Concerning Creatine
 

Could anybody tell me if creatine loses its effectiveness when used dry? I don't see why it would, but was just wondering if anybody else uses creatine as a topping (like sugar) as opposed to mixing it in a liquid.

It doesn't do well when not accompanied by plenty of water simply by virtue of the fact that it doesn't absorb quickly or well without liquid and will tend to cause bloating and gastric discomfort if used dry. And in generally wants plenty of liquid as it draws water into the muscles.

Oh, trust me, I make sure to get at least 120 oz of water a day, however, my creatine settles, so I never feel as if I'm getting 'all of it' when I drink it. Scooping the shit in my mouth with oatmeal and washing it down with water, on the other hand, just seems efficient. With the above example being a little more specific, is it still folly?

creatine mono never fully mixes and becomes a "solution" with what you mix it with. it will always settle.

Creatine does settle at the bottom of the glass, but there's an easy way to fix it. Once you are finished drinking, just ad a little extra water, slosh it around, and drink again. You'll get the part that settled.

No, not folly at all. Sounds fine to me. As long as your method of getting creatine in your body doesn't have you spending more time in the bathroom than the gym you should be good to go. It's pretty much just a matter reaching 'saturation' at some point and then just maintaining.

So what you do with the creatine at any one time doesn't mean much in the long run as it is a matter of maintaining the levels through regular dosing.

Never experienced the phenomena 'creatine bloat' myself, and note no bowel irregularities...other than the usual ones. The Ultimate Diet 2.0 has me shitting stones on the lo-carb days and veritable mountains on the refeeds...used to it at this point.

Thanks for setting my mind at ease, I think I'll continue sprinkling instead of mixing. I'll run a comparative trial or something...eventually.

Why?

Why not? Doing the same exact thing week after week promotes cabin fever. Starve four days, overload on carbs for 30 hours, maintenance calories on the weekend...repeat. Shifting around fat and protein and dabbling in stimulants during starvation days keeps me occupied. Messing around with the GI spectrum on the carbload keeps me striving for perfection... Creatine loading is advised, why not try them all? Any johnny Q with 20/20 can read an article, but in the end it comes down to trial and error.

If you're just doing it for shits & giggles, then go ahead.