If you want to take creatine I recommend 'CONCRET' (yes I spelled it how they do). It's amazing stuff and doesn't make you bloat (reason I can't take the other stuff )

 

Either a full meal with a nice portion of MEAT 60-90 min before you work out or whey 0-30 min before. Definitely whey after you workout. Casein before bed. This doesn't have to be a powder supplement.. you could eat some cottage cheese or drink milk. The fat content will help slow the digestion even further which is what you want over night.

But protein is not all you need. Without the proper balance of carbs AND fat, you are not going to see best results. Eat plenty of complex carbs throughout the day leading up to your workout (leafy green veggies are best), or take in some simple carbs before working out.. whole grains or oats, etc. Definitely take in simple carbs right after workout with your whey.

You need fat. ESSENTIAL fats are called essential for a reason.. because your body needs them. duh. Just keep it to ~20% of your caloric intake. Eating fat doesn't make you fat. eating too many calories of ANYTHING makes you fat. So, fish, fish oil, peanut butter, olive oil, nuts, meats, cottage cheese, milk, eggs are all A-OK.

I wouldn't bother with creatine. Just track your calories and keep it clean if you don't want to gain fat. Dirty bulking is of course, much easier though. Just eat everything in sight, then eat some more and you will gain muscle.

 

If your planning on taking a protein shake after a workout...WAIT 1 HOUR!!,your cortisol levels are sky high after a workout and can potentially put bad weight on you.

Now if your running for 30+ min. after your lifting it is fine to drink a protein supplement as your body has regulated the exercise and cortisol levels properly and your gonna be burning serious calories running that long too.

Or if your taking Steroids as your Cortisol levels are suppressed by than(this is where the whole myth of chugging a shake right after lifting started)

Best thing after a workout is CARBS or a specified recovery supplement.

 

One thing that VTEC9 vaugely mentioned was eat plenty of greens. This is true, but to elaborate a little more, FIBER intake is what you need a lot of to balance your protein intake or you will become constipated.

Trust me, I've been intaking about80-100 grams of protein daily for the past few months and it has worked PHENOMINALLY in definition and WEIGHT GAIN. My proper diet and regular but not EXCESSIVE cardio has allowed me to drop body fat, while retain my muscle mass. The problem I had was not taking in enough fiber throughout the day, and yeah, you guessed it, constipated for a couple days... I had to stop protein intake to a minimal amount and regain my bodys desirable fiber intake to allow fresh and healthy bowel movements.(gross but informational)

If you are not normally taking in about 35 grams of fiber a day, you need to work your body up TO that. TOO much fiber can be bad for you as well.

Currently I am taking in 40 grams of fiber daily and as said above 80-100 grams of protein with plenty of complex and simple CARBS...

as I've been told the CARB strain from fruits is shorter and burns off faster, causing mass glucose release than the longer grain type CARB.

Someone can correct me if i'm wrong

 

There are a lot of good points here. In response to your question, I am using creatine for the second time, and plan to discontinue after finishing off my current supply. Like others said, it hydrates the muscles and supposedly ups your energy levels while exerting yourself. Coincidentally your muscles 'grow' a little (from the hydration) and make you look a little more cut. I personally found the performance increase to be negligible.....for me, it's main benefit is that it's a few hundred calories of easy-to-slam sugar (Cell-Tech). There are definitely less expensive alternatives for easy carbs. Also note, my body responds slowly, if at all, to most things like medications, caffeine, etc. Your experience may differ.

I'm 5'6", and started weight training a few years ago at 115 lbs. It took 2 years of disciplined working my butt off to hit 135, a plataeu I have yet to break. Nearing that weight required 3500 calories a day, which was a clean, balanced diet, with about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. The human body is just a huge engine, to put on weight, you simply have to intake more than you can metabolize. For the naturally thin, high metabolism body type, it sometimes means getting out of your comfort zone, and eating when you're not hungry.

 

Bottom line to gain weight, muscle you will need to consume more calories(as mention, protein, etc) than your body can metabolize other wise you will not gain any weight. If you don't want to take supplements you can always eat a lot of eggs whites, tuna, almonds, chicken, etc. Just make sure you balance your diet and work out consistently other wise they will become fat.

 

IMO creatine supplements are a waste of money. Your body naturally produces creatine and you can get it from meats. Especially red meats. It tastes like crap too.

 

I've never used creatine because I heard you shrink as soon as you stop taking it. Why build up your mass if you'll lose it when you stop taking the supp?

 

its all water weight.

 

Creatine is a great supp, if not the best one out there. Its dirt cheap and proven effective.

Think of it as a performance enhancement, if you can hit an extra rep rep every workout for years on end you don't think that will make you bigger? Water weight or not, the strength to gut out an extra rep over time all adds up.

edit: since you are asking about creatine its likely your diet is terrible (no offense) you will have to do a lot of research to find out the optimal way to eat, but if you want to gain weight like guys have said you have to jack up the protein, eat like a horse, and get stronger on a REGULAR basis.