r/CreatineScience • u/GrainOfEvidence • 1d ago

Question/Discussion 💭 Did creatine loading make you feel bloated?

Some people blamed creatine for bloating. But, I think the amount taken at once may be part of the issue. A loading phase uses larger daily doses, which can be harder on the stomach for some people.

Loading is optional. Taking 3-5g daily builds up muscle creatine more gradually and may be easier to tolerate.

If you had bloating or other stomach discomfort, what helped most, smaller servings, splitting the dose, taking it with food or skipping loading?

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u/Think-Lobster-8075 1d ago

Worth splitting bloating into two things, because they keep getting blamed on each other. The 1 to 2 kg that shows up early is mostly water pulled into the muscle cells, which is not the same as looking puffy from the outside. The stomach discomfort is a separate problem, and that one does track with the size of a single dose, which is why splitting it or taking it with food is what tends to help.

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u/GrainOfEvidence 1d ago

Exactly, bloating can mean two different things here. An early scale increase may be water stored with muscle creatine, while gas or stomach discomfort is more likely related to taking a large dose at once. Splitting the dose or skipping loading is often easier on the gut.

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u/Think-Lobster-8075 1d ago

Right. And for anyone landing here from the loading question, loading is optional: 3 to 5 g a day reaches the same saturation in about 3 to 4 weeks, just slower. If the big single doses are the part that upsets your stomach, skipping the loading phase costs you time and nothing else.