Anyone have any suggestions to reduce water retention????

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Hey guys, of course I know to drink LOTS and LOTS of water and cut back on sodium to help with water retention, and I do both, to no avail sometimes, so does anyone have any other natural ways that they have found helpful to help diurese your body and let go of excess water!! My ankles get swollen and I can feel the sluggishness when I am carrying extra fluid in my body. I have found coffee is a natural diuretic, but I am really holding fluid bad and could use some suggestions if you have them!!

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  • Ottinger13
    Ottinger13 Posts: 55 Member
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    i do not know for sure, but I have been told Watermelon is a natural way to get rid of water. I also have the same problem, I drink lots of water and by the end of the day my ankles are swollen majorly
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    Sweating.
  • kajungrill
    kajungrill Posts: 50 Member
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    lemon in your water
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
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    Unless you are tracking sodium carefully every day, you ingest a lot more than you think just in the food you eat. I track sodium carefully, keeping it under 1100mg/day most of the time. I do not need to drink large quantities of water anymore, because my body doesn't need it to flush excess sodium. MFP helps me track my sodium closely, and that has been a HUGE difference for me.
  • notworthstalking
    notworthstalking Posts: 531 Member
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    Dandelion tea is supposed to help. I got some from the supermarket. Though mine was solved by cutting out heaps on salt and soft drink (sodas) . How is your blood pressure ? That is a big cause.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    I would go run then use the sauna no fizzy drinks eat very little sodium and get a good 8 hours of sleep along with your water :)
  • innocenceportrayed
    innocenceportrayed Posts: 569 Member
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    I wonder the same thing. I drink at least 12 glasses of water a day. My ankles don't swell up but I feel like I'm carrying extra water weight. My BP is fine, got it taken today 118/70.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    Drink a lot of it consistenly. I go through between 60 and 80 ounces daily (more if I work out). You also have to watch your sodium intake. One day of excessive intake can make you retain a lot since it throws of your osmotic balance. If you go back to drinking enough water and watching your sodium, your water retention should go back to a normal level.
  • startheory
    startheory Posts: 63
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    lemon in your water

    This! Squeeze a whole lemon into a glass of water. I do this when I'm bloated and it works very well!
  • robdel302
    robdel302 Posts: 292 Member
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    Ensure you're getting enough fruits and vegetables that contain potassium. Even if you lower your sodium intake, insufficient potassium can blunt the bodies abilitiy to expell excess sodium and still retain water.
  • Cassea7
    Cassea7 Posts: 181 Member
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  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    I'm currently suffering something terrible with water retention. My sodium is no higher than normal, but I'm doing low carb so I'm not eating lot of my go to potassium foods... So I'm trying to find the balance by reducing the sodium and incorporating more low carb potassium rich foods.... also, expecting my period any time now, and once that starts my body should start getting rid of the water like mad.
  • dayone987
    dayone987 Posts: 645 Member
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    If you're not eating a lot of sodium and you are retaining a lot of fluid you should see your doctor.
  • SJ46
    SJ46 Posts: 407 Member
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    Pure cranberry juice mixed in water, 2 oz cranberry + 62 oz water. I mean the pure stuff with nothing else added, it is sour so it must be mixed with water.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Watermelon. Pregnant ladies swear by it.
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
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    If your ankles are swelling you really should see a doctor.
  • kcrhodes85
    kcrhodes85 Posts: 20 Member
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    Sweating.

    this is my solution
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
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    Pure cranberry juice mixed in water, 2 oz cranberry + 62 oz water. I mean the pure stuff with nothing else added, it is sour so it must be mixed with water.

    I normally use 1 oz of pure (100% cranberry juice) to 7 ounces of water. To me it works better than lemon and water. 100% cranberry juice can be bought from Trader Joe's. I have been drinking this for the past two weeks and the effect is amazing.
  • qsusanevans
    qsusanevans Posts: 36
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    If "natural ' stuff isn't working, talk to your Dr. When I was heavier I HAD to take a diuretic to keep my ankle swelling and blood pressure down. It might be worth a discussion. At the time, it helped my BP and I could wear my shoes again. Now I no longer need the diuretic and my BP meds are 1/4 of what they used to be. Life is good.