Water retention?

htecky76

So I see all these people who drop 10 to 15 lbs the first two weeks of LCHF; that's what people always use to say this lifestyle is "bad" (They only drop water wieght, not real fat etc etc) However in my case I never did, I drop about 1.5 to 2lbs a week right now. I am wondering why I didn't? I actually retain water; sometimes at night my ankles and stomach still swell. Am I doing something wrong? I drink a min of 80 to 90 oz of water a day! Is it the sodium? I was told to salt all my food as on LCHF we need to replace the sodium, but is that making bloat? Thanks for any help.

Sunny_Bunny_

You may have just done very well at preventing much water loss since you started out using the advice to salt your food.
If you feel like you have too much water, like maybe you actually have some swelling in the legs or something, maybe backing off on the salt abut could help relieve it.
But if that's not an issue, I wouldn't worry about it. If I understand correctly, those that lose a bunch of water in the beginning slowly level out back to normal over the first month. So by that time, I would expect it wouldn't be any different than if they hadn't lost all that water in the first place.

htecky76

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

You may have just done very well at preventing much water loss since you started out using the advice to salt your food.
If you feel like you have too much water, like maybe you actually have some swelling in the legs or something, maybe backing off on the salt abut could help relieve it.
But if that's not an issue, I wouldn't worry about it. If I understand correctly, those that lose a bunch of water in the beginning slowly level out back to normal over the first month. So by that time, I would expect it wouldn't be any different than if they hadn't lost all that water in the first place.

Thank you. I am having bloating in my stomach and painfully in my legs (to the point that my socks leave thier perfect impression). Maybe I'll try not adding salt for a couple days.

sweetteadrinker2

I'd back off longer than a couple days, it can easily take 3-5 for the body to rid itself of sodium caused water retention

htecky76

Ok, thank you! Will I go back into the keto flu symptoms again? Can I prevent it?

toadqueen

I am one of the one's who loses water weight quickly when I eat LCHF and gain it even more quickly if I eat any grain, dairy, etc. I retain a lot of water and no doctor can figure out why. The latest thinks it is related to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which makes the most sense to me. I am early in the treatment for that. I think in my case food sensitivities and a leaky gut are also major contributing factors.

Were you retaining water before eating LCHF? It may be caused by a lot of reasons besides salt ingestion.

I would advise against a diuretic if you are not already taking one.

I think your steady weight loss is great but I know the pain of swelling. Elevated legs, compression garments, and long periods of fasting works best to relieve my pain and swelling.

Good luck! I hope it is just the salt and that you do not get he keto flu symptoms again.

glossbones

If you're fat adapted now, you shouldn't expect to go through keto flu again. However if you start to get headaches/grumpy, consider that the problem wasn't with your sodium levels. If you use artificial sweeteners, you could try cutting those out next.