Uhm, a little question (?)

becess96

I went from 170 to 150 and it's great, I can now see my 4 pack again and I only have a couple of pounds to see my whole 6 pack. Now, I don't really wanna lose anymore weight but I read somewhere that if you do a water cycle and eat less sodium for a week you lose some water weight and look leaner. Is it true ? The "cycle" I read said you shouldn't eat more than 2,000 mg of sodium a day and it was like this:
Day 1: 2 gallons of water
Day 2: 2 gallons
Day 3: 1 gallon
Day 4: 1 gallon
Day 5: 0.5 gallon
Day 6: 0.5 gallon
Day 7: 0.25 or less
By the way: it was meant in American gallons (3.7 liters)

Oh, and another thing (I didn't wanna open another thread for such a question): I'm 18, 5'8, 150 lbs and my waist is 30 inches. Is it big in your opinion ?

Would it work in your opinion ? Or do you have any other suggestions ?
Anyway, thanks in advance everyone and I wish you all a great Saturday !

GaleHawkins

becess96 while we clearly have different emotional needs as to our looks I do not have a real opinion on doing this other than say if I was at 150 pounds I would not risk screwing up my electrolytes to try and see my whole 6 pack.

lifeskittles

Yes, these cycles are generally done before a figure competition. You'll be dehydrated and feel a little cranky. Possibly have a headache...But its not going to kill you. If you have an even to go to make sure youre drinking a lot of water when you actually get there or you could feel really weak

lifeskittles

its ONLY temporary though and you cant do it long term

Sued0nim

It's dehydration ...so not really worth doing if you want a 6-pack long term

Big is relative ...are you in proportion with the rest of your body?

Sytye

Won't work for the long term.

Kalikel

Trust your thirst. Unless you have some wacky medical or psychological problem, just drink to your thirst.

Don't screw around with your health to look at your muscles. That's my advice.

queenliz99

Too much water is dangerous, seriously.

lifeskittles

You would be chugging like 16 bottles of water per day. I drink 8-10 to debloat and I'm insanely active. Lowering your salt intake and increasing your water intake is risking electrolyte imbalances, so be careful. Especially if you're very active.

peachyfuzzle

queenliz99 wrote: »

Too much water is dangerous, seriously.

Sure, but unless you're forcing it down your throat, it would be pretty difficult to invoke those negative effects.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/

"Every hour, a healthy kidney at rest can excrete 800 to 1,000 milliliters, or 0.21 to 0.26 gallon, of water and therefore a person can drink water at a rate of 800 to 1,000 milliliters per hour without experiencing a net gain in water, Verbalis explains. If that same person is running a marathon, however, the stress of the situation will increase vasopressin levels, reducing the kidney's excretion capacity to as low as 100 milliliters per hour. Drinking 800 to 1,000 milliliters of water per hour under these conditions can potentially lead a net gain in water, even with considerable sweating, he says."

So, basically... while your not working out, you will be fine with up to a liter of water per hour. If you're going through a very intense workout, then you're going to want to cut that in a quarter to a half depending on how much you're sweating.

Really, as long as you're excreting it through urine, you're likely going to be fine. I drink 1.5 - 2.0 gallons of water per day myself, and could definitely see myself going well over that sometimes.

SLLRunner

Just drink when you're thirsty and don't drink when you're not. That's it.

Forget the magic tricks, especially any having to do with six packs.

You sound right for your weight and tall for your height.

queenliz99

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

queenliz99 wrote: »

Too much water is dangerous, seriously.

Sure, but unless you're forcing it down your throat, it would be pretty difficult to invoke those negative effects.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/

"Every hour, a healthy kidney at rest can excrete 800 to 1,000 milliliters, or 0.21 to 0.26 gallon, of water and therefore a person can drink water at a rate of 800 to 1,000 milliliters per hour without experiencing a net gain in water, Verbalis explains. If that same person is running a marathon, however, the stress of the situation will increase vasopressin levels, reducing the kidney's excretion capacity to as low as 100 milliliters per hour. Drinking 800 to 1,000 milliliters of water per hour under these conditions can potentially lead a net gain in water, even with considerable sweating, he says."

So, basically... while your not working out, you will be fine with up to a liter of water per hour. If you're going through a very intense workout, then you're going to want to cut that in a quarter to a half depending on how much you're sweating.

Really, as long as you're excreting it through urine, you're likely going to be fine. I drink 1.5 - 2.0 gallons of water per day myself, and could definitely see myself going well over that sometimes.

Did you read the article? I'm confused.

becess96

Thanks everyone for the help, I guess I won't try this cycle haha.
Also, yes, my body is proportioned but I was just curious if there was like a "chart" for big waist and small waist. I'm 30 inches and I'm a guy (I know usually females have a smaller waist)

mykaylis

i think there is a height/waist or shoulder/waist ratio available for men. i have no idea about your musculature so can't guess at whether it's big, but it doesn't sound like it.

too much water is dangerous. if you are going to drink huge amounts of water like that you MUST consume electrolytes. you don't have to salt your foods but take in natural sodium sources such as cucumber, kwim? and if you have any history of heart palpitations, low blood pressure, etc - or if you take certain medications such as lithium - absolutely do not drink that much water without sodium in your diet.