How Do I Lose Excess Water Weight?
victoire713
Posts: 720 Member
I was wondering if I should go with a diuretic or if there's another way to lose it. I have it bad in my legs. Any advice would be welcome.
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Replies
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Wow that is a loaded question. Is the extra water of sodium? are you diabetic? Are you under a doctors Care? There are so many reasons for water retention. If it is just from sodium I would suggest drinking plenty of water for a few days. 1 ounce of water for ever 2 pounds that you weigh is a decent start.0
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diuretics are not sustained weight loss and can be bad for you if taken over a long period of time and not under the supervision of a doctor. Generally, drinking more water and eating less sodium helps me get rid of the water I'm retaining.0
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Open your diary so we can check out our diet, hows your sodium. Drink lots of water.0
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Why are you looking to lose water weight? Anything you do will be temporary.0
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See a Dr.0
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My doctor suggested a couple of weeks of the South Beach diet, phase I, to get rid of the swelling in my feet and legs, but only after ruling out potentially very serious causes of the problem like heart or kidney disease.0
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The first thing I did after reading your post was to look for your diary to check your sodium, but it's not open. I would start there and idling that I would talk to a doctor. As has been said, there can be many causes, but excess sodium is a common and easy one correct!0
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Been there!!! Reduce your sodium intake. Track it on here and don't go over. Drink lots of water. When you are resting or sitting find a way to have your legs elevated. When you sleep at night have your legs up on two pillows. It will take a few days to really get rid of the water but it will go.
If you want to really jump start the process you can do the following. When you know you are going to be at home for at least 4 hours. Drink two cups of hot or cold water (totally plain water), Brew a cup of plain orange pekoe tea (red rose or sanka) and drink it black over the next 30 minutes while you rest with your legs elevated. It is best to have your legs higher than your chest to aid in gravitational flow of blood to your core. Now, every time you go to the bathroom to pee drink another 2 cups of water immediately after. Repeat this process for the full 4 hours.
Stay away from diuretics they can mess your heart up and your kidneys. Really watch your salt intake it can creep up. Water follows salt so if you eat a lot of salt your body will hold onto water. That is one change I have made over the last month and I am very glad to see my ankle bones for the first time in years!!0 -
how bad is it in your legs? it may be more than simple sodium...0
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When I'm having bloat days, I turn to water downed cranberry juice (natural with no added sugar). I mix 1 part cranberry juice with 3 parts water and drink it for a couple days. I find that if I'm good about drinking a couple cups of this a day, I avoid water retention issues. I also will often sub a meal for soup, especially aspragus soup (not asparagus cream, but rather vegetable broth and asparagus). I like to stick with the natural diuretics, but then water retention for me is usually the temporary result of a high sugar or high salt day, not something medical. If it's medical, I'd definitely talk to your doctor before trying any quick fixes on your own.0
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Actually drinking more water helps to resolve this.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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If you have swelling that you haven't had before and it persists, you should see a doctor. When my feet and ankles first started swelling 2 summers ago, I thought it was just my extreme weight. When it appeared in my forearms and wrists, I was startled enough to see my doctor. Shortly thereafter, my hands started to curl and I really started freaking out. Eventually (after 6 months), I was referred to a rheumatologist who diagnosed eosinophilic fasciitis. That is pretty rare so I'm not saying that is what it might be, just that you should see your doctor.0
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Okay so no coffee either, right? I mean...I tend to drink a lot of coffee...Is that a no no?
I eat ramen a lot(one cup a day usually), and I love eating out.0 -
Eating a diet of ramen and restaurant food is way too full of sodium, so that will definitely prevent you from losing water weight! You'll have to increase your intake of whole, homemade foods to reduce sodium intake.
Also, coffee is a natural diuretic, so I think that may help a bit.0 -
Be careful about drinking too much coffee though! Drink lots and lots of water. But also check with your doctor to rule out any health problems.0
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I drink lots of water, no issues there. I get enough exercise, and I don't always eat out, even though I'd love to. And I try cooking homemade food as much as possible.0
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My Doctor is not a fan of diuretics. I wouldn't take any without your Doctor's say-so. As others have said, cut back on the sodium & drink lots of water. Bye bye ramen noodles!0
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What about pancakes? I love to eat those too. And lunchables and lunchables uploaded.0
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No. Go to your doctor.I was wondering if I should go with a diuretic or if there's another way to lose it. I have it bad in my legs. Any advice would be welcome.0 -
What about pancakes? I love to eat those too. And lunchables and lunchables uploaded.
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Water weight is just part of being alive and eating food. Fluctuations are completely normal especially being female we have lots of hormones changing based on our cycles.0
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you look too young and to have swollen ankles. You should consult a doctor to rule out anything serious.
Cut out the processed lunchables and ramen noodles, see if that helps reduce the swelling. Read labels and compare what mfp recommends for your stats and sodium intake and that which you are eating. Drink water. Tea and coffee are diuretics. If there is no change, I would see a doctor, pronto.0 -
Unless I'm going blind (not totally outside the realms of possibility). You asked the initial question back in May of this year. It's now December.
It's been a few months have you been to the doctor yet to have it checked out?0 -
I haven't been to a doctor and the waterweight in my ankles did go down for awhile, but now it's trying to come back again.
I take meds but they're all weight neutral. So they couldn't be the cause of the waterweight in my ankles.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention if I go to get a doctors' appointment, they'll make me wait more than a couple of months because to them the flu or any other illness and/or pregnancy is more important and more urgent than waterweight in my ankles are.0 -
I haven't been to a doctor and the waterweight in my ankles did go down for awhile, but now it's trying to come back again.
I take meds but they're all weight neutral. So they couldn't be the cause of the waterweight in my ankles.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention if I go to get a doctors' appointment, they'll make me wait more than a couple of months because to them the flu or any other illness and/or pregnancy is more important and more urgent than waterweight in my ankles are.
If you have been dealing with this since last Spring, you need to make an appointment. You have already waited this long, so log off the forums and make the phone call.0 -
Drink more water and watch the sodium in your diary. If it does not go away a doc is needed. Swelling in legs and ankles is a sign of diabetes.0
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Dear Victoire,
I second all responders who have recommended you to seek a medical professionals opinion about your bloating. Please do not succumb to self-diagnosing or reducing your issues to lesser importance than others conditions. While you may take time to get an appt at least you are in the queue.
Also....diuretics are not a great path to start down. Honestly I believe prescription ones are the only ones that work and you'll need to be assessed properly to rule out other factors before you get them. I can't speak of the teas people have mentioned....but the herbal remedies available here in Aust. are not worth the money and can lead to rebound bloating (when you stop taking them and they should only be used short-term, as anything like this prescription, or otherwise can add extra strain on your kidneys).....that's if they work, TBH my experience when I was much younger and desperate was disappointing (I think I had very expensive fairy-dung in a capsule sold to me as a miracle cure) LOL.
Of course in the mean time address your eating habits with the extra sodium type foods you are ingesting. Stay as clear as you can from high sodium laden processed food hopefully it will help you keep the swelling under control, maybe start taking note using MFP to plot your bloating days in relation to the sorts of foods you have eaten may be helpful....it sounds as tho you are doing well with drinking plenty of water that's great and it will definitely help you in the long run.
If this gets worse....particularly if you develop feelings of tightness/pain and real dragging heaviness in your legs or numbness and tingling in your feet, take it as possibly a sign of a more serious issue that requires immediate attention, also if you start feeling ill in other ways with the aformentioned symptoms do not hesitate to seek help ASAP.
Good Luck
Karen0 -
So despite all the problems listed, I have lost weight since last month. But my blood pressure was high, which is totally unusual for me. But my shrink didn't bring it up so I guess it's not much of a concern, since I usually don't have it.
I'm wondering if my meds are part of some of the issues I have with my physical health and weight stuff....0 -
You want to aim for a maximum of 1000 mg of sodium a day if you can help it. Up to 1500 is the allowed amount, but 1000 is ideal. Anything more than that and you will likely start to bloat. Unfortunately a lot of our foods are loaded with sodium. When you look at the back and it says 200mg of sodium, be sure to also check the serving.
For example, one package of Top Ramen has about 800mg of sodium PER SERVING. What is a serving? Half the block. That's 1600 mg of sodium per package of ramen... which is way above your sodium intake for the day.This is a poor food choice and would be in your best interest to cut out completely (or at least reduce in intake).
Drink lots of water. You said it is no problem, which is good. But you cannot outweigh the levels of sodium with water alone. Potassium intake might help as well to counteract sodium, but again it's best to just reduce sodium.
If this fails I strongly suggest talking to a professional. They'll be able to run blood tests and get a better look at what is going on than we can with just patient descriptions. Wish you the best of luck with this.0 -
I also love eating bananas. Marshmallers are awesome too but I try not to consume too many, if any at all. But bananas are the bomb. I love 'em.
I'm also lactose intolerant. Can't have milk and can't have most cheeses. I have to be very careful about that stuff.
I have been trying new foods, and seeing if I like them. I find the more I try, the more I like to eat. My friend and her daughter turned me on to these chocolate straws that u put in a glass of moo juice(I do the fat free variety, as it's easy on my stomach) and drink. It's tasty. I hope this is okay, because that's one thing I wouldn't want to give up. I have(for the most part) given up chocolate, but I have been craving a lot of it lately. Is it okay to "cheat" and give in to those cravings, or should I just stay away?0
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