Creatine is a nutrient produced in your body and stored in your muscles as a “muscle food” that provides quick energy reserves for your muscles and helps your body maintain high levels of fat-burning hormones while lifting weights or doing other intense exercise. A combination of creatine and exercise helps you quickly build muscle and burn fat. Creatine is the only supplement in this chapter that is derived from the food you eat. Best Weight loss pills can be searched over internet. The supplements are available at different prices. It is naturally found in meat, and your body can produce it using protein that you eat. But many studies have shown numerous benefits of giving your body extra creatine through supplementation.
Until recently, creatine has been used mainly by male athletes who are trying to build muscle, but it also is an excellent supplement for woman trying to lose fat while preserving or building muscle. It is not a “steroid” as the media sometimes make it out to be, and will not cause masculinizing effects or make woman overly muscular. Rather, it will help women improve muscle energy levels so that their workouts are better quality and higher intensity.
Creatine also promotes water retention within cells, causing water storage in muscles, which is valuable to dieters who want to build muscle without bloating. Older people also benefit from this effect as it replenishes depleted water within aging cells, with extra hydration, old cells can function more youthfully in terms of their energy production and fat burning. Some people may experience loose stools, but this can be corrected by lowering the dosage. However, this effect is beneficial to relive constipation.
You should buy creatine in the monohydrate form as opposed to citrate or phosphate, because these forms are often more expensive and their effects not as widely researched. Insulin and carbohydrates help your body absorb creatine, so the best time to take it is within your Magic Window Meal. I recommend a dose of 3 to 5 grams of powder mixed with a small amount of juice every day. Other options are the various high-protein meal replacement drinks and bar that have creatine in them. Take creatine only for two months and then take a month off before beginning the two-month cycle again. While there have been no reports of long-term side effects, many supplements work best when you take them in cycles rather than continuously.
Most people notice improvements in their energy and endurance during workouts after two weeks of supplementation, and improvements in their body after one month. Creatine has been researched extensively and has been shown in repeated studies over the last fifteen years to be safe and highly effective. Because creatine creates significant increase in strength, exercisers need to be careful not to overexert themselves, particularly when lifting weight. Remember to use proper movement and form while lifting weights and to stay within your usual weight parameters.
Some supplement companies recommend that you first start with a one week “loading” phase of creatine during which you take 10 to 20 grams of creatine in divided doses for seven days, then 3 to 5 grams a day after that. This loading does help if you want to notice the results immediately, but it is not necessary. Your muscles will be fully loaded with creatine if you take 3 to 5 grams a day for three weeks without loading the higher doses, with the same.
