What will happen if we take creatine daily? Decoding the Science

October 16, 2025 •

5 min read

Creatine is one of the most widely researched and effective nutritional supplements available, with extensive studies supporting its use for enhanced performance and muscle growth. Here we explain exactly what will happen if we take creatine daily, diving into the key benefits, potential drawbacks, and long-term safety.

Quick Summary

Daily creatine consumption systematically increases the body's energy reserves in muscles and the brain. It enhances high-intensity exercise performance and supports muscle growth and cognitive health, with minimal risk for healthy individuals who adhere to recommended usages.

Key Points

Enhanced Performance: Daily creatine supplementation boosts muscle energy stores, increasing strength and power for high-intensity exercise.
Muscle Growth: Consistent intake, combined with resistance training, effectively promotes increased lean muscle mass over time.
Brain Health: Evidence suggests creatine can support cognitive function, improving memory and reducing mental fatigue, particularly under metabolic stress.
Temporary Water Retention: Initial weight gain from creatine is due to temporary water retention in muscles, not fat, and typically subsides after a few weeks.
Generally Safe: When taken at recommended daily usage, creatine is safe for most healthy individuals and is well-tolerated with minimal side effects.
Consistency is Key: Taking creatine daily, even on rest days, is more important for maintaining saturated muscle stores than the precise timing of intake.
Mitigate Side Effects: Digestive issues can often be avoided by skipping the loading phase and drinking plenty of water.

The Science Behind Daily Creatine Supplementation

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound synthesized in the body from amino acids and is also found in protein-rich foods like meat and fish. Approximately 95% of the body's creatine is stored in the muscles, with the remainder in the brain and other organs. When we take creatine daily, we work to fully saturate these muscle creatine stores, which are typically only 60-80% full from diet alone.

How Your Body Uses Creatine

Creatine's primary role is to help regenerate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body's main energy currency. During short, high-intensity exercise, your body relies on phosphocreatine to quickly create new ATP. By increasing phosphocreatine stores with daily supplementation, you can enhance your ability to produce energy for powerful, explosive movements, leading to improved athletic performance. This continuous energy availability is the driving force behind most of the observed benefits of creatine.

The Proven Benefits of Consistent Creatine Intake

For those who engage in regular resistance training, consistent daily creatine intake offers a range of well-documented benefits:

Enhanced Muscle Growth: Creatine is a highly effective supplement for increasing muscle mass, especially when combined with weightlifting. It helps you perform more work during reps, leading to greater gains in strength and muscle over time. The initial weight gain is primarily water, but this sets the stage for long-term muscle hypertrophy.
Increased Strength and Power: Users consistently report improvements in maximum strength and power output during high-intensity, short-duration activities like sprinting and weightlifting. This allows you to lift heavier and push harder, which directly translates to bigger and stronger muscles.
Improved Exercise Performance: By ensuring a steady supply of energy (ATP), daily supplementation improves endurance and overall performance during intense workout sessions. This leads to more efficient training and better results.
Accelerated Muscle Recovery: Creatine can help speed up the recovery process after intense exercise. It aids in repairing micro-tears in muscle fibers and reduces markers of muscle damage and soreness.
Boosted Cognitive Function: Beyond its effects on physical performance, creatine also supports brain health. It aids in providing energy to brain cells and can improve memory, attention, and processing speed, particularly under conditions of stress or sleep deprivation. This benefit is particularly noted in groups with lower initial creatine levels, like vegetarians.

Understanding Potential Side Effects

While creatine is generally considered one of the safest supplements, understanding potential side effects is important. Fortunately, most concerns are often due to misinformation or improper usage.

Temporary Water Retention: This is a very common initial effect, especially during a loading phase. Creatine is osmotically active, meaning it pulls water into your muscle cells. This can lead to a slight, temporary increase in body weight and a "puffy" appearance in the first week or two. This is a normal physiological response and is not fat gain. Drinking plenty of water can help manage it.
Gastrointestinal Distress: Taking creatine, particularly during a loading phase, can sometimes cause minor digestive issues like bloating, diarrhea, or nausea. Taking a lower, consistent daily usage can help mitigate this risk.
Kidney Health: The myth that creatine harms the kidneys has been widely debunked by numerous studies in healthy individuals. Creatine supplementation does lead to a benign increase in blood creatinine levels, a waste product measured in kidney function tests, but this does not indicate damage. However, those with pre-existing kidney conditions should consult a doctor before starting supplementation.

Usage Protocol for Daily Use

For those new to supplementation, two common approaches exist:

Loading Phase: Involves taking a higher amount, split into multiple servings, for a few days to rapidly saturate muscles. This leads to quicker results but also increases the likelihood of temporary water retention and digestive upset.
Maintenance Usage: Skipping the loading phase and taking a steady, lower amount daily is also highly effective. It takes longer to fully saturate muscle stores (around 28 days) but achieves the same result with a lower risk of side effects.

Consistency is key regardless of the approach. It's important to take creatine daily, including on rest days, to maintain elevated creatine levels in your muscles.

Expected Outcomes of Daily Creatine Supplementation

Here is a comparison of what you can expect when starting and continuing daily creatine use:


Aspect	Initial Phase (1-2 Weeks)	Long-Term (1+ Months)
Body Weight	Temporary increase (1-2%) due to water retention within muscles.	Gradual increase from lean muscle mass gained through training.
Muscle Appearance	Fuller, more voluminous muscles from cellular hydration.	Increased muscle size and definition from consistent training and growth.
Strength & Performance	Can see rapid improvements during an optional loading phase.	Continued, steady gains in strength and power from enhanced energy capacity.
Energy Levels	Improved energy for high-intensity exercise due to replenished ATP.	Sustained higher energy availability for intense bursts of activity.
Side Effects	Higher risk of bloating or minor digestive upset, especially with loading.	Side effects generally subside or are minimal once body adjusts.

What if You Stop Taking Creatine?

When you stop daily supplementation, your muscle creatine levels will gradually return to baseline over several weeks. You may experience some temporary side effects as your body adjusts to the lower creatine levels, but these are not drastic and do not mean you have lost your hard-earned muscle.

Common effects of stopping include:

Weight Loss: A small amount of weight loss is expected due to the shedding of intracellular water weight, not a loss of muscle mass.
Slight Performance Drop: You might notice a small reduction in maximum strength or high-intensity endurance as your muscle energy reserves decrease.
No Long-Term Loss: As long as you maintain your regular training and a healthy diet, your long-term muscle gains will not disappear.

Conclusion: The Bottom Line on Daily Creatine

Taking creatine daily is a highly effective and safe strategy for most healthy adults seeking to improve athletic performance, build muscle, and support cognitive function. The wealth of scientific evidence overwhelmingly confirms its benefits, with side effects being generally mild, temporary, and often related to usage during a loading phase. For optimal results, a consistent daily usage is recommended, and while initial water retention is normal, the long-term gains in strength and lean muscle mass are significant. It is always wise to consult a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions. Given its proven track record, affordability, and extensive benefits, daily creatine supplementation is a powerful tool for enhancing your fitness journey.

For more in-depth research, consult the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, research confirms that daily creatine supplementation is safe for most healthy people when taken at recommended usages, even for extended periods of several years.

Creatine can cause a temporary increase in body weight and a feeling of bloating during the initial loading phase due to water retention in the muscles. This is not fat gain and typically resolves within a couple of weeks.

This is a common myth. Extensive studies show that creatine supplementation does not harm kidney function in healthy individuals. However, people with pre-existing kidney disease should consult a doctor before use.

When you stop, your muscle creatine levels will gradually decline over a few weeks. You may lose some water weight and experience a minor drop in high-intensity performance, but you will not lose significant muscle mass as long as you continue training.

A loading phase can saturate muscles faster, leading to quicker results. However, it is not essential, as a consistent daily usage will achieve the same results over a slightly longer period (around 28 days) with less risk of side effects.

While some studies suggest taking it near a workout (either before or after) might be slightly more beneficial, consistency is the most important factor. Taking it at the same time each day helps maintain muscle saturation.

While generally safe for healthy adults, it is recommended to consult a healthcare professional before starting creatine, especially for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions or those taking medications.