Creatine Loading Calculator

It scales the standard creatine monohydrate protocol to your bodyweight. The loading dose is about 0.3 grams per kilogram per day, and the maintenance dose is about 0.03 grams per kilogram per day. For a 70 kg (154 lb) person that works out to roughly 21 grams per day while loading and about 2 grams per day to maintain. You choose how many days the loading phase lasts and how many doses to split each day into.

Taking the full loading amount at once can cause stomach upset, bloating, or diarrhea in some people. Spreading it across 4 smaller doses through the day (for example with meals) is gentler on digestion and is how the classic loading studies dosed it. The calculator divides your daily loading total evenly by the number of doses you pick, so each dose is the same size.

No. Loading just fills your muscle creatine stores faster, usually within 5 to 7 days. If you skip it and take only the maintenance dose (about 0.03 grams per kilogram, commonly 3 to 5 grams per day), you reach the same saturation in roughly 3 to 4 weeks. Loading is a speed choice, not a requirement for the end result.

Most protocols run 5 to 7 days, which is why this calculator limits the loading length to that range. After loading, you drop to the daily maintenance dose and stay there for as long as you keep supplementing. There is no need to load again unless you stop creatine for several weeks and your stores deplete.

Either works. Use the metric and imperial toggle to enter your weight in kilograms or pounds, and the calculator converts internally and returns grams of creatine in both cases. The dosing math is the same; only your weight unit changes.

No. This calculator is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical or nutrition advice. Creatine is widely studied and generally well tolerated in healthy adults, but talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before supplementing, especially if you have kidney issues, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or take other medications.