Question for Biology Peeps - Carbs and Water

garystrickland357

Most of us know that an evening out and a restaurant/fast food meal often shows up on the scale the next morning due to water weight. There are a couple of reasons - extra salt intake and carbohydrates.

I can explain the role of osmosis and water retention due to extra sodium. I'm not so clear on the science connecting carbohydrates and water with glycogen storage. It's easy enough to find resources that show water is retained along with carbohydrates in a 1:3 ratio. So how does that work?

I'm looking for some easy to understand resources that I can share with folks who are so confused about carbohydrates. Studying the citric acid or Krebs cycle doesn't explain how water is involved in the process. So for example - let's say I consume an extra 100 grams of carbohydrate this evening - that means I'll also retain an extra 300 grams or so of water. Okay... Let's say I'm a skeptic - or I'm confused and think it's fat - or whatever.

What's the process? How is the water bound with the carbohydrate?

Edit: This is not an anti-Keto thread. I see many coworkers though that gain and lose the same 5 pounds of water by "cutting carbs" or "going keto" then "falling off the wagon". They never really go into a calorie deficit or real ketosis and lose any real weight. I think some folks might benefit from a better understanding of the biology (me included).