Retaining water

angie2894

I've gained 2 1/2 pounds after being on a calorie deficit for 2 weeks and losing weight until about 3 days ago and I'm pretty sure it's because my body is retaining water because my stomach looks and feels "puffy", and I noticed yesterday that my face is starting to get puffy looking as well. My question is How do you lose the water weight? I rarely eat salty foods or sugary foods so I'm confused. I'm new to this kind of stuff so I don't really know what's going on or what to expect. I drink water and green tea all throughout the day so I'm not sure if there's such thing as drinking too much of it? Anyways, please help! Thank you!

kirstinethornburg

This may sound counter productive but drink more water. Make sure you are drinking half your body weight in ounces of water daily.

macgurlnet

Many women see an upswing in their weight when their period is due and/or when they ovulate. That could be the case for you, too.

If your period isn't due and you continue to see your weight increase along with the puffiness, call your doctor. Retaining water can also be a sign of kidney or liver issues.

~Lyssa

cwolfman13

There are lots of things that cause water retention, not just sodium and whatnot...hormonal changes can cause water retention (TOM?), exercise can cause water retention, airline travel causes water retention...and sometimes it just happens. Drinking more water helps flush it out, but it's also just a natural part of being alive.

andrewq6100

throw in some asparagus in your last meal ; its a natural diuretic which will help reduce water weight while you sleep!

lorrpb

A little water weight is normal and doesn't hurt you. You're really after "fat loss" right? Water weight doesn't affect that. Don't stress over it!

jodidari

I've made many posts about my bloating. Once I bloated so much I so a 5.8lb increase in my weight and it was after one week of standing abs,switching to one hot cup of green tea every morning and eating less rice and flour based products it finally reduced. I was bloated atleast 3 days a week and it's obvious because of the firmness of my stomach. Right now I get it around once a week . I've never experienced it in anywhere other than my stomach. It could be the carbs you are eating, not necessarily just sugar. My doctor recommended more complex carbs and less salt initially. A few weeks later, after looking like I was pregnant all the time I went back and he told me I may be gluten sensitive , not to be confused with allergic to gluten. I've minimized rice, flour , pasta and grains because gluten tends to be in these products and gluten based products arent easily accessible here. So basically I try to get my carbs from fruits , veggies and the few gluten free foods I can get affordably and easily.
I also do alot of abs exercises, probably tmi but if the bloating is due to gas then it let's you fart or belch it out. (Or find an on the shelf anti acid-I used Gasx- which really helps to reduce the bloat fast. If you are sure it's water causing the bloat then dry a detoxing beverage such as (hot) green tea or cranberry juice or make your own . Initially I drank 2.5L of water to clear my bloating but it got really tiring going to the bathroom as often as I had to but you can try to increase your water intake which in turn forces the body to bring itself to equilibrium and reduce that bloating.

RoxieDawn

Other things that may cause water retention, changes in your diet such as carbs.. for every 1 gr carb you consume, you can retain 2.7 grams of water, also exercise (especially changes in volume and intensity or just starting an exercise routine or increase in activity)..

You body has been at this weight loss game for two weeks, I predict that your body is still adjusting to less calories and changes you are making in your diet and nutrition. And of course all the things mentioned (TOM, exercise, less calories, diet changes, sodium, electrolyte imbalance, etc.) are all factors at play. I usually hold on to water during both cycles in my period, not just the week of and right before the cycle ends/begins again.

How to get rid of or retain neutral balance in water weight gain, is drink more water, and if you can maybe even drink something like gatorade or powerade, or add propel for electrolytes to your water.

angie2894

I'm 5"9, I was 161 when I started and now weigh 157 when three days ago, I was 155. I don't track macros, I just measure everything I eat. I eat 1,200 calories a day and eat eggs, vegetables, fruits, just foods like that. I walk atleast 4 times a week about 4 miles a day. Then come come and just do a few simple exercises like squats & lunges (trying to keep my butt during the weight loss)
I was also thinking maybe I should stop drinking as much water but I wasn't sure so I just kept drinking my normal amount.
I actually just ended my cycle today!

brb_2013

RoxieDawn wrote: »

Other things that may cause water retention, changes in your diet such as carbs.. for every 1 gr carb you consume, you can retain 2.7 grams of water, also exercise (especially changes in volume and intensity or just starting an exercise routine or increase in activity)..

You body has been at this weight loss game for two weeks, I predict that your body is still adjusting to less calories and changes you are making in your diet and nutrition. And of course all the things mentioned (TOM, exercise, less calories, diet changes, sodium, electrolyte imbalance, etc.) are all factors at play. I usually hold on to water during both cycles in my period, not just the week of and right before the cycle ends/begins again.

How to get rid of or retain neutral balance in water weight gain, is drink more water, and if you can maybe even drink something like gatorade or powerade, or add propel for electrolytes to your water.

Do you have a source for this information? I've never heard it before

Labyrinthine93

angie2894 wrote: »

I'm 5"9, I was 161 when I started and now weigh 157 when three days ago, I was 155. I don't track macros, I just measure everything I eat. I eat 1,200 calories a day and eat eggs, vegetables, fruits, just foods like that. I walk atleast 4 times a week about 4 miles a day. Then come come and just do a few simple exercises like squats & lunges (trying to keep my butt during the weight loss)
I was also thinking maybe I should stop drinking as much water but I wasn't sure so I just kept drinking my normal amount.
I actually just ended my cycle today!

Do you really think drinking less water is going to help anything? It would probably make it worse.

_Waffle_

angie2894 wrote: »

I've gained 2 1/2 pounds after being on a calorie deficit for 2 weeks and losing weight until about 3 days ago and I'm pretty sure it's because my body is retaining water because my stomach looks and feels "puffy", and I noticed yesterday that my face is starting to get puffy looking as well. My question is How do you lose the water weight? I rarely eat salty foods or sugary foods so I'm confused. I'm new to this kind of stuff so I don't really know what's going on or what to expect. I drink water and green tea all throughout the day so I'm not sure if there's such thing as drinking too much of it? Anyways, please help! Thank you!

Up a couple pounds over the course of 3 days? I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep logging calories and hitting your goal. If you're stuck after a couple of weeks you need to reexamine things however. The 3 pounds could be anything from your period to a salty snack the day before. It's not a forever thing.

kshama2001

angie2894 wrote: »

I've gained 2 1/2 pounds after being on a calorie deficit for 2 weeks and losing weight until about 3 days ago and I'm pretty sure it's because my body is retaining water because my stomach looks and feels "puffy", and I noticed yesterday that my face is starting to get puffy looking as well. My question is How do you lose the water weight? I rarely eat salty foods or sugary foods so I'm confused. I'm new to this kind of stuff so I don't really know what's going on or what to expect. I drink water and green tea all throughout the day so I'm not sure if there's such thing as drinking too much of it? Anyways, please help! Thank you!

How much water and green tea do you total in ounces per day?

angie2894

I definitely didn't stop drinking the amount of water I had been. I still drink the same amount. I drink about 75oz of water/green tea combined daily. Also, I weighed myself this morning and I lost that 2 1/2 pounds. Thank you for all the advice! I'll remember it all for future reference.

Rockkap

brb_2013 wrote: »

RoxieDawn wrote: »

Other things that may cause water retention, changes in your diet such as carbs.. for every 1 gr carb you consume, you can retain 2.7 grams of water, also exercise (especially changes in volume and intensity or just starting an exercise routine or increase in activity)..

You body has been at this weight loss game for two weeks, I predict that your body is still adjusting to less calories and changes you are making in your diet and nutrition. And of course all the things mentioned (TOM, exercise, less calories, diet changes, sodium, electrolyte imbalance, etc.) are all factors at play. I usually hold on to water during both cycles in my period, not just the week of and right before the cycle ends/begins again.

How to get rid of or retain neutral balance in water weight gain, is drink more water, and if you can maybe even drink something like gatorade or powerade, or add propel for electrolytes to your water.

Do you have a source for this information? I've never heard it before

Simplyshredded, T-Nation, Reddit etc. all provide in depth info on this glycogen pull into your muscles. "Fr every gram of glycogen stored, you gain approximately 2.7 grams of water. This water retention occurs because your kidneys hold on to sodium in response to carbohydrate consumption. Your body reacts to the higher sodium levels by storing more water to keep the sodium-blood concentration at a healthy level."
I work in Nephrology and we have to monitor this for patients, the information is correct.