serious water retention will not go away

millaxoxo
millaxoxo Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
so i had a cheat weekend (my birthday) 2 days of maybe 400g+ of carbs. gained 10lbs, no big deal most of it is water.
it happens often so im used to it. but it will not go down, and i know i did not gain 10 "real" pounds. i drink a gallon or more a day, sodium under 1800mg, and have done sweaty cardio 2 days in a row. also have lowered my carbs to 50g for a few days. still wont go away.
any time i eat over 120-135g of carbs a day i bloat and retain 10 pounds of water, i have tried so many things, even diuretics, epsom salt bath, intense cardio, light cardio, if i go extremely low carb it will go away but it is very unpleasant and not something i like to do.
and yes i am positive it is water, it is very jiggly and ripple-y.

food allergy perhaps?
i have no other solutions
i take enzymes as well and dont eat much dairy

Replies

  • Shellz31
    Shellz31 Posts: 214 Member
    I don't know if this will help but when I have water retention problems I try to eat as much potassium as possible and that seems to help my body let go of the fluids.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I've had this problem. In fact, I was just traveling and am just getting over it now.

    Raw pineapple does wonders for me. It is a natural diuretic.

    My mom suggests sitting in a hot bathtub and drinking cold water. It seems to work. I have no idea why.
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
    I get this from carbs too - i want answers also!
  • SaveFileCorrupt
    SaveFileCorrupt Posts: 29 Member
    Second that on the potassium. Also to drink plenty of water, retention is often the result of slight dehydration. Your body will hold on to that which it believes to be scarce.
  • DLittlefield7
    DLittlefield7 Posts: 3
    I also have trouble with the water retention. I walk every day, and drink ALOT of water. I am not losing any weight. And retain alot of water. I take potassium pills though, so it should be helping some, right?!
  • rogerbosch
    rogerbosch Posts: 343 Member
    I had this issue after taking creatine last year (not much, 2 grams a day)… Water started piling up, especially in abdomen and ankles… When I stopped it, what happened is shown in the chart below (weight is in kg). I got so scared of the sudden weight loss I went to the hospital for a check-up… They couldn't figure it out either. Nothing wrong though… just water loss.

    Screen_Shot_2013-06-09_at_9013.png?async&0.18590918695554137
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
    In my experience, water retention problems are genetic. Short of dropping water, dropping sodium, and playing with potassium, you cannot get your body to respond in a way that lets you shed water from under the skin. You can certainly dehydrate yourself to solve this problem like bodybuilders do, but generally if it's subcutaneous it's there til it goes away on its own. There are drugs out there and diuretics that achieve water loss, but this is not a major health issue, so I wouldn't worry about it.
  • meg516
    meg516 Posts: 67 Member
    i have the same problem too! I can go up 5+ lbs in water weight one day and it won't go down for days. and you KNOW you couldn't have put on 5 lbs in just a couple of days!
  • startheory
    startheory Posts: 63
    Try squeezing the juice from a whole lemon into a glass of water. This helps me with water weight gain every single time.
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
    If you keep your carbs under 100 for the day it should work. You don't have to go waaay lo carb.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    You retain 10lbs of water?! Holy *kitten*! That sucks!
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    I had this issue after taking creatine last year (not much, 2 grams a day)… Water started piling up, especially in abdomen and ankles… When I stopped it, what happened is shown in the chart below (weight is in kg). I got so scared of the sudden weight loss I went to the hospital for a check-up… They couldn't figure it out either. Nothing wrong though… just water loss.

    Screen_Shot_2013-06-09_at_9013.png?async&0.18590918695554137

    Wo!!! That's scary!
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    OP, try drinking dandelion tea, it's diuretic and taste good (to me at least!).
  • coco3382458
    coco3382458 Posts: 296 Member
    so here is a really dumb question (sorry, Im new to here and to living healthy) but how do you know you are retaining water?
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    so here is a really dumb question (sorry, Im new to here and to living healthy) but how do you know you are retaining water?

    Press into your calf like around the shin area, if the impression stays a bit that's water retention. Also any sudden weight gain should be suspected as water retention. I gained like 5 lbs in one day. Pretty sure I didn't go over on calories by 17500 in one day even though I don't log ketchup most the time. Then there is the opposite that can happen a few days later a sudden loss of 5 pounds and same thing, probably didn't burn 17500 calories even though I didn't log that quick trip down to the park with my dog so she could do her business and I could go to a movie.
  • rogerbosch
    rogerbosch Posts: 343 Member
    so here is a really dumb question (sorry, Im new to here and to living healthy) but how do you know you are retaining water?

    Press into your calf like around the shin area, if the impression stays a bit that's water retention. Also any sudden weight gain should be suspected as water retention. I gained like 5 lbs in one day. Pretty sure I didn't go over on calories by 17500 in one day even though I don't log ketchup most the time. Then there is the opposite that can happen a few days later a sudden loss of 5 pounds and same thing, probably didn't burn 17500 calories even though I didn't log that quick trip down to the park with my dog so she could do her business and I could go to a movie.

    lol this cracked me u p!
  • Momwidomski
    Momwidomski Posts: 24 Member
    I take a potassium pill every day as I take a diuretic in conjunction with Captopril for hypertension. My hypertension is hereditary, not from diet. I would agree the added potassium does help and so does staying away from gluten. Whole grain bread is better than whole wheat bread, etc. I never drank a lot of water before MFP, I do now. Drinking more water keeps you "going", not what I used to think that it would all store on my body as water weight.
  • millaxoxo
    millaxoxo Posts: 30
    i have tried dandelion tea, only one glass though, made me pee more but did not see a difference

    and yeah it sucks :( i can literally almost fit my hole hand when i press into my stomach

    it feels like a water balloon...
  • millaxoxo
    millaxoxo Posts: 30
    i use a wedge or two but ill use a whole lemon tomorrow ! thank you.

    i feel like i have tried everything though haha
    stupid carbs >:(
  • LearnFromTheRed
    LearnFromTheRed Posts: 294 Member
    I'm glad someone started this thread before me as I have exactly the same issue. The difference is that I suspect mine is hormonal.

    I started becoming very ill three years ago and to cut a really long story short I was diagnosed with endometriosis. Ever since having the laparoscopy to diagnose this, and them messing about trying to find an effective treatment, I've had massive water retention problems - to put this into perspective, I've gone from 8st 8lbs to 11st!!

    Hitting 11st was absolutely soul-destroying and that's why I came here. I've always been quite strong, had muscles and a good recovery rate, but these days it is covered in a layer of water. The insides of my thighs and just above my hips looks quite literally like someone has sewn water balloons under my skin. If I could get rid of the water I would probably be far closer to my goal than I dare think about!

    I shall give potassium a try as I've not done that before...
  • rogerbosch
    rogerbosch Posts: 343 Member
    You retain 10lbs of water?! Holy *kitten*! That sucks!

    Yeah, I don't know what caused it, but since it was at the same period I was trying out creatine I guess that was what caused it... When I stopped it first pooled in the abdomen and ankles, later in the feet. My legs felt really stiff but they never hurt. Then, maybe a week later, I started loosing it all. Had to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes, kind of embarassing but I just could not hold it. Also at night it was hard to catch some sleep, having to go to the bathroom every 45 minutes or so.

    This lasted I believe 1.5 week. At the end of that I had lost 6.5 liters water. I was so worried, especially after having tried to find any cause online, where I only found that rapid weight loss is one of the signs for the big C! Also, my heart rate was super slow.

    So I decided to do a full check up at the hospital, where they gave me an atropine shot to see if there was anything wrong with my heart. But everything was okay. The cause is still a riddle. Not 100% sure if it was the creatine, but better to be safe than sorry. Never such adventure again.
  • nwg74
    nwg74 Posts: 360 Member
    I can easily go up anywhere up like 6 pounds and it takes up to 10 days to go back down. Normally it is around 3 pounds but still take 5 days. Bread is what does it for me.
  • GrendlStig
    GrendlStig Posts: 55 Member
    An effective natural diuretic is parsley. Put some on your salad, steep it in hot water as a tea or just eat some plain.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I am going to suggest going to the American Kidney Foundation and looking at their diet plans. They are actually very LOW in potassium and have other things I wouldn't have suspected.

    It won't make you lose water (the parsley and pineapple will), but it will make it easier for your kidney's to function well.
  • millaxoxo
    millaxoxo Posts: 30
    how much pineapple?
  • tehboxingkitteh
    tehboxingkitteh Posts: 1,574 Member
    You retain 10lbs of water?! Holy *kitten*! That sucks!
    I retained 10 pounds of water during my pregnancy. It was awful. And I lost it all, in one day, about 5 days after giving birth.

    Ever since my pregnancy, about twice a year I have water retention problems. My doctor could never tell me why because my diet was fairly consistent.

    Good luck OP.
  • fougamou
    fougamou Posts: 200 Member
    I am going through this right now. Yesterday I decided to try the Jillian Michaels water/lemon/cranberry/dandelion tea solution to see how it works. Drank it and more yesterday and well, let me give it more time. I think I consumed more than peed....

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