Sodium and water retention

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russellvolk
russellvolk Posts: 102 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi gang,

I'm a 38 year old male, 6'1", 216 lbs. I know I shouldn't, but I weigh myself everyday. Yesterday, I was 215 lbs. Today I was 216 lbs. I ate about 2,000 calories yesterday, drank around 80 oz of water, burnt around 800 calories during exercising and when I woke up this morning, I was a pound heavier. I did have around 2,900 mg of sodium yesterday.

Could it be that I'm retaining water? It can't be fat, because I watch calories and macros, plus I burn off a lot of it. I'm just curious if I should cut down on sodium.

For example, last week me and my wife went out to sushi. I had 2 sashimi rolls. I woke up the next morning and I was 3 lbs heavier. I was pissed.

Could it be that my body is just prone to retaining water? What would you recommend?

Thanks

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I recommend either not weighing yourself daily, or getting used to seeing fluctuations like this if you continue to weigh daily. :smile: Nothing wrong with stepping on the scale every morning as long as you don't let the numbers mess with your head.

    You said it yourself - it's not a fat gain, could be water, but if so, it will go back down, no big deal. Measurements and comparison photos are a much better way to see your progress as the scale will show you different numbers all the time.

    I don't even track my sodium anymore. I did for a time, but I drink plenty of water, and I know when I've eaten high sodium foods I tend to drink a little more.

    Weight loss isn't linear - watch the overall trend over time. Daily fluctuations will happen, it's totally normal.
  • russellvolk
    russellvolk Posts: 102 Member
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    Thanks for you response. This really doesn't mess with my head. I'm just trying to understand how my body works. If these kind of crazy fluctuations are caused by sodium, I have no problems reducing my levels of sodium. I'm just trying to understand why it's happening.

    I do weigh myself daily. It's just something I've been doing for a while. I do however record my numbers once a week. I do take my pictures every 30 days, so there's something to compare to. I'm just trying get a better understanding of how my body works.

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