CEE shouldn't make you hold water. I have been on a generic kind and its working great. Bench is up 15lbs. I don't really believe that you gain much from creatine in general. It just gives good pumps which makes you want to work harder, and and gives some decent strength gains which can potentially help you to lift heavy weights and gain a little extra muscle. It also gives a little more energy which helps to get that one extra rep. I like CEE a lot more then regular creatine.