One week of creatine: muscle meltdown or minor hiccup?

You won’t make a big difference if you stop taking creatine for a week. Your body and muscles are typically saturated with creatine after about 3 weeks of supplementation at about 5g a day. It also takes 3 weeks for these creatine stores to leave the body once you stop using it. So, realistically if you stop taking creatine for just one week, the muscles still have ample stores. Also, don’t forget that creatine is produced naturally in muscle cells and is also found in many food sources.

A week is not that long

I will categorically state that stopping taking creatine for a week will make no difference.

In fact, if you “feel” like your energy levels or workouts suffer during an off week, that’s probably the placebo effect.

The whole point of taking it is to flood the muscles with creatine, which in turn helps the muscles to produce energy.

This of course can lead to better strength and lean muscle gain.

However, it usually takes about 3 weeks of supplementing 5g a day to flood the muscles with creatine.

This also explains why there is a loading phase, basically it allows you to get there faster.

Therefore, the goal is to have your muscles flooded with creatine and then go back to taking a maintenance dose of 3-5 g a day.

Now, the very fact that yours the muscles are flooded with creatine meaning they cannot be depleted of their stores overnight.

In fact, your creatine stores will not begin to deplete until at least 2 weeks after you stop taking it.

For most lifters who have taken the recommended dose, it will take 3 weeks for the creatine stores to completely leave the body.

That said, depending on how much you took, this could take up to 4-6 weeks.

In other words, not taking creatine for a week will make very little difference.

You should also remember that the muscles naturally produce a basic level of 1-2g of creatine per day anyway.

In addition, many foods, especially red meat and fish, have a high level of creatine, which means that you can naturally “supplement” it with nutrition.

Don’t believe the creatine hype

You will often hear that if you stop taking creatine for a day or two, never mind a week, it will have an effect on you.

Some will say that you will lose a little weight, which is mainly water weight, as the muscles become less saturated.

Then there are those who say their strength dropped within a few days of stopping taking creatine.

And there are even people who will tell you that they lose size and muscle in the space of a week.

As I have already said, if your muscles are saturated from creatine supplementation, it will take at least 2 weeks until any form of creatine depletion begins to occur.

So, if someone noticed immediate differences, this is either the placebo effect once again, or simply that their muscles are not saturated with creatine in the first place.

That being said, it is absolutely ridiculous to claim that you have lost size or strength in a couple of days.

In fact, as I’m sure you realize, your gains are actually made outside of the gym while you’re recovering.

Therefore, your muscles repair themselves and grow back bigger and stronger when you are not working out.

The “vacation effect”

This also explains why you can often return from a vacation looking in better shape than when you left.

You knew you were going on vacation and so your training levels went through the roof in anticipation.

In fact, you were close to overtraining.

Then spend a week or two eating, drinking, relaxing, and maybe hitting the hotel gym no more than a couple of times a week.

Yet somehow you look fantastic.

So anyone who says that stopping creatine for a few days or a week has a severe impact on size and strength is talking nonsense.

I would even go so far as to say that the companies that manufacture and sell creatine will specifically tell you not to miss a day.

To me, this is nothing more than marketing hype just to keep buying and taking more creatine.

Don’t believe the hype.

Should you cycle creatine?

I read so much confusing and conflicting information about creatine that it is enough to stop taking it altogether.

And sorry if I added to your troubles.

Once again, there will be people who swear creatine cyclingand those who believe that there is nothing wrong with taking it permanently.

Actually, I think this comes down to personal choice, and how your body reacts to creatine.

You will often hear that you should load up on creatine for a week, take it for another 7-10 weeks at maintenance, and then have a week or two off.

The reason for this is that your body will typically adapt to the supplementation, so it’s a good idea to reset everything internally, and then go back to taking creatine again.

So there are people who will tell you that there is no need to cycle creatine.

Well, actually, there is no need to completely stop taking creatine (because you will still be cycling somehow).

This involved taking a higher dose, say 10g, for about 4-5 days before returning to maintenance levels once again.

In effect, your body has adapted, so you increase the levels to literally confuse the body.

I’ve always preferred to adopt a creatine cycle, but that’s just me.

What happens if you stop taking creatine altogether?

The decision to stop creatine supplementation brings about a series of physiological changes, especially if your body has responded in a positive way.

It is estimated that up to 30% of people are “creatine non-responders”, meaning that creatine has no effect on them.

So, if you are one of the 30% of people, then stopping creatine supplementation will not make a bit of difference.

In principle, one of the most noticeable effects is the reduction of water retention in muscle cells.

Creatine has the property of enhancing the absorption of water in the muscles, contributing to their fuller appearance and a slight increase in weight.

When you stop supplementation, this effect reverses, leading to a decrease in muscle mass and possibly the minor reduction in overall weight due to water loss.

Beyond the immediate visual and weight changes, stopping creatine can affect your performance, especially in activities that require quick bursts of energy or high-intensity effort.

Creatine plays a crucial role in the rapid recovery of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the primary energy carrier in cells, which is especially vital during short and intense physical activities.

Without the extra boost from supplementation, you may find a slight drop in your ability to sustain peak performance levels, affecting your strength, power, and recovery speed between workouts.

🚫 Stop creatine? What to expect 🚫
Creatine Non-Responders	Up to 30% of people do not see any effect from creatine, so it has no impact.
Time to clear the creatine stores	3-6 weeks for most individuals.
Immediate Effects	Water weight loss and muscle fullness.
Long term effects	Potential reduction in strength and power, affecting gym performance.
Brought to you by mybodyweightexercises.com 💪

Your body will adapt eventually

However, the human body is remarkably adaptable.

In a typical period of three to six weeks, your body adapts to the absence of additional creatine.

The synthesis of natural creatine in the body, accompanied by dietary sources, begins to compensate, although not to the levels obtained with supplementation.

This adaptation phase varies between individuals, but eventually leads to a stabilization of performance metrics and physical capabilities at pre-supplementation levels.

It is also worth noting that the effects of stopping creatine supplementation are not permanent.

If you choose to reintroduce creatine into your regimen, the previous benefits, such as improved water retention in the muscles, better high-intensity performance and faster recovery, can be found.

This reversible nature highlights the effectiveness of creatine as a supplement and the body’s ability to adapt to dietary changes.

So, while stopping creatine supplementation is likely to lead to some noticeable changes, especially for those who initially respond well to it, these adjustments are part of a natural process as the body returns to its baseline state. .

Understanding these changes can help you manage expectations and maintain a balanced approach to fitness and supplementation strategy.

Final thoughts

So, I hope you have a better idea of ​​what happens when you stop taking creatine for a week.

Actually, very little.

It takes at least 2 weeks for your creatine stores to start depleting, and up to 3 weeks (4-6 weeks in some cases) for creatine to completely leave the body.

There is a lot of marketing hype that says you should not miss a day of creatine supplementation.

However, once the muscles are saturated, you have nothing to worry about for a while.

I recently discussed another popular question when it comes to supplements, namely, it is ok to take creatine without protein.