can someone explain water weight?

higgins8283801

I am on day 8. I have reached a few goals already: no soda in 8 days, drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day, increasing my time on the elliptical from 5 to now 45 minutes, making sure I weigh, track, and watch my calories like I do my checkbook.

I lost 5lbs in those 8 days and I know it is water weight, but can someone explain what exactly is happening?

Branstin

There are a lot of factors and variables that play into water weight like medication, TOM, high sodium levels, water retention from exercise like weight lifting, etc. If you are sure you are accurately tracking calories for weight loss then the water weight will pass.

higgins8283801

There are a lot of factors and variables that play into water weight like medication, TOM, high sodium levels, water retention from exercise like weight lifting, etc. If you are sure you are accurately tracking calories for weight loss then the water weight will pass.

but what and why do you lose so much at first?
I guess that is the part I don't really understand.
I am pretty sure I am tracking ok. I got a digital food scale and measure it all out. I keep my sodium levels in between the area MFP set, and I make sure I get at least 8 bottles of water a day. THe only thing I don't have is a HRM, and that is because I cannot afford one, so the calorie loss probably isn't accurate.

BigT555

you are more than likely ingesting less carbs which means less glycogen in your muscles, which means less water

you have increased your water intake, as you increase water intake you reduce water retention. sounds a little counter intuitive but its true

eta; as branstin said too sodium levels and other factors also play a part. alot goes into what effects water retention, so any short term fluctuations like that should just be ignored so long as you stay in your given calorie range

Vivianna777

Hey,
This is how I understand water weight to be:
Our bodies hold onto water. If we don't drink a lot of water, our bodies will hold more water to prevent us from getting dehydrated (think camels and their humps). If we drink a lot of water, our bodies will not hold onto as much, since it knows it'll be getting lots.
When you start drinking a lot of water, from not drinking much, your body will let go of some of the water it's been holding onto as it now knows it's going to be getting enough. Make sense?
I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is what's happening.

Branstin

There are a lot of factors and variables that play into water weight like medication, TOM, high sodium levels, water retention from exercise like weight lifting, etc. If you are sure you are accurately tracking calories for weight loss then the water weight will pass.

but what and why do you lose so much at first?
I guess that is the part I don't really understand.
I am pretty sure I am tracking ok. I got a digital food scale and measure it all out. I keep my sodium levels in between the area MFP set, and I make sure I get at least 8 bottles of water a day. THe only thing I don't have is a HRM, and that is because I cannot afford one, so the calorie loss probably isn't accurate.

Please see BigT555's reply.

Our bodies store carbs as glycogen in our muscles. This process requires a fair amount of water. When the amount of carbs is reduced by us eating less for weight loss, so is the amount of water required. Therefore, our bodies release this water heavily during the first several weeks of our diets.

glowgirl14

Your body stores carbs in the form of glycogen, to use as energy. For every gram of glycogen, 2-3g water is stored. (not sure of the exact amount). When you restrict your diet (eat at a deficit) these stores get depleted because your body is now using all of that stored energy as well as the food you eat to fuel itself.

Also, the more water you drink, the more flushed out your system is. And since the water your drinking is replacing soda (which contains...sodium...which causes you to retain water), you're losing that weight as well. So all of that excess water weight is leaving quickly.

But...just because you're depleting those stores doesn't mean that you're not also losing fat. It's just not 10lbs of fat.

sheltrk

OK. Here goes my attempt at a primer on rapid initial weight loss known as "water weight":
As you first enter in to calorie debt, one of the "easiest" things your body can do in response is to use up the energy stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen. The amount of glycogen stored in the body varies from person to person, but a reasonable estimate can be made if you know your lean body mass (LBM). Let's say someone has 60 kg (132.2 lbs) of LBM. A typical amount of stored glycogen (when not in calorie debt) might be 15 g of glycogen per kg of LBM. 60*15 = 900 g of glycogen. That's roughly 3600 calories (Calories or kcal if you want to be technical) of energy at 4 calories / g of glycogen. Glycogen requires water for storage--rather a lot actually. It varies a bit, but on average 3.5 g of water will be stored for every 1 g of glycogen. So that means that to support 900 g of stored glycogen, the body will retain 3.5 * 900 = 3150 g (3.15 kg) of water. 3.15 kg of water + 900 g of glycogen is 4.05 kg, or 8.9 lbs. So, in this (simplified) example, total glycogen depletion would require a calorie debt of 3600 calories, resulting in a "water weight" loss of 8.9 lbs.* Contrast this with 100% fat loss, in which ~3500 calories results in about 1 lb of fat loss. That's quite a difference.

There are lots of other factors that can influence how much water is stored in your body at any time--salt, hormones, dehydration, etc. But supporting glycogen storage can account for quite a bit!

*: The rate at which your body uses energy stored in glycogen v. fat v. muscle tissue depends on a lot of factors, but when you first start a calorie deficit, the body typically uses glycogen preferentially.

Boreo

The best way to weigh yourself is in the morning, after going to bathroom and before breakfast, and always in about the same clothes. This way what you eat and drink during the day does not affect your weight.

When you are well hydrated, you will excrete any additional water through urine within an hour or two. Eight glasses of water is a rough estimation and it can be too little or too much. If you eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, milk, soups...you may not need any additional water. Water is water, either from foods or beverages. If you sweat a lot, you may need way more than 8 glasses.

If you drink water and eat salty foods, you will retain more water than when you eat non-salty foods. If you decrease salt intake, you will, after some time (probably weeks), less water in your body and thus a bit less weight.

On the first day of starvation or low-carb diet, your body burns glycogen (about 500 g) and all the water bound to it is released and lost from the body, probably up to 2 liters, which is 2 kg of weight. If you eat a little, it may take longer than a day to lose those 2 kg, but in any case, this water-related weight loss occurs only initially and not continuously during prolonged fasting.

sparacka

Well done, sheltrk!

Bumping this, so that I can better explain it to people myself!

sheltrk

Well done, sheltrk!

Bumping this, so that I can better explain it to people myself!

Glad I could help! I'm more-or-less in maintenance mode currently. I eat at a deficit during the week and a surplus on the weekends, so I cycle in and out of calorie debt frequently. Consequently, I've noticed some large swings in my weight (relative to when I was eating at a constant deficit). Being a data-driven sort of person, I researched and ran the numbers on glycogen depletion and "water weight" to better help me keep track of my calorie balance.

LingonberryLover

That's fascinating to me. Good for you!