Question about Water Weight Gain Over the Holidays

DeWoSa

Howdy one and all!

I read all over MFP that the first 5 - 10 pounds lost are water weight, and that the first 5 - 10 pounds gained back are water weight, since when we start eating at a deficit our glucose stores or whatever they are called get depleted so we are using fat and muscle which is why we are losing weight.

If that is true, then why do people who aren't dieting and don't have the glucose stores depleted also gain 5 - 10 pounds over Christmas? What kind of weight is that? Is it also water weight?

If it's also water weight, that would be 10 -20 pounds of water weight, not 5-10 pounds of water weight. Why do they get extra?

And why is it called water weight when it's glucose stores?

Acg67

Time to put on your thinking cap and do a little more research

jjsilcox96

It probably human waste in there stomach

DeWoSa

Acg67 wrote: »

Time to put on your thinking cap and do a little more research

A thinking cap is used to think, or puzzle out a solution to a problem. It is used for helping internal processes.

Research, on the other hand, is an external process, used to gather information. One research tool is asking questions.

If you have any sources you'd like to send me to, I'd appreciate the links. Otherwise, if you don't know, that's cool too.

middlehaitch

I would use my thinking cap to analyse the disparities in my research.

I have no research to hand to you, but I was away for a weekend of Christmas partying this past weekend. On Monday I was 102.6, Tuesday 101.6, and today 100.8. I was averaging 100.? the previous week, so I count the 2lb as a water weight adjustment. This is in no way related to my initial weight loss adjustment as that was 5-6 years ago.

I always have a no weight gain ( followed by a rapid loss) when I am away from home for more than 2 nights.

An initial loss is in no way related to any further gain or loss, it is the body making adjustments to the circumstances it encounters. JMHO.

Have fun with your research.
Cheers, h.

Acg67

DeirdreWoodwardSanders wrote: »

Acg67 wrote: »

Time to put on your thinking cap and do a little more research

A thinking cap is used to think, or puzzle out a solution to a problem. It is used for helping internal processes.

Research, on the other hand, is an external process, used to gather information. One research tool is asking questions.

If you have any sources you'd like to send me to, I'd appreciate the links. Otherwise, if you don't know, that's cool too.

And neither was used to formulate this post. If you had thought about your post, you might ask Hmmm first what is this stored glucose called and how is it related to water? Then you might research on what it's called and looked for information on how it's related to water.

Also if some critical thinking was done before posting you might ask, what is the context of said xmas weight gain, what could have caused it and how long did it last? Then researched why weight fluctuates.

MakePeasNotWar

It's called water weight because glucose is stored as glycogen in your liver and muscles, and is stored with water at about a 3 to 1 ratio. When you deplete your glycogen, you lose a lot of water with it. When you replenish it, it's stored with water again. This fluctuation is common for low carb dieters and VLCD. A modest calorie restriction with sufficient carb intake will not cause significant depletion.

In the case of non-dieters, since the glycogen stores are normal, there is no increase from additional carbs or calories. weight gained from holiday eating is either sodium induced fluid retention, or just plain fat.

The usual giveaway with water weight is that it increases or decreases too quickly to be explained by caloric surplus or deficit. 4lb in a month could very well be fat loss. 4lb in 3 days is not. To lose 4 lbs of fat requires a calorie deficit of approximately 14,000 calories. That takes some time.

TimothyFish

A lot of that "water weight" isn't really water but undigested food that is in the gut. When you start a diet, you replenish it at a slower rate, so you end up carrying less around. When people feast, they stuff more into their gut, so the level is higher.

15in8

1- First 5 to 10 lost are not necessarily water weight. A lot of that depends on current diet and sodium intake. If you are cleaning up your diet significantly, then yes, you will lose water weight, however if you are running a calorific deficit you will still be losing weight from other sources.

2- First 5 to 10 gained are also not necessarily water weight. Again, most folks increase sodium over the holidays, you can see gains of several kg in one day (Mostly fluid if so sudden), however there will still be a gain of other tissue if running a calorific excess.

3- The body has a small store of what is called glycogen. There are stores in the liver and muscle. Is is used by the body to help fuel activity. You can deplete these stores, but the body will replace them when you feed, or convert other tissue.

4- I would differentiate between water weight and glycogen. If you lower your sodium levels you will lose water weight, but likely not glycogen.

5- Don't overthink it too much, eat clean and within your calorie limits, give yourself some freebies during the holidays and get back on the horse if you overdo it.

It is the long term trends that are more important than fluctuations over smaller periods of days or sometimes weeks. Have a look at the end of each month, If you are doing things well, getting in some walks and eating responsibly, you will be dropping fat. I highly recommend strength training as indispensable to this process. If you are not losing month on month, then you need to tweak your program, either up the exercise (Hard way) or tweak the diet by removing calories.

15in8

Oh, to clarify, if you increase you sodium levels, your body will retain water. Try to stick to as close to ~1500mg as you can.

DeWoSa

Acg67 wrote: »

And neither was used to formulate this post. If you had thought about your post, you might ask Hmmm first what is this stored glucose called and how is it related to water? Then you might research on what it's called and looked for information on how it's related to water.

Also if some critical thinking was done before posting you might ask, what is the context of said xmas weight gain, what could have caused it and how long did it last? Then researched why weight fluctuates.

You are telling me to think about things I don't even know about yet.

Seems legit.

DeWoSa

Thanks for the responses, guys! I have a much better understanding of what's going on vis a vis water weight.

nosebag1212

first 10 lbs is mostly water/glycogen but also some fat, net fat loss begins within a few hours of being in a caloric deficit