I take 5g/day, through better part of last 9-12 months (don't remember when I started).

No noticeable cognitive difference/improvement. And the more I've researched creatine the less convinced I am that there are reliable conclusions about cognitive impacts.

Significant physical changes! But other than the pure aesthetics, it's hard to say that my strength increases are tied to creatine or instead a solid routine, plan, diet, and progressive overload. Probably some all of above.

I also take whey protein isolate (20-25g at least once a day)

The Nootropic space fascinates me. A few observations:

- Not sure if caffeine is considered nootropic. Caffeine definitely makes a difference.

- Unclear if placebo effect or real, L-theanine seems to help with calm and focus.

- Otherwise, when it comes to what I'm sure alters my state/body/etc. - drugs! And I'm not suggesting anything specific but my point is the effects are obvious/real/etc. vs. much of the supplement space that suffers from very murky conclusions (imo).

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gtowey 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

It's my understanding that creatine doesn't directly make you stronger, instead it gives your muscles the ability to work a bit longer. This means you can do more strength training per session which is the part which makes you stronger.

	▲	Sammi 2 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Feeling like you can confidently take one more rep does feel like being stronger. Sure you're not stronger in the sense that you can lift more weight per rep, but being able to do more heavy reps is also a valid way to define feeling stronger.
	▲	colechristensen 3 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Creatine also causes your muscles to retain a little bit more water making them appear larger.
	▲	grvdrm 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		[dead]

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sdevonoes 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Im curious, since I don’t drink coffee nor take protein supplements and the like, my question is: is the plan you keep taking what you take, let’s say, “forever”? Because the moment you stop taking, wouldn’t you notice a big drop?

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andriy_koval 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I personally use coffee as a way to manage excessive appetite, so I see I will continue using it forever.

And protein is just convenient way to hit daily protein intake goals for someone doing lots of sports.

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0xmattf 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> Because the moment you stop taking, wouldn’t you notice a big drop?

No. They're not steroids.

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icegreentea2 3 days ago | parent [-]

Well, for caffeine you might... at least in the short term.

But to be more specific:

* Protein supplements make it easier for your body to get the protein required for whatever demand you're putting on it. You need higher protein intake to growth than to sustain muscle. If you were on protein supplementation during a growth phase, and then transitioned to a maintain, and stopped supplementing, while making sure your actual diet was sufficient, then you could in principle maintain your muscle mass with no problem. The extrapolation of this is that in principle, you could always replace protein supplements with "real food", regardless of phase and get pretty much the same benefits. There may be lifestyle/ease/cost tradeoffs.

* Creatine supplementation helps your body get "a little extra" work done. The direct boost that creatine grants you is real, but also like... small. I think it's often visualized as "it helps you get that one extra rep/half rep". Where creatine pays off is that by sustainably helping you get that one extra rep, it helps create greater demand on your body over time, therefore promoting more growth. If you stopped creatine supplementation, you would probably lose that "extra rep", but all the extra growth that you got would be locked in.

* Caffeine... well, that's far more psychological. Leaving the world of sports, as a knowledge worker, I've committed myself to my addiction. The withdrawal is real, and even if I worked through the headache, I definitely do not feel as sharp.

	▲	grvdrm 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		I am experimenting with less caffeine - not a total cut. Nothing conclusive to report but my goal is to cut somewhat to understand how much caffeine is driving anxious behaviors.