Do You Actually Need Creatine?

 

Hey hey beautiful human!

Creatine is everywhere right now. Powders, gummies, influencers talking about it like it is the missing piece to finally getting stronger, building muscle, and seeing results.

And when something shows up that often, it is easy to start wondering if you are falling behind by not taking it too.

But here is the truth. Creatine is not a magic fix, and it is not something you need in order to see results. 

In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I break down what creatine actually is, how it works in your body, and whether it is something that makes sense for you based on your goals, your routine, and your current season of life.

What’s Discussed:

  • What creatine actually is and why your body already produces it

  • Why women often respond well to creatine supplementation

  • How creatine helps improve strength, performance, and workout output

  • The truth about muscle building and why creatine supports the process, not replaces it

  • How creatine can benefit your metabolism and long-term health

  • The surprising brain benefits of creatine, especially during stressful or busy seasons

  • How creatine may support energy during certain phases of your cycle

  • Why the scale may go up at first and what that actually means

If you have been seeing creatine everywhere and wondering if you should start taking it, this episode will help you make a clear, confident decision without pressure or confusion.

Ready to have every 30-minute session pre-planned, pre-programmed, and built around exactly this structure? Head to movementwithjulie.com and get started inside the Movement With Julie app. 

If you loved this episode, you'll also love: 325: Why You Need Protein to Build the Body You Want. And once you know why, Episode 371: 8 High Protein Recipes for Hitting Your Macros will give you the practical tools to actually hit your target every day.

If you want more from me, be sure to check out… 

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Transcript

(0:00) Hey, hey beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, (0:06) but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Reel with me, Julie Ledbetter.

(0:13) I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. (0:19) Stay tuned if you're ready to Embrace Your Reel. Let's get it, let's go! (0:32) Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode on the Embrace Your Podcast.

(0:37) I'm so glad that you're here today because this is something that I know so many of you guys have been seeing lately and wondering about. (0:43) Creatine is literally everywhere. Creatine in a powder form, creatine in a gummy form, creatine this, creatine that.

(0:49) You're likely seeing so many influencers talk about it. If you're hearing about it in your workouts, (0:54) you're seeing people say it's the missing piece to get stronger, building muscle, finally see results. (0:57) And when something starts popping up that much, it's really easy to feel like you're missing something (1:02) if you're not doing it too.

And so that's why I wanted to create this episode. I want to give (1:06) you the real honest grounded perspective so that you can make the best decision for you without (1:11) feeling pressured or confused. I'm just going to start right into it and get right into the basics (1:16) because I think a lot of the confusion around creatine comes from not actually understanding (1:22) what it is.

So creatine is a natural compound that your body already makes on its own and you also (1:28) get a small amount of it from foods like meat and fish. It's stored in your muscles and used as a (1:33) quick source of energy when you're doing short intense movements like resistance training or (1:38) anything that requires strength and power. So when you take creatine as a supplement, (1:42) you're not putting something foreign into your body.

You're simply just increasing what your (1:46) body already has available to use and that's important to understand because creatine has (1:51) somehow gotten this reputation of being something extreme or only for bodybuilders when in reality (1:57) it's actually one of the most researched and well-supported supplements out there. (2:01) Now here's where I want to give you my personal perspective. I did not take creatine for the (2:07) longest time.

I'm telling you well I'm 35 and I just started taking it at the end of last year. (2:14) So for about 35, well that was when I was 35, so 35 years of my life I did not take creatine. (2:20) I now take it and I am a big believer in it.

I was scared of taking it for the longest time (2:26) and then I got pregnant and I was like I don't really want to start creatine when I'm pregnant (2:29) and then I was postpartum. I was like I don't want to start creatine when I'm postpartum (2:33) and then when I really started getting back into it post-baby I was like okay now's kind of the (2:38) time that if I want to start taking creatine I should do it and I love it. I absolutely love (2:45) creatine but I kind of want to share seven things that you should know about creatine (2:49) because again when you see it everywhere and you don't really know a lot about it for me I was like (2:54) oh it's only for bodybuilders.

I even said that you know well into my journey where I knew it (3:00) wasn't just for bodybuilders but in my mind I'm like I don't need creatine and I'm telling you (3:05) now that I'm taking it I absolutely love it but I'm also not going to pressure you to take it (3:10) because I went 35 years I got in some of the best shapes of my life throughout my seasons (3:14) without taking creatine so you can absolutely do that but I'm just telling you now being a mom (3:20) having to juggle so many things which will go into kind of the brain benefits of creatine (3:24) later in today's episode but that alone I am just a firm believer in creatine now. (3:30) Number one women actually tend to respond really well to creatine so one thing that doesn't get (3:35) talked about enough in my opinion is that women naturally have lower creatine stores than men (3:41) which means when you start supplementing your body oftentimes responds really well to it so if you've (3:46) ever felt like supplements are hit or miss this one is where a lot of women do notice a difference (3:51) especially in their workouts. Number two it helps you get more out of your workouts in a very real (3:56) tangible way so creatine helps your body produce energy faster during short intense efforts which (4:02) is exactly what resistance training is so what that looks like in real life is that you might (4:08) be able to push one or two more reps hold your strength a little longer not feel as fatigued (4:13) as quickly and that might not sound like a big deal but over time those small improvements are (4:17) what really lead to bigger results.

Number three it supports muscle building by help you train (4:23) better not by doing the work for you so creatine is not building muscle for you and I want to be (4:27) really clear about that. What it does do is support your ability to train at a higher level (4:32) and when you combine that with consistency and proper nutrition that's what leads to more lean (4:37) muscle over time so it's supporting the process not replacing it. Number four it can actually (4:42) support your metabolism and long-term health through muscle so when you build more muscle (4:46) your body becomes more metabolically active your blood sugar regulation improves and your body is (4:52) just more supported overall so if anything that helps you build and maintain muscle especially (4:56) as a woman it is something that you're going to benefit long term not just how you look but how (5:01) your body actually functions.

Number five there are benefits beyond just your workouts especially (5:06) for your brain like I was talking about earlier this is something personally that surprised me (5:11) when I first learned about it but creatine is also used by your brain for energy so there is (5:17) growing research showing that it can help with things like memory focus mental processing (5:22) especially when you're stressed or not getting enough sleep or just like like shredded thin (5:27) right like you have so many different focuses that you're trying to do in an in a given (5:31) hour or a given day and I know that people listening to this podcast are like me like you're (5:37) juggling a lot and so that is something to pay attention to and again creatine is one of the (5:42) most research supplements on the market it is the most research supplement on the market (5:47) and there are so many studies coming out about how it is amazing for your brain. Number six it (5:53) may help support you during certain phases of your cycle so this there is some emerging (5:57) research that shows that creatine may help with energy and performance during (6:02) phases of your cycle where you might normally feel a dip especially in your luteal phase (6:07) this is still being studied but it's one of the reasons creatine is becoming more (6:11) relevant in conversations around women's health and last but not least number seven this is (6:16) important but the scale might go up at first that is completely normal and this is something (6:21) that I really want you to know ahead of time so that doesn't throw you off but when you (6:25) start taking creatine your muscles hold on to a little bit more water and that can cause the (6:30) scale to go up slightly this is not facking it's actually water being stored in your muscle cells (6:34) to support performance and recovery which is a good thing even if it feels confusing at first (6:40) I want to end this episode again by bringing you back to what actually matters most because (6:45) I never want you to walk away from a conversation feeling like thinking that this supplement (6:49) is the thing standing between you and the results that you want again creatine is a tool it's not (6:57) the mover so what is going to move your results is resistance training and nutrition those are the (7:03) two things that are truly going to change your body whether the goal is to build muscle feel (7:07) stronger improve your metabolism achieve that lean toned look and again this is where I think so (7:12) many women get distracted it's easy to start wondering like do I need the right supplement (7:16) or the next best thing when the biggest progress always comes from consistently showing up to the (7:23) basics it comes from challenging your muscles through resistance training and then supporting (7:27) the work by actually fueling your body with enough protein carbs and fats because if you're (7:32) not resistance training your body does not have a reason to build muscle and if you're training (7:36) but not fueling your body properly you're making it so much harder for you to see results and (7:40) this is why I want to be so clear that creatine yes can support those things but it does not (7:45) replace them it is not going to make or break results if those two things are not dialed in (7:50) but if you are consistent with your workouts and your nutrition then yes creatine can definitely (7:55) be a nice addition that helps move the needle over time so again it can be nice to have but (8:00) it is not something that you absolutely need to take results I personally do the powder it I (8:05) do five grams every single day I just put it into my shake I don't even know that it's in there (8:10) honestly again I started taking it last fall Josh was encouraging me as I was really starting (8:16) to get more and more consistent with my nutrition and dialing in my workouts postpartum I feel like (8:22) 15 to 18 months is when I really started to like hit my jive and now that I'm about 22 months (8:27) postpartum like I am the strongest that I have for sure been in years I would say I am even (8:35) stronger than I was pre having Blake which was one of the best shapes of my life that I was (8:40) in was right before I had Blake right before I got pregnant with Blake I was in one of my strongest (8:45) physiques that I was ever in and I am back there and I feel stronger than I was even before then (8:52) and I do believe that creatine is definitely one of the reasons why again I will say that my workouts (8:58) are dialed in and my nutrition is dialed in and my hydration is dialed in that is another thing (9:02) I was not focused on hydration when I first started creatine and I definitely did notice (9:08) a spike in the scale when I started taking creatine but when I started getting regular (9:14) with at least 120 ounces of water a day at least 100 but I really try to aim for 120 ounces of (9:20) water a day that's when I really started to see the biggest results and again just over time (9:25) slowly just chipping away week after week hitting my macros hitting my workouts and I just I feel (9:32) so strong I feel unstoppable and I'm telling you mommy strong is on a whole other level but anyways (9:38) if this episode was helpful for you I also think that you will love episode 325 why you need (9:45) protein to build the body that you want creatine and protein work hand in hand and that episode is (9:49) going to give you kind of the full picture on fueling the muscle that you're working so hard (9:52) to build the link for that is in the show notes that is all that I have for today's episode go (9:58) get yourself some creatine if you got your nutrition and your workout styled in (10:02) I love you so much I mean it and I'll talk to you in the next one (10:14) all right sister that's all I got for you today but I have two things that I need you to do (10:20) first thing if you are not already following me on the gram be sure to do so julie a lead better (10:25) yes it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk healthy tips and tricks (10:31) and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check the second thing be sure to (10:36) subscribe to apple podcast to never miss an episode thank you so much for joining me it means the (10:43) absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought the most beautiful women that (10:48) I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically (10:55) themselves remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface (10:59) so go out there and embrace a real because you're worth it

 
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