If you’ve taken creatine before, you may have experienced one of the common side effects of this popular fitness supplement: water weight gain.
While seasoned creatine users may be unbothered by this, new users can find it a little distressing.
Is creatine water weight here to stay or does it eventually go away?
Let’s take a deeper look.
How Creatine Causes Water Retention
Some may be surprised to learn that creatine causes water retention, but how? And does this affect the benefits of creatine?
How creatine draws water into your muscles
Creatine loves water. It is considered osmotically active, which means it will pull water into the muscle cells along with it. This can cause your muscle cells to temporarily increase in volume, particularly during a loading phase where you take higher concentrations of creatine for a short period [1, 2].
How water retention improves muscle performance and size
While water weight gain doesn’t seem ideal, it does come with some unexpected perks.
The extra hydration in the muscle tissue may help improve exercise performance and promote further muscle growth. In the meantime, that extra volume can give your muscles the illusion of being bigger while you work to build them up further [3].
Does Creatine Water Weight Go Away Over Time?
Water retention from creatine can show up as an uptick on the scale which can be unsettling for some. But don’t worry, it’s temporary.
How long water retention lasts while taking creatine
Water retention is a direct result of the presence of supplemental creatine pulling extra water into the muscle cells. Once the loading phase is complete (after 5-7 days), much of this water retention will improve but not completely disappear.
Water retention from creatine supplementation will completely resolve once you stop taking creatine.
Water retention stabilizes after a while
Because the dosage of creatine is low during maintenance (3-5 grams per day) it’s unlikely to result in significant water weight gain. In fact, in some cases, fluid retention may not even be noticeable. This is because it will stabilize after the loading phase, and your body gets used to the maintenance dose [2].
What Happens to Water Weight When You Stop Taking Creatine?
If creatine causes water retention, does it go away when you stop taking it?
Does Creatine Water Weight Go Away?
Yeap! Fluid retention is temporary for as long as you take creatine. Once you stop, it will go away on its own; however, you may only really notice it during the brief 5-7 day loading phase if you complete one.
Is Water Retention from Creatine Harmful?
While mildly irritating, the good news is that water retention from creatine is not harmful. However, if you experience water retention, it’s always good to rule out any underlying issues that may be causing it.
Temporary water retention vs unhealthy bloating
It’s important to know the difference between temporary water retention from taking creatine supplements and uncomfortable bloating. If you are feeling bloated, you may notice feeling uncomfortably full or swollen, particularly in your abdomen.
Creatine distributes additional water into the muscle tissues and will not present in one specific area. It will also not cause uncomfortable fullness unless you take a very large dose in one sitting.
Always use creatine as directed. If you are experiencing bloating symptoms it may be related to your food or drink intake or gastrointestinal challenges.
Why creatine water retention is generally harmless
Water retention from creatine is generally considered to be harmless however, it can affect people differently. In some cases, we may exacerbate water retention with creatine by taking too much, not staying well hydrated, or over-consuming high-sodium foods.
If you develop fluid retention while taking creatine, you may consider getting evaluated by your primary care physician if you aren’t sure if the two are related.
Fluid retention can be a sign of an underlying health condition. Contact your healthcare provider if fluid retention is severe, painful, or causing shortness of breath.
How Creatine Water Retention Supports Muscle Performance
While it may not seem ideal to increase the water content of your muscle tissue, this extra water may aid in supporting muscle performance. Well-hydrated muscle tissue functions better.
In fact, the intracellular water content of muscle tissue is related to muscle strength and functional capacity which are essential components of exercise performance. Furthermore, intracellular hydration of the muscle tissue may even aid in muscle protein synthesis which is the process of building new muscle [3, 4].
How to Minimize Water Weight While Taking Creatine
If you are hoping to minimize water retention while taking creatine supplements you might consider skipping the loading phase.
Other things that can help reduce water retention while taking supplemental creatine include making sure you are taking the appropriate dose of creatine as listed on the label.
The typical dosages recommended range between 3-5 grams per serving per day during maintenance. If you are completing a loading phase this could increase to 20-25 grams per day but spread out into 5-gram increments 4-5 times throughout the day.
The loading phase should only be done for 5 to 7 days. Prolonged use of higher dosages could exacerbate water retention and other uncomfortable side effects of creatine, especially if consumed in one sitting and not spread out into smaller doses.
In addition to taking creatine as directed, ensuring you are maintaining proper hydration levels and limiting your intake of high sodium and highly processed foods can help to limit water retention.
Conclusion
Like any dietary supplement, creatine has its potential side effects. Water retention tends to get a lot of buzz due to its effects on total body weight and the appearance of muscle tissue.
Whether or not you experience water retention on creatine will depend on the individual but is more likely if you are completing a loading phase or taking creatine in high doses.
Luckily, water retention from creatine is temporary and will improve following the loading phase and completely resolve once you stop taking creatine supplements.
