs more than fat.

What you want to do is forget about your actual weight and train for fitness, then move onto body building if you want to bulk up. Creatine is in my opinion over rated and alot of people think of it as a wonder drug.

Eat healthy, excerise regurlarly and don't get obsesed with the scale's. join a gym and tell them about what you want, if the trainers are anyway good they should bea able to advise on diet.

Instead of creatine, I was advised to use a simple energy drink and after awhile take protein supplements.

rasherboy

look if you use creatine and do alot of weights you will lose fat but you will not get lighter! thats it!muscle is heavier then fat so as you bulk up your weight goes up! also you will gain on average between 4-10 pounds in the first 2 weeks of using creatine on average

RonanC

gillo wrote:

Bare in mind that muscle weighs more than fat.

rasherboy wrote:

muscle is heavier then fat

Yeah, 1lb of fat weighs less than 1lb of muscle. Hey, wait a minute........

If we're talking density though it's a different story. Fat is less dense than muscle, meaning that it takes up relatively more space.

Sangre

rasherboy wrote:

look if you use creatine and do alot of weights you will lose fat but you will not get lighter! thats it!muscle is heavier then fat so as you bulk up your weight goes up! also you will gain on average between 4-10 pounds in the first 2 weeks of using creatine on average

Can't wait!

Just sit back and relax and watch those 4-10 pounds pile on.

kasintahan

I gained 2 kg in 2 weeks when I took 5 grams of creatine a day. All of it was water as my training didn't vary. I does give you extra 'ooomp' when you're lifting though.

WhiteWashMan

RonanC wrote:

Yeah, 1lb of fat weighs less than 1lb of muscle. Hey, wait a minute........

If we're talking density though it's a different story. Fat is less dense than muscle, meaning that it takes up relatively more space.

um, not exactly.

it just means that for the same amount of muscle and fat, the mucsle will weigh more.

to the OP, keep doing the weights and the cardio. as you begin to put on muscle naturally, they will metabolise energy faster. so all you need to do really is watch your calorie intake, and over time you will lose the additional fat, and tone up those muscles.
it will also be a lot more healthy for you to lose the fat over time.

otherwise, you will just bulk up on muscle quickly and end up looking like a fat body builder

logic1

WhiteWashMan wrote:

um, not exactly.

it just means that for the same amount of muscle and fat, the mucsle will weigh more.

Umm I think you're confused. What RonanC said is 100% correct. "For the same amount of muscle and fat" is totally ambiguous. What do you mean by "the same amount"? 1lb of muscle is the same amount as 1lb of fat if we're talking about mass, however 1lb of muscle is not the same as 1lb of fat if we're talking about volume where specific density comes into play.

to the OP, keep doing the weights and the cardio. as you begin to put on muscle naturally, they will metabolise energy faster. so all you need to do really is watch your calorie intake, and over time you will lose the additional fat, and tone up those muscles.

This is essentially true but the issue is the amount of extra energy muscle metabolises for the normal person is neglible. An average person will never be able to put on enough muscle to make a huge difference to their metabolic rate. Sure it'll increase a certain amount but this idea that people have of putting on muscle that will magically burn off any excess fat they have is a misnomer. It won't happen.

it will also be a lot more healthy for you to lose the fat over time.

otherwise, you will just bulk up on muscle quickly and end up looking like a fat body builder

This also won't happen. Creatine will in no way make you "bulk up on muscle quickly" enough to make you look anything like a bodybuilder, fat or otherwise. People saying "I want to tone but don't want to get too big" need never ever worry about getting too big. They simply do not understand the amount of work, effort and dedication involved in putting on large amounts of muscle.

However to the OP it looks like you're steering towards creatine as a quick and apparently easy method to achieve your goals, i.e. weight loss and muscle anabolism.

As Transform said you need to get your diet, rest and training pattern correct before looking to any supplements that involve more than a daily viatmin pack.

Without the essentials in place you're only pissing your money away.

.logic.

varians

Folks,
Thanks for all your input.

I think for the moment i will stay away from the creatine and just continue eating healthy, doing cardio, and doing some weights.

Maybe when i have shifted the weight and start really building muscle i might rethink the creatine option

Thanks Guys