Man who's taken 5g of creatine every day for a year reveals what happened when he stopped for a month
A man who took 5g of the supplement creatine every day for a year has opened up about what happened when he stopped taking the supplement.
Pierre Dalati spent a full year taking 5g of creatine every day, saying that over the first six months of this he gained around five pounds of lean muscle mass.
Not only that, but he explained that once he reduced his diet in an effort to lose some weight he was still able to maintain the muscles that he had gained.
The YouTuber went on to explain how it impacted his body when he stopped taking it, as well as explaining if he experienced 'withdrawals' from it.
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He also spoke about how it impacted on his muscle mass overall, compared to when he had been taking the supplement as part of his routine.
Dalati said that anyone who wants to use the supplement sticks to the recommended daily dose of 5g.
Nonetheless, he did suggest that taking more may produce some cognitive benefits, though he did also seem to avoid some of the not so positive side effects of taking creatine.
In a video shared to his channel, the YouTuber explained exactly how things played out when he decided to not use the supplement for one month.
'It's not like you'll suddenly shrink or lose your muscles overnight'
For those wondering whether the muscles you got thanks to creatine will shrivel up immediately, fear not.
Pierre explained that while 'your muscle stores slowly go back to the baseline after a few weeks', they weren't going to 'suddenly shrink' or disappear right away.
However, he did notice that his strength did reduce over time and he lost a 'fuller look' from his muscles, as well as a dip in his muscle recovery from exercising.
Pierre had said that when he was on creatine, he found he could do more reps before hitting a point of failure, and his recovery was better, so he noticed that without it for a month, he lost some of that ability.
On the bright side, he found that there were 'no withdrawals' or anything addictive about creatine.
"Throughout my whole year, I personally cycled off of it for a whole month just to see how it would affect me.
"And in reality, I was completely fine.
"But yes, I did notice that my strength went down a bit and also that cognitive boost that I was getting, I wasn't experiencing it as much, especially on the days where I wasn't sleeping as good."
Likewise, Pierre also delved into the changes he noticed in his body after starting creatine.
'You actually start noticing results after two to four weeks'
Pierre explained that he was seeing results after the first couple of weeks. He said: "You actually start noticing results after two to four weeks because that's when your muscle creatine gets saturated, meaning your muscles absorbed all the creatine they can.
"And then what I noticed after the first two to four weeks instantly is better recovery, better muscle endurance.
"So, for example, with an exercise that I was able to do eight reps, I was now able to do 12 to 13 reps. Faster recovery, improved cognitive functions
"Even when I'm relaxed, and I'm not pumped up, my muscles just look big. They look good."
Joe Harker