i’ve treid creatine and have noticed the strength gains however I’m still unsure about how safe it is since its long term risks are unknown and also because researchers have found that it shuts down natural creatine production in the body.
I need to stop usng it daily anyway since i have my 2nd boxing match coming up and need to cut weight
However i was wondering whether there are any benefits of using it infrequently as a replacemnt for creatine rich foods , eg instead of steak? since im in college i can’t afford quality food all the time.
If you can’t afford food, you need to get a job. If it interferes with school, you need to consider going part time while you work. There is more than one way to finish college and work at the same time.
Please cite the research you have seen if you are making claims that go against what the vast majority of researchers and nutritionists purport.
If you need to cut weight, you need to focus on diet. Taking 2-3g of creatine each day will not significantly affect your weight. The same dose after a workout has significant effects. As a boxer you will benefit from the creatine quite a bit, even with such small doses.
A pound of lean ground beef is $2 or less, that is 2-3 meals worth of protein. Add 4 eggs for around a buck and a skinless chicken leg (buy with skin and remove) and a scoop of Metabolic Drive is $5.
That is 165-170g of quality protein, more than enough for cutting. Steel-cut oats and brown rice cost 25 cents for a 100g dry serving - 1 serving of each split into 4 meals provides 125-130g digestible carbs. Another couple dollars will buy a serving of spinach, broccoli, an apple, orange, and a banana. That is around $7.50 per day.
Add fish oil, ground flax, and olive oil and you are still around $8. That means that even ten hours a week work will cover your food costs.
I don’t know where you get your meat, but a pound of lean ground beef is not $2 in the US, at least not anywhere I’ve lived. Its actually about $4-5/pound.
The claim is that frequent, prolonged use of creatine can lead to creatine receptor down-regulation, which seems like a legitimate concern. This can be avoided by cycling; for example, take 3-5 grams/day for 8 weeks and then take 2 weeks off. Repeat.
Creatine is NOT a hormone. There are no fucking “creatine receptors”. Creatine is used to anaerobically generate ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) during the short period immediately after intense contraction which is then used by skeletal muscle for energy transfer within cells.
Seriously. Creatine receptors? Some of you guys should not be giving advice or posting yet. When you feel the urge to hit enter on that post you just typed up, quickly slide yourself away from the keyboard and repeat the mantra “I will not give advice about things I do not understand.”
[quote]Stronghold wrote:
What the fuck are you guys talking about?
Creatine receptors?
Creatine is NOT a hormone. There are no fucking “creatine receptors”. Creatine is used to anaerobically generate ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) during the short period immediately after intense contraction which is then used by skeletal muscle for energy transfer within cells.
Seriously. Creatine receptors? Some of you guys should not be giving advice or posting yet. When you feel the urge to hit enter on that post you just typed up, quickly slide yourself away from the keyboard and repeat the mantra “I will not give advice about things I do not understand.”[/quote]
A receptor is a protein along a cell membrane that binds with other molecules to facilitate cellular activity. Receptors are not selective to HORMONES only. Receptor target molecules may be hormones, but in other cases they may also be protein, antigens, or on a much smaller scale single ions.
For creatine the receptor is the transporter protein: CreaT. Did you think that creatine just magically floods into all your cell membranes without being regulated?
So yes creatine receptors exist in the fact that these transporter proteins bind creatine along the cell membrane and facilitate their movement into the cell for use.
And yes regulation of creatine has been show to occur from creatine supplementation. Although I believe it has been shown to go both ways.
I think we are using different terms for the same thing. I know that creatine crosses the cell membrane via a transporter, but CreaT is not a receptor in that it does not bind to a ligand in order to initiate a change within the cell.
Similar to the way a post office and a radio antennae both receive something, however, goods are received and relayed via the post office and signals are received and responded to via the antennae.
[quote]Stronghold wrote:
What the fuck are you guys talking about?
Creatine receptors?
Creatine is NOT a hormone. There are no fucking “creatine receptors”. Creatine is used to anaerobically generate ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) during the short period immediately after intense contraction which is then used by skeletal muscle for energy transfer within cells.
Seriously. Creatine receptors? Some of you guys should not be giving advice or posting yet. When you feel the urge to hit enter on that post you just typed up, quickly slide yourself away from the keyboard and repeat the mantra “I will not give advice about things I do not understand.”[/quote]
[quote]Stronghold wrote:
I think we are using different terms for the same thing. I know that creatine crosses the cell membrane via a transporter, but CreaT is not a receptor in that it does not bind to a ligand in order to initiate a change within the cell.
Similar to the way a post office and a radio antennae both receive something, however, goods are received and relayed via the post office and signals are received and responded to via the antennae.[/quote]
You seem to have calmed down before you posted this time.
Are you telling me that by your definition, you feel that creatine- which binds to the CreaT transmembrane protein, and then converted to phosphocreatine via creatine kinase…which is then used with ADP to produce ATP is not a change within the cell?
It is in fact a tremendous change, a process in which we depend on daily for energy exchange.
It looks like you need to brush up on some basic biology and figure out what the definition of ligand/receptor is.
Semantics aside…I need to go study for a neuro exam and would rather not argue a moot point.
Oh and one more thing just to simplify it for you definition wise:
Just put a double serving in your sock and let the skin in your foot absorb it. Although, if you’re really serious, get something sterile like Listerine or olive oil and mix it with 1 serving of Creatine and inject it straight into the muscle.
RE: Benefits "…creatine is a natural component in mothers’ milk and that creatine is absolutely necessary for brain development in the human embryo and the baby, as well as for optimal physiological functioning of the adult human body.
Especially the brain, nervous system, the muscles and other organs and cells of high energy expenditure, where the creatine kinase (CK) system is highly expressed and creatine levels are high."
RE: Shutdown "…in the amounts used for increased performance it does. So does, I imagine, eating large amounts of meat which, of course, contains creatine. It’s a natural feedback mechanism.
But what people should be clear is that once creatine supplementation is stopped and the muscle levels then begin to decline, then endogenous synthesis starts again. You have to remember that we are talking about people ingesting possible 20 grams a day at least initially and dropping to a lower maintenance doses of two grams per day.
With normal diets, endogenous synthesis probably contributes one-to-two grams per day. So when you consume more than you normally would have to make, there is no need for the body to synthesize creatine."
[quote]Dubbz wrote:
I don’t know where you get your meat, but a pound of lean ground beef is not $2 in the US, at least not anywhere I’ve lived. Its actually about $4-5/pound.[/quote]
where you shopping? 80% lean beef is no more than 3 dollars a pound even at the more expensive supermarkers. generally it is what the original guy said, 2 dollars a lb.
[quote]cougarenegade wrote:
Dubbz wrote:
I don’t know where you get your meat, but a pound of lean ground beef is not $2 in the US, at least not anywhere I’ve lived. Its actually about $4-5/pound.
where you shopping? 80% lean beef is no more than 3 dollars a pound even at the more expensive supermarkers. generally it is what the original guy said, 2 dollars a lb.[/quote]
in the new york metro area it is 4$lb or more/lb for lean ground beef but yeah it’s a moot point. the point was that nutritious food can be had for cheap if you’re willing to sacrifice variety.