water weight, wtf?

sadiebea25
sadiebea25 Posts: 72
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sick of hearing about water weight - if you lift weights you'll gain water weight, if you eat salt you'll gain water weight, if it's your time of the month you'll gain water weight. Water weight, water weight, water weight! To me it seems like weight is weight, and I'm pretty sure I have "water weight" on my body at all times, since I eat over my sodium every day (I love salt!), and I started exercising. And our bodies are made up of mostly water. I just gained back a few lbs. after a bad weekend and my husband said "oh it's just water weight" so it just makes it sound like my horrible weekend was OK and that magical water weight will just evaporate, or what ever it does, and I'll be down again. Water weight seems to be an excuse for weight gain that is tossed around too much. Water, fat, muscle, whatever, I still want to lose it. Ok, rant over :)

Replies

  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
    lol Feel better?

    yes, weight is weight imo
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    Which is why people shouldn't weigh daily if they live and die by the scale. You want to know if if your losing fat? Let your clothes and mirror be your measuring mark.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I think you need to smoke a cigarette and relax :smokin:

    x2 *hands op a smoke*

    wanna get away from the water weight...stay away from the scale...concentrate on inches and pics for comparison and BF%.
  • sadiebea25
    sadiebea25 Posts: 72
    I think you need to smoke a cigarette and relax :smokin:

    lol, not a bad idea :smokin:
  • jec285
    jec285 Posts: 145 Member
    I think you need to smoke a cigarette and relax :smokin:

    lol, not a bad idea :smokin:

    This is now a smoking thread :smokin:
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I think it's helpful to know when I'm carrying extra water weight, and when I've stagnated because I have been less diligent. Then again, I am one of those weigh-every-day people who wants as much data as possible.
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Thing about water is that it fluctuates. Gained 2 lb over the weekend? Unless you ate 7,000 calories over maintenance, it isn't fat: it's just water. Me? I want to lose fat, retain muscle and ignore water.

    Now, hand me a smoke!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    So, when on a rare occasion I go to a restaurant and eat a meal with 3,000 mg of sodium when most normal days I eat around 1,000 and the scale shows a 5-pound gain the next day, I gained fat?
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Yes, your body carries water weight all the time. Different things can cause that water to fluctuate. If you want to beat yourself up for a bad weekend, then be our guests, but know that most of that gain is water.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I'm sick of hearing about water weight - if you lift weights you'll gain water weight, if you eat salt you'll gain water weight, if it's your time of the month you'll gain water weight. Water weight, water weight, water weight! To me it seems like weight is weight, and I'm pretty sure I have "water weight" on my body at all times, since I eat over my sodium every day (I love salt!), and I started exercising. And our bodies are made up of mostly water. I just gained back a few lbs. after a bad weekend and my husband said "oh it's just water weight" so it just makes it sound like my horrible weekend was OK and that magical water weight will just evaporate, or what ever it does, and I'll be down again. Water weight seems to be an excuse for weight gain that is tossed around too much. Water, fat, muscle, whatever, I still want to lose it. Ok, rant over :)
    I went on a trip and gained 7lbs over the weekend. I did not gain 7lbs of fat in 3 days. I came home and by the end of the week, I'd lost 9lbs. I did not lose 9lbs of fat in a week. I did however, lose 2lbs over the course of a week.
  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member
    Thing about water is that it fluctuates. Gained 2 lb over the weekend? Unless you ate 7,000 calories over maintenance, it isn't fat: it's just water. Me? I want to lose fat, retain muscle and ignore water.

    Now, hand me a smoke!

    Amen!
  • jess17587
    jess17587 Posts: 153
    i don't know much about this area but i think you should just weigh your self every 2 weeks for 1 or 2 months and see a pattern of weight loss,gain or maintain and change your meal plan accordingly
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    It is just water weight, which will come off quicker then fat weight. :bigsmile:
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    Yeah, we do have water weight on our bodies at all times. However, it's only an excuse if it's someone is using it as such.

    For many, it's an understanding of the basic human body, because water weight changes, leading to fluctuations on the scale that aren't actually an indicator of one's weight, bf%, etc.

    For many, understanding "it's just water weight," keeps them sane and helps stop crash dieting when something causes a fluctuation, be it hormones, muscle soreness or sodium.
  • Thoth8
    Thoth8 Posts: 107
    Carbs get converted into glycogen and stored in the muscle and liver. Glycogen is hydrophillic, and can absorb up 2x or 4x its weight in water depending on what article you read lol. Water weight is indeed not a big deal, however, too much water weight is usually a sign that you're eating too many carbs. I eat a lot of sodium (sea salt and himalayan salt) and I am still losing tons of water.
  • sadiebea25
    sadiebea25 Posts: 72
    So, when on a rare occasion I go to a restaurant and eat a meal with 3,000 mg of sodium when most normal days I eat around 1,000 and the scale shows a 5-pound gain the next day, I gained fat?

    I'm not saying water weight doesn't exist, I just don't want it to be an excuse for me. I guess I feel like "oh it's just water weight" is the easy way out. I just need to stop having bad weekends! I'm thinking of only weighing once a month, I don't think I handle fluctuations well

    :smokin: :smokin: :smokin:
  • jcallejabjj
    jcallejabjj Posts: 33
    Too much emphasis on water weight. Water will forever exist in the body. To lose it, is just temporary. You'll hear fighters talk about losing water weight to make weight, to dehydrate. Eliminate it from your weight management if you are trying to go for the long term. I'm prepping for a tournament and I'm trying to lose as much water weight as I can to meet weigh in requirements. All that water is gonna come right back after weigh ins, re-hydrate. Not healthy to incorporate it to long term weight management.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    So, when on a rare occasion I go to a restaurant and eat a meal with 3,000 mg of sodium when most normal days I eat around 1,000 and the scale shows a 5-pound gain the next day, I gained fat?

    I'm not saying water weight doesn't exist, I just don't want it to be an excuse for me. I guess I feel like "oh it's just water weight" is the easy way out. I just need to stop having bad weekends! I'm thinking of only weighing once a month, I don't think I handle fluctuations well

    :smokin: :smokin: :smokin:
    If you're consistently losing, it doesn't matter. An excuse for what? i don't understand what you're upset about.
  • Mav3rick54
    Mav3rick54 Posts: 180 Member
    I am one of the weirdos that like to weigh daily so I can see what my body is doing. I have been at this for 7 months now and I KNOW my weight will go up 2-3 lbs every weekend, because that is when I tend to eat higher sodium foods. I lose it in a day or two. To keep things in perspective, one 16 oz bottle of water weighs one pound. The point is, the body naturally fluctuates based a multitude of variables and one cant get caught up in the day to day changes. It is the trend over time that matters.
  • BurntCoffee
    BurntCoffee Posts: 234 Member
    I was just thinking this same thing. LOL. Water weight seems like the best explanation when there is no other explanation. :) Either way I'd rather say "ohhhh it's just water weight" so I don't freak out and have a baby over it.
  • fallingtrees
    fallingtrees Posts: 220 Member
    I think it's helpful to know when I'm carrying extra water weight, and when I've stagnated because I have been less diligent. Then again, I am one of those weigh-every-day people who wants as much data as possible.

    I weigh almost every day, too. This way, I can see what is temporary water gain and what is real gain or loss. What if I weighed just once a week? How would I know that this 1-lb gain is because of the Chinese dinner I had last night?

    I have also noticed temporary gains after starting a new workout. It seems a small gain corresponds to a new muscle pain. When the pain goes away, so does the gain, and usually takes a little extra with it. That's always fun to see.

    Guilty confession: I weigh every day, but only record the losses. Bad, bad, bad.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    I guess seeing/hearing "water weight" all the time is as annoying for you as it is for me to see "I GAINED 7 LBS IN 3 DAYS!! HELP!"

    People don't understand fluctuations...and those that do not or that are bothered by them should not weigh every day.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I think it's helpful to know when I'm carrying extra water weight, and when I've stagnated because I have been less diligent. Then again, I am one of those weigh-every-day people who wants as much data as possible.

    I weigh almost every day, too. This way, I can see what is temporary water gain and what is real gain or loss. What if I weighed just once a week? How would I know that this 1-lb gain is because of the Chinese dinner I had last night?

    I have also noticed temporary gains after starting a new workout. It seems a small gain corresponds to a new muscle pain. When the pain goes away, so does the gain, and usually takes a little extra with it. That's always fun to see.

    Guilty confession: I weigh every day, but only record the losses. Bad, bad, bad.
    Ha, I weigh daily, record once a week in a journal. Only losses go into MFP if I think they're minor or water weight or whatever. The 6lbs I gained after 3 months of overeating got recorded in January when I got my butt back in gear. (The journal always knows the truth though.)
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  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    It's not an excuse, it's an explanation. Why freak out over a little gain if it's just water weight? Unless you actually ate several thousand calories over your maintenance, you didn't gain fat and all you're seeing is a temporary gain. And yes, it is likely that you'll lose those pounds quickly - assuing you get right back on track with your healthy eating/exercise.

    We all need to come to terms with why fluctuations happen so that there's no emotion attached to that number on the scale.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    You know, I had Indian food on Sunday. I only ate about 1,400 calories for the day, but I know it's full of sodium. My scale shot up 4 pounds and stayed that way through yesterday.

    I peed a LOT yesterday and today those 4 pounds are gone. I don't think it was an "excuse" to gain weight. But I'm not going to not eat food I enjoy simply because it makes me retain water for a few days. My calories, which are what count, were good.

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