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Creatine calculator: your daily dose and when your muscles will be fully loaded

Tell us your weight, how you eat and your age. We will work out how much creatine you have, how much your diet provides, how much food it would take to reach 3 g a day, when your muscles will be fully loaded and how long your tub will last.

How do you eat?
Your age
Do you do strength training at least 3 days a week?

Creatine is not intended for under-18s. If you have kidney disease or take medication, check with your doctor first.

Your creatine

Estimate

Your storesalmost all in your muscles
-
What your body makesin the liver and kidneys
1 g a day
What your diet providesmeat and fish
-
Your dosethe one in the authorised claims
3 g a day
Muscles fully loadedwith 3 g a day, in about 4 weeks
-
Your 400 g tub-
-

Your plan

  1. Every dayOne 3 g scoop in water or your drink, rest days included. At whatever time suits you best.
  2. WeightIt is normal to gain 1-2 kg in the first month, mostly water.
  3. LoadingYou do not need it: with 3 g you reach the same level. Loading phases of 20 g a day exceed the 3 g a day that AESAN, Spain's food safety agency, considers safe in food supplements.

An approximate estimate with data from the US NIH, Hultman et al. (1996) and AESAN (2024). It does not replace professional advice.

From food alone

What you would have to eat to reach 3 g

To reach 3 g of creatine a day from food alone, you would have to eat one of these amounts every day, weighed raw.

-

  1. Herring300-460 g

    2-3 portions of 150 g

  2. Porkabout 600 g

    4 portions of 150 g

  3. Beefabout 670 g

    4.5 portions of 150 g

  4. Salmonabout 670 g

    4.5 portions of 150 g

  5. Tunaabout 750 g

    5 portions of 150 g

  6. Codabout 1,000 g

    6.5 portions of 150 g

  7. Milkabout 42 litres

    It has about 0.07 g per litre. Each icon is one litre.

Raw content according to the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM, 2010), which matches the US NIH for beef, pork and salmon; milk: Edison et al. (2013). Some creatine is lost in cooking. Portion: 150 g.

How we calculate

Where your creatine comes from

Where your creatine comes from120 gof creatine in a 70 kgperson, almost all of itin the muscles1 ga day made by your liverand kidneys0.9 ga day with about 200 gof meat or fish3 ga day: your dose
Estimates based on data from the US National Institutes of Health 1. With little meat, your diet provides less than 0.5 g a day; on a vegetarian diet, almost none.

How we calculate

  • Your creatine stores: a 70 kg person has about 120 g, almost all of it in the muscles 1. We adjust this to your weight. It is an estimate: it depends on your muscle mass.
  • What you make: the liver and kidneys produce around 1 g a day 1.
  • What your diet provides: beef, pork or salmon contain about 2 g per half kilo 1. With about 200 g of meat or fish a day, that is about 0.9 g; with little meat, less than 0.5 g; on a vegetarian diet, almost none.
  • When your muscles will be fully loaded: with 3 g a day, the same level is reached in about 4 weeks as with a loading phase of 20 g a day 2.
  • Your dose: 3 g a day, the amount in the authorised claims 4 and the amount that AESAN considers safe and acceptable in food supplements 3.

A loading phase?

With 3 g a day you reach the same level

With 3 g a day you reach the same levelLoading with 20 g adayThe one used in thestudiesExceeds the 3 g a daythat AESAN considerssafeNot needed to loadyour muscles3 g a dayThe same level inabout 4 weeksThe amount in theauthorised claimsSafe and acceptable infood supplements,according to AESAN
Muscle loading according to Hultman and colleagues 2. AESAN report on creatine in food supplements for healthy adults 3.

The authorised claims

  • Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3 g of creatine. It is for adults doing high-intensity exercise 4.
  • Daily creatine consumption can enhance the effect of resistance training on muscle strength in adults over the age of 55. With 3 g a day and strength training at least three times a week, with loads of at least 65-75% of your maximum 5.

A varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

From food alone

How much food it would take each day for 3 g of creatine

How much food it would take each day for 3 g of creatineHerring460 gBetween 300 and 460 g: it has 6.5-10 g per kiloPork600 gBeef670 gSalmon670 gTuna750 gCod1,000 g200 g of meat or fish: about 0.9 g of creatine
Grams a day, raw, based on the creatine in each food 6. With milk it would take about 42 litres 7. Some is lost in cooking 8.

How much food it would take

To reach 3 g of creatine a day from food alone, you would have to eat, every day and weighed raw, about 670 g of beef or salmon, about 600 g of pork, about 750 g of tuna or 1 kg of cod 6. The calculator shows what you would still be missing with your diet.

  • Creatine in raw food, per kilo: herring has 6.5-10 g; pork, 5 g; beef and salmon, 4.5 g; tuna, 4 g; and cod, 3 g 6. This matches the US NIH: about 2 g per half kilo of beef, pork or salmon 1.
  • In 150 g portions: 4 of pork, about 4.5 of beef or salmon, 5 of tuna and about 6.5 of cod. Of herring, between 300 and 460 g, that is, 2-3 portions.
  • Milk: it has very little, about 550 µmol per litre 7, which is about 0.07 g. It would take about 42 litres a day.
  • Cooking: cooking and processing food can reduce its creatine 8, so a little less reaches your plate.

With one 3 g scoop of our creatine monohydrate you get the full amount, for €0.17 a day.

If you are vegetarian

You start from lower stores, because you get hardly any creatine from your diet. That is why you may notice more of a difference when you take it 1.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the calculator always recommend 3 g a day?

Because it is the amount in the authorised EU claims, the daily dose on our label and the amount that AESAN, Spain's food safety agency, considers safe and acceptable in food supplements for healthy adults. What changes with your weight and diet is your starting point.

Why does it not suggest a loading phase?

Because you do not need one: with 3 g a day you reach the same level in about 4 weeks. The loading doses in studies, 20 g a day, exceed the 3 g a day that AESAN considers safe in food supplements.

Where do the stores and diet figures come from?

They are estimates based on data from the US National Institutes of Health: a 70 kg person has about 120 g of creatine, the body makes around 1 g a day, and meat and fish provide about 2 g per half kilo.

Can I get the 3 g from food?

You can, but it takes a lot: for 3 g a day, weighed raw, about 670 g of beef or salmon, about 600 g of pork or 1 kg of cod. With about 200 g of meat or fish a day, your diet provides about 0.9 g. One 3 g scoop of creatine gives you the full amount.

Is it suitable for women?

Yes. The 3 g a day dose and the authorised claims apply to adults, regardless of sex.

Sources

  1. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Dietary supplements for exercise and athletic performance: fact sheet for health professionals. View publication
  2. Hultman E, Söderlund K, Timmons JA, Cederblad G, Greenhaff PL. Muscle creatine loading in men. J Appl Physiol. 1996;81(1):232-237. View publication
  3. AESAN Scientific Committee. Report on the risk associated with the consumption of food supplements containing creatine as an ingredient. Journal of the AESAN Scientific Committee. 2024;39:47-62. View publication
  4. Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods. View publication
  5. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/672 of 7 April 2017 authorising a health claim relating to creatine. View publication
  6. Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM). Assessment of creatine in sports products. VKM Report 2010:40. Oslo: VKM; 2010. View publication
  7. Edison EE, Brosnan ME, Aziz K, Brosnan JT. Creatine and guanidinoacetate content of human milk and infant formulas: implications for creatine deficiency syndromes and amino acid metabolism. Br J Nutr. 2013;110(6):1075-1078. View publication
  8. Ostojic SM. The evolving role of creatine in public health: from food-based nutrient to supplement and beyond. Public Health Nutr. 2025;28:e190. View publication

Keep reading

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