water weight vs water retention

ntatbeeq
ntatbeeq Posts: 150 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello
I keep on reading posts about water weight and water retention but i am still confused about these two terms
So lloking forward to hear from you guys what is water weight and what is water retention??

are both terms same or is there any difference??

Replies

  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    As far as I know, both terms mean the same thing; your body holding onto water due to hormones or high sodium levels.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
    Water retention is the act of your body "retaining" the water. So, it is the verb. Water weight is the units of water you are carrying by weight, so it is the noun.

    So, because of water weight, you may be weighing heavier, and this is caused by water retention.


    Make sense?
  • ntatbeeq
    ntatbeeq Posts: 150 Member
    If weight is gain by water retention, does it mean a person should drink less water or what???
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
    No, it is beneficial to drink lots of water when you are trying to lose weight.

    Water retention is caused by glycogen, which holds on to water. This is normal. However, there are some foods that can cause you to retain water ...i.e. Sodium (this is why many people cut back) which will give you the typical bloating. It's hard for your kidneys to process a lot of sodium, so it will remain in your bloodstream, and that makes your body retain more water. Hormonal changes can cause this as well.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Also, the aim isn't to get rid of all water weight - most of your weight is actually made up of fluids, so it's not a bad thing in itself. The retention of excess water can be reduced by keeping hydrated and avoiding too much sodium. If you don't have trouble with bloating though, it's not really something to worry about. It's just something that's useful to know about to help you understand that fluid fluctuations will make your weight go up and down on the scale.

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