The Rachel Hollis Podcast

891 | Creatine for Women? What I Learned After Trying It

September 22, 2025

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  • Creatine, often misunderstood and associated with negative stereotypes, is a safe and researched supplement that can significantly benefit women over 35 by supporting muscle mass, bone density, brain function, and mood. 
  • Prioritizing muscle mass through strength training is crucial for women over 35 to combat age-related muscle loss, which can lead to frailty and a faster decline in health, especially after falls or injuries. 
  • Experimenting with health and wellness practices, like incorporating creatine or strength training, can empower individuals to improve their quality of life and well-being, especially as they navigate midlife and beyond. 

Segments

Creatine’s Misconceptions and Benefits
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(00:01:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Creatine, despite its negative historical perception, is a well-researched supplement that supports muscle strength, recovery, and cognitive function, particularly beneficial for women who naturally store less creatine than men.
  • Summary: The conversation begins by addressing the common negative perceptions of creatine, including its association with steroids and water weight gain. The speaker clarifies that these concerns are largely debunked and introduces the actual benefits of creatine, such as supporting muscle mass, bone density, and brain health, highlighting that women naturally have lower creatine levels.
The Importance of Muscle Mass
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(00:15:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Women over 35 must prioritize building and maintaining muscle mass through strength training to counteract the natural loss of 3-5% per decade, which is essential for overall health, mobility, and preventing frailty.
  • Summary: This segment emphasizes the critical need for women, especially those over 35, to engage in strength training. It details the significant muscle mass loss that occurs with age and explains how this loss can lead to frailty, poor posture, and increased risk of falls and injuries, underscoring that this is a health imperative, not just an aesthetic concern.
Personal Experimentation with Creatine
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(00:18:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Consistent daily intake of creatine (5mg in this case) for at least a few weeks is necessary to experience its positive effects, such as increased energy during workouts and improved strength, without experiencing negative side effects like water weight gain.
  • Summary: The speaker shares her personal experience of taking creatine for five weeks, detailing her dosage and how she incorporates it into her morning shake. She emphasizes the importance of daily intake and the time it takes to notice results, noting the absence of negative side effects she had feared, and highlighting the positive impact on her workout performance.
Health Experiments and Empowerment
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(00:26:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Experimenting with health practices, like creatine or other supplements such as sea moss, can be an empowering way to improve one’s quality of life, focusing on function and well-being rather than solely on weight loss.
  • Summary: This segment broadens the discussion to the concept of health experimentation, using creatine and sea moss as examples. The speaker encourages listeners to try new things to improve their health, emphasizing the importance of doing so one at a time and for a sufficient duration. The focus is on feeling better and functioning optimally, moving away from the historical diet-centric approach to health.