Probably a daft question

layladrew26

If I eat high sodium meals a couple of times a week, will it mask my weight loss efforts? If I was to eat high sodium meals all the time would I always be carrying extra water weight and would any fat loss show on the scales?

bbell1985

I eat high sodium meals all the time. I do carry around extra water weight. If I want to lean out for an event I'll cut it a bit. Even then, I will see a spike on the scale if I have an extra high day, coupled with a high carb day. Fat loss still shows on the scale but weigh ins are erratic so I use a trend app.

layladrew26

Thanks for your reply. Yes I agree about weight loss being erratic. I also use a trend app and its useful but sometimes i stand on the scale and wonder if I have put on real weight or just water. Hard to tell as I am close to my goal weight now and its very sloooow!

Derf_Smeggle

Excess sodium does tend to make you retain slightly more water. If you are consistently eating a higher amount of sodium, then the water weight directly caused by the sodium intake would in theory remain more constant.

However, if your sodium intake varies day to day, then your scale weight may fluctuate up and down from variances in the water retained while your various adipose and lean muscle tissue masses may be decreasing.

This is why it is frequently recommended to take measurements of neck, waist, and hips every couple to few weeks as another marker of progress. Also photo evidence.

bbell1985

layladrew26 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. Yes I agree about weight loss being erratic. I also use a trend app and its useful but sometimes i stand on the scale and wonder if I have put on real weight or just water. Hard to tell as I am close to my goal weight now and its very sloooow!

Yes. You have to trust your logging. I am up today but I know I have not been eating in a surplus. In fact, I have been eating below maintenance. It is very frustrating.

lynn_glenmont

No. The amount of water in your body is constantly changing, but it won't keep increasing indefinitely -- or if it does, you could have a more serious problem problem than what the scales say (e.g., kidney failure, congestive heart failure).

layladrew26

I have been over my calories slightly for a couple of weeks as I have been extra hungry. Probably a small amount of weight gain and a bit of water. You have to be soo patient when you are near goal weight I guess.

layladrew26

This is why it is frequently recommended to take measurements of neck, waist, and hips every couple to few weeks as another marker of progress. Also photo evidence. [/quote]

Does water weight only show on the scale then? If you were to measure with a tape measure when you were retaining water would that not show up there too?

bbell1985

layladrew26 wrote: »

This is why it is frequently recommended to take measurements of neck, waist, and hips every couple to few weeks as another marker of progress. Also photo evidence.

Does water weight only show on the scale then? If you were to measure with a tape measure when you were retaining water would that not show up there too? [/quote]

It sometimes shows up for me. I mean...I'm relatively lean. I can look in the mirror and see that I am retaining water. I can't see certain muscle definition in my arms, my tummy looks softer, certain veins hide. I won't see a huge difference with a tape measure though. Bigger difference from high volume food in my belly.

layladrew26

Actually when I think about it it does show up for me too especially before TOM I can feel my clothes are a bit tighter etc. So I guess it would show on a tape measure, just not enough for it to make a huge difference

Derf_Smeggle

bbell1985 wrote: »

layladrew26 wrote: »

This is why it is frequently recommended to take measurements of neck, waist, and hips every couple to few weeks as another marker of progress. Also photo evidence.

Does water weight only show on the scale then? If you were to measure with a tape measure when you were retaining water would that not show up there too?

It sometimes shows up for me. I mean...I'm relatively lean. I can look in the mirror and see that I am retaining water. I can't see certain muscle definition in my arms, my tummy looks softer, certain veins hide. I won't see a huge difference with a tape measure though. Bigger difference from high volume food in my belly.

I was leaning more towards having other data points over time rather than only the scale.

This lowers the significance of the scale day to day.

layladrew26

[/quote]I was leaning more towards having other data points over time rather than only the scale.

Yes I agree with that as the readings on the scales can be dissapointing sometimes.

WendyLeigh1119

I literally live on salt as it's own food group. My food typically glitters with salt. So I sometimes retain water, but you can still measure losses. I always weigh on rest days and do so maybe 3 to 4 times that day, take an average... then not weigh again until the next weekend. Otherwise, my muscles are always clinging to water because I strength train 5 consecutive days per week. I was thrilled to see 1.8lbs loss today after "mostly just dairy" week. I take the lowest weight from the prior weekend and whatever I weigh the following weekend is my loss. Mostly to keep tracking consistent.

layladrew26

Thanks everyone for the advice, I appreciate it ✌