I am currently lifting and dieting to try and lose weight and have been advised to give creatine a try. I've read briefly about its benefits in terms of increased strength and potential for shorter rest periods between workouts. I've also been told that creatine is much more valuable to vegetarians (which I am) than non-vegetarians, as most creatine comes from animal sources (which are obv. not available to us).

A few months back, when I first went shopping for supplements (protein powder, glutamine, multivitamin type stuff), I was given some free creatine powder as a result of spending more than a certain amount at the store. I didn't know what it was then, so I threw it in a cupboard and it's been collecting dust for a few months. I just got it out now and had a look at the nutrition information. Per scoop, there's 5.25g of creatine monohydrate, and 32g of sugars. Is the sugar necessary? During the loading phase the container advocates 4 scoops a day for 5 days; if I do this, I'll be consuming over this period nearly two thirds of a kilo of sugar. I can't help but think that this isn't a good idea if my main goal with lifting is to try and lose weight?

Is there a valid reason for there being so much dextrose in the supplement, or should I throw this creatine away and buy some other brand with less sugars?

Thanks,
s0phonax

32 gr of sugar 4x a day would not be advisable, especially on a cut. There are other variables involved also, but for the most part, 2.5 - 5 gr of creatine a day will allow you to reach saturation point in several weeks, if not sooner. I'd invest in a micronized creatine monohydrate from a reputable source that doesn't get their raw materials from China. This goes for Bcaa's as well.

mastover,

Thanks for your response. If I could ask a couple follow-on questions;

Firstly, looking at the contents of some other creatine supplements on the internet, I see that some of them contain comparable amounts of dextrose or maltodextrin. Quick google search indicates that this is to aid muscle uptake. Is the muscle-uptake benefit small enough that I should go for a creatine supplement that has no sugars at all while I'm trying to lose weight?

Secondly,

I'd invest in a micronized creatine monohydrate from a reputable source

By this, do you mean something like the following linked product;
http://www.muscle-shop.co.uk/inner-armour-micronized-creatine-monohydrate/nutrition/#productContent
...ie, pure creatine monohydrate, nothing added at all?

(I apologise if it seems like I'm asking you to spell it out very slowly for me but I'm still new to this supplementing business :)).

Many thanks,
s0phonax

I don't know what your diet is like. This is way more important than creatine. The dextrose will create an insulin spike. At most, a crap shoot. If enhanced absorption into muscle is the goal, then I wouldn't rely so much on dextrose. The plain creatine mono in water or in a protein shake after training would work well. On non-lifting days, if you wish to do the creatine, have it along with your heaviest carb meal.

I don't know what your diet is like. This is way more important than creatine.

For the last few weeks I've been working on rectifying the diet. As you can probably tell from my last post here;
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=39659
...I didn't really know what I was doing when I started out.

Right now I'm eating about 1800-2000kcal/day, which Fitday tells me is composed of 44% protein, 44% carbohydrate, 12% fat. I don't know if that changes your answer any.

The plain creatine mono in water or in a protein shake after training would work well. On non-lifting days, if you wish to do the creatine, have it along with your heaviest carb meal.

That's good to know. I'll pick up some plain creatine monohydrate today and start using that.

Thanks for your help,
s0phonax