Fitness instructor explains three side effects that happen after going cold turkey on creatine

A fitness influencer has answered some concerns about what might happen when someone comes off creatine.

Creatine is a natural substance that our bodies use to help our skeletal muscles, that's the ones which are anchored to bones, contract, which is quite important as we rely on this to be able to move our bodies.

However some people also take creatine supplements as part of a health and fitness regimen to help them with doing exercises.

Eric Roberts, who uses the name ericrobertsfitness on TikTok, took to the social media platform with a video answering one question that many people have about using the supplements as part of their routine.

This is of course what happens when someone stops using creatine, is there a big knock-on effect?

Many people use creatine as a supplement (Jordi Janau/Getty)

Roberts explained that 'at first, nothing will happen'. This is because that at the moment that you stop using it your muscles will be 'saturated with the creatine', and it will take a little time for it to fully leave your system.

That means that for a short period you will still have the effects of taking the supplement, but over time as it leaves your body that will change.

"In the upcoming weeks after you stop taking it your muscles will go back down to their normal levels that they were before you started taking creatine," he said.

He added: "They're not gonna go below."

The fitness instructor went on to explain that you may find that as the substance leaves your system, some of the reps in your workout may start to become 'a little bit more challenging'.

"You may feel that you can't push as hard or push as heavy of weight," he said.

The fitness influencer also said that someone may also find that they lose 'a couple of pounds of water weight on the scale'.

Roberts then addressed one of the big questions that people might have when they stop using creatine as part of their fitness regimen - could someone lose progress just by stopping taking creatine?

Creatine is not suitable for everyone to take (Lightspruch/Getty)

The answer he gave to this was very simple - no.

"If you've gained let's say 10 pounds of muscle while taking creatine, you're not gonna lose all 10 of those pounds once you stop," he explained.

Roberts clarified that someone might lose 'a bit of strength' due to not being able to 'push those last one to two reps.

However, he said that in general you 'just keep going on with your life'.

Cleveland Clinic has explained that creatine supplements are safe for most people to take, with a few exceptions.

The site advises against taking creatine supplements if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, have kidney or liver disease, or have diabetes.

It added that if you have bipolar disorder the supplements could also increase the risk of manic episodes.