u/pyrrhicsciamachy

note: please do not read this and avoid creatine, its totally worth trying out! majority of people respond very well to it

i took 5g creatine for 7 months and while i did feel stronger, it made me retain water in a negative way. however, i didn't realize creatine was the culprit until i went on vacation and stopped taking it. i didn't restart creatine immediately, and at the end of my creatine-less 6 weeks i felt INCREDIBLY snatched and realized i was suddenly down 3 pants sizes and my face stopped being puffy in the mornings. when i restarted creatine, i noticed quite a bit of bloating, and by week 4 of restarting i was back to my original pants size. its been 2 weeks since i stopped and im gradually losing all that water retention again.

anyway i might restart again at 3g if im looking to do a light bulk, but otherwise its so much more motivating to lose all the water retention and actually see the results come in each week. i wish i didn't have to choose one or the other!!

I've lost around 10lbs so far and it has been great to see the progress. The only issue is that I can't seem to eat a small portion of treats. I end up craving more when I try to portion things. Should I just do a full out cheat day once a month? I'm also worried that may make everything go sideways haha.

Right now I haven't been eating any treats at all and while it feels just okay, I'd love to eat a treat on occasion and not get worse cravings. I want this to be sustainable, but I can't figure out how to test things out without getting off track.

edit: to add more detail, I'm saying that I have manageable cravings during a cut if I only eat meals. When I add treats of any size my cravings get unmanageable at times. With the current advice, it seems like an occasional big treat will work best for me in the long run (?)

I know that research is supposed to be looked at in context and one single study can't tell the entire story, but if someone said they only wanted to read one paper to entertain the idea of why its still so bad for you, which one would it be?

I've noticed that there have been a handful of people in my life and on this sub that are slowly realizing what is happening and thinking or actually masking/taking precautions. I'm wondering how to best welcome them? I don't want to overload them with info and scare them away, but also want to equip them well if they are open to it. is there perhaps an updated guide that is aimed towards this group? If you are newer to CC please chime in and let us support you.

will have to wait a while to see a professional, so thought I'd ask for tips for the time being. I've increased my arm exercises (pull ups, dips, a bunch of elbow bending) a lot the past few months, and I've noticed weird numbness this past month. I have a bad habit of leaning on my right elbow/arm. I remember knocking my right elbow quite badly twice in my life. Is it reversible if get myself to stop doing these things? is it possible to do any sort of arm exercises right now?