Sodium?

kearly206

So this week I gained 2 pounds some how, I haven't really done anything different except for the long weekend which I exercised every day. Some of my friends mentioned that if your sodium is high it will make you retain water. I looked at my average sodium intake for the last month and it's steady. Can sodium make that big of a difference? How much is too much? I have my weekly weigh in on Friday mornings because I run about 5 miles Thursday evenings with rugby so does exercise rid your body of water weight? Thanks in advance

JeromeBarry1

It does. Even on a steady sodium intake with a steady net calorie intake, you can affect next day water gain by having a salty item late in the day. 200 mg sodium can cause you to retain 1 lb water.

fitnesspal1256

I can definitely feel if I'm bloated from water in the morning after either salty things, or a beer or two. It can make a huge difference for me, I'd say 3 pounds or so. Don't always just chalk weight gain up to water retention, but if you can feel it, that's probably contributing.

rankinsect

Exercise tends to cause water retention - muscles swell with water as they recover from exertion. Sodium can cause water retention too.

In both cases water retention isn't a problem to be solved, it's your body doing what is necessary to keep itself healthy. It's just a factor to be aware of, and why day-to-day and even week-to-week variations are expected and normal.

As to too much sodium - if you have no problems with your kidneys or your blood pressure, there really isn't a "too much", you just pee the rest out eventually. Since you sound athletic, you probably shouldn't go low sodium unless you have a medical need, as those who do a lot of exercise can be at risk of too low sodium levels from sweating a lot.