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Old Forum Creatine Alternative

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GusBlue

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Comrades and Colleagues,

I haven't used creatine in a long time (almost 10 or 12 years) I'm hoping someone in here might have gone through the same problem I did and may have a solution. When I take creatine around night 3 or 4 I have real sleep problems. I don't get into deep sleep and I don't stay asleep long if I fall asleep at all. In addition, I swear I can feel my heart racing. Within a day or two of stopping all is well again. A little search on the web found that a few others have gone through this as well.

So my questions are:

Have others here had this experience? And if so were you able to overcome it? Change brands/manufacturers or type of creatine without problems? Or like me did you just abandon creatine?

Is there an alternative to creatine? I believe I get a sufficient amount of protein and fats.

Thanks to all with thoughts or advice.

J
 
I took creatine a lot as well and abandoned it as well. Unless you're a professional athlete who trains rigorously for hours most days of the week there really is no use in taking creatine. Just eat real food, mostly vegetables and you will be set on the nutrition side of the equation. Supplements are pointless for most people who aren't competitive athletes or bodybuilders.
 
I am not trying to be a #jerk here. But why spend money to have problems? You know what I am saying? What are you honestly hoping to get from spending X dollars on creatine? Because whatever it is, you won't get it. Because if you did get it, whatever IT is, then it would be banned.

Want creatine? Have steak. Every day. Three times a week. Whatever.

Like I said,  I am not trying to be the jerk in the room, but after a lot of dollars wasted, etc. I have come to the conclusion that it is all garbage. Just eat food.

Again, that is just me and my own experience.
 
Creatine is one of the few supplements that definitely works well for me [along with simple protein powder, magnesium oil, fish oil, vitamin C].  I tried some other creatine types, but basic monohydrate works best.   I recover better and am stronger when taking it.  In fact, my wife usually can see a difference in my physique within a few days when I'm on it and asks if I am taking it when she sees the change.  I will gain between 1 & 2 lbs when on it.  By the way, I regularly eat a variety of meat in my diet pretty much every day.

I've recently heard about some brain health benefits from creatine, but need to research more.

I had amazing sleep in the past week and was taking creatine.  Based on your post, I'll need to further monitor whether it does impact sleep for me.  I definitely need to improve in the sleep area in general and would give up creatine if there was a regular sleep disruption.
 
I do eat a lot of meat. We raise our own chickens and ducks that I butcher here at my farm, so I know that stuff is good and clean meat (no hormones, no chemicals). We get our eggs from the same flock (BTW for those that haven't tried duck eggs, you are missing out on a great joy of life its bigger and has more yolk than a chicken egg) and as a family go through about 24 eggs a week. And I buy half a steer from my neighbor every year - that's grass fed. So I think I have the meat angle pretty well hit. I'm eating some form of healthy meat daily.

You guys make a good point. If it just screws me up though then why even consider it? It is just wasted money.
 
Basic cheap creatine works.  No ill effects for me.  I like using it in the winter when I want to be "big lifter" and going off in the summer when I want to be "skinny runner."  Five or ten pounds of weight fluctuation.
 
Jacob - creatine popped up here a little while ago, here is the link that was posted about it:

http://www.defensenutrition.com/blog/2014/07/creatine-the-dark-truth-behind-the-muscle-building-hype

and on the other hand, pop over to examine.com and read what they have to say, pieced together by over 700 referenced articles. A lot of people use it with good things to say, as noted already with the replies. It is a recommended supp for the older lady or gentleman doing any kind of strength training. Being part of that demographic that I am, I have tried it before and didn't really notice any difference.
 
I gain strength faster when I take creatine monohydrate compared to baseline. Creatine can make a big difference for the average lifter that wants to use a high volume short rest routine. I had great success with the bear while taking creatine monohydrate. I was able to complete 20 sets of 5 using the prescribed 30-90 seconds of rest. I was doing about 150-200 reps a week. I bounced back after every training day.

You'd have to eat about 10lbs of steak a day to get the same amount of creatine as a teaspoon of supplement.

I slept just fine. Probably because of the high volume. Are you taking German creapure creatine monohydrate or are you taking some Chinese creatine monohydrate from Wal-Mart that has mercury and other chemicals in it? If not try one of the brands that uses creapure like optimum nutrition's micronized creatine monohydrate. It's cheap and effective for those that respond to creatine.
 
I was checking on this recently as I wanted to try creatine and a friend told me his colleagues had a lot of issues because of creatine consumption.

This article was really helpful: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-creatine

 
 
I think the real concern at least for me is that there is aspartame in creatine and because they put such small amounts in it that they are not required to label it. I would be curious if anyone knows of any Non-GMO, Non-Aspartame Creatine?
 
I just get the straight creatine monohydrate and maybe some beta-alanine. Along with a good fish oil and protein that's really all the supplements I need.
 
Creatine Monohydrate is one of the “safe” bets if your body tolerates it. Basically (dumbing it down sorry) creatine gives you faster ATP-production and gives you higher Power Output. Binds water in the body though.
It is cheap (0.1€ a day) and legal (since it does not affect hormones or other physiological system i.e. blood-system), try it and if you like it start cycling (1 month on, 1 off) it into your training.

To get the same dose of creatine from meat you have to eat several lbs before training, much easier to just take a small spoon in your post-workout meal.

I always have sleep problems when training hard.

PS. I do not take creatine because I do not train hard or heavy at the moment. So I do not feel the need for it.
 
There is also research that suggests that it may have a protective effect on muscle, which comes in to play when you are older, like me, and it may help mitigate negative side effects of statins.  After all, the most important muscle in your body is the one that beats 70 times a minute.
 
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