What IS water weight, exactly?

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mmwerner
mmwerner Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What is water weight? I have heard that the first few pounds you lose are only water weight? If so, I feel extremely discouraged because I have just started losing weight and am concerned that it was only water weight and not actual body fat... is this true? Any info would be extremly helpful. :)

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  • JBott84
    JBott84 Posts: 268 Member
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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_retention_(medicine)

    http://www.phlaunt.com/lowcarb/19058097.php

    Here are some definitions...hope that helps :D
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    Basically what it sounds like. A pint (2 cups) of water weighs a pound. Drink 4 pints (the recommended 8 cups) that's 4 pounds.

    That's the overly simplistic answer because your body is made up mostly of water (fluid, like blood, and the liquid that lubricates cells), it's necessary that you stay hydrated. In fact, when you don't drink enough, your body can't clean out waste properly, so you may actually end up retaining more water in your tissue than when you drink enough to help your body function properly.

    I'm not an expert. So, I don't know why some people here say the first pounds you lose are water weight. I think that's most likely to be true if you have not been drinking enough or if you suddenly increase your exercise. But the amount of water your body retains and the amount that's passing through your digestive system at any given time can make your weight on the scale appear to fluctuate far more than your body's true weight. That's why most people here recommend weighing yourself in the morning, right after visiting the bathroom and before visiting the kitchen. Other things can also affect how much water your body retains... hormones, salt, etc.

    Hope that helps!
  • mmwerner
    mmwerner Posts: 22 Member
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    thanks, JBOTT84, it is informative but I am not following a "low carb" diet I am just watching my calorie intake. So does anyone know if that means I've lost real fat?
  • JBott84
    JBott84 Posts: 268 Member
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    thanks, JBOTT84, it is informative but I am not following a "low carb" diet I am just watching my calorie intake. So does anyone know if that means I've lost real fat?

    water weight is not fat weight it is basically the excess water in your body, swelling from too much sodium, not enough water, diet habits, no exercise - stuff like that, I am no expert lol - I am just saying what I have heard and read.......I don't think it really matters what you lose when as long as you keep going and going the right weight will come off sooner or later :) Just don't give up
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    I'm out of my depth here... but based on the fact that you have been controlling calories, I expect that at least part of what you lost was fat.
  • RebelliousRibbons
    RebelliousRibbons Posts: 391 Member
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    In my opinion, if you're not following the low carb diet, then the higher amount you lose in the first few weeks is your body not only emptying excess waste from the digestive system, but also your body burning a higher rate because it hasn't caught on to the "lowered" caloric intake.

    That's why you're often better off if you alternate your calorie intake. A few days at 1200, another day or two 1400, Maybe one day a week where you eat a normal amount of 1800 and then drop the next day back to 1200.

    Always worked for me. :)

    Remember to keep sugar levels outside of fruit and veg as low as possible and exercise at least 30 minutes a day. :)
  • mmwerner
    mmwerner Posts: 22 Member
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    ok, yes I am hoping that this was real weight loss and I will not stop, no worries!
    I am in it for the long haul!!
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Water weight comes in many forms.

    Excess sodium will cause you to hold on to more water.

    Glycogen (what carbs are converted into) stores water at a 1:3 ratio. Chances are a big fat bowl of pasta will cause you to gain mulitple pounds because of this. On the flipside go for a run and amazingly burn off 4 pounds when doing so. Glycogen more or less makes people nuts because it causes relatively huge weight swings that totally obliterate the weight changes from muscle gain or fat loss.

    When you strength train your muscles get a little bigger after each workout and stay that way for a few days. What makes them bigger? You guessed it, water weight. Start taking creatine to superchage your C-P system in your muscles and you'll gain several pounds...of water weight.

    Fat mobilization takes a couple days to really get going. The rapid weight loss that dieters see at the start of a diet is because of glycogen. The body will run its reserves low before the fat burning really gets going good. A lot of people see a plateau then ironically once the body really starts fat burning at a high rate as it rebuilds its glycogen stores (which is mostly water).
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Don't be too picky about what tissue or fluid comes off. We'll never know whether it's water or fat, it had to go and you should be looking and feeling better without it.

    Usually I think people attribute initial losses to water weight because sometimes the pounds come off really fast the first few days. I know when I've been eating poorly I do get bloated and I can drop 5 lbs. in 4 days of dieting. Then the water levels off and it's all slow.
  • ElleBee66
    ElleBee66 Posts: 128 Member
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    ok, yes I am hoping that this was real weight loss and I will not stop, no worries!
    I am in it for the long haul!!

    I never understand why people try to undermine weight loss by saying it's ONLY water - you lost a lot the first week or so - it really doesn't matter what it was water, waste, fat - the way I see it - it was on your *kitten* (or whatever!) and now it's not - CONGRATULATIONS! :smile:
  • liamwilkinson777
    liamwilkinson777 Posts: 1
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    From my research this is what I have found. When you are in a caloric surplus your body super compensates glycogen stores meaning it stores more glycogen than it needs for a given period of time without converting it to fat. When going on a diet and being in a caloric deficit (burning more calories than you consume) your body uses the stored glycogen first as it's preferred source of energy. The body will only start burning fat as it's energy source after it has depleted your glycogen stores, this can take a period depending on how big a caloric deficit you are in. Glycogen holds water in the cells so the initial weight loss will inevitable come from a combination of the excess water held in the cells and the glycogen depletion. After glycogen stores are depleted you will then be burning fat. Hope this helps.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
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    Water weight comes in many forms.

    Excess sodium will cause you to hold on to more water.

    Glycogen (what carbs are converted into) stores water at a 1:3 ratio. Chances are a big fat bowl of pasta will cause you to gain mulitple pounds because of this. On the flipside go for a run and amazingly burn off 4 pounds when doing so. Glycogen more or less makes people nuts because it causes relatively huge weight swings that totally obliterate the weight changes from muscle gain or fat loss.

    When you strength train your muscles get a little bigger after each workout and stay that way for a few days. What makes them bigger? You guessed it, water weight. Start taking creatine to superchage your C-P system in your muscles and you'll gain several pounds...of water weight.

    Fat mobilization takes a couple days to really get going. The rapid weight loss that dieters see at the start of a diet is because of glycogen. The body will run its reserves low before the fat burning really gets going good. A lot of people see a plateau then ironically once the body really starts fat burning at a high rate as it rebuilds its glycogen stores (which is mostly water).

    What's the difference between glucose and glycogen? Are they pretty much the same thing?
  • bigkurz
    bigkurz Posts: 2
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    Glycogen and glucose are not quite the same thing.

    Glycogen is your body's way of storing energy. Glycogen is essentially chains of glucose packed together for storage.

    When you start to diet and you create a calorie deficit, your body can pull from glycogen to create energy. And when you lose your glycogen stores, a TON of water goes with it (Glycogen traps a lot of water). So that's where you get "water weight" loss. You haven't suddenly taken pounds of fat off your body, you've just dumped the excess water trapped in your glycogen stores which are now depleted.

    So here's the thing: Even though "water weight loss" isnt "real", its still important to use up some of that glycogen to get your body in a fat burning state. That's one of the main features of low-carb diets: Your body is burning solely fats for energy and the glycogen stores don't build back up.

    Of course, the other main aspect of the low-carb approach is that you get insulin under control, don't get hunger cravings, and ultimately eat less. Ultimately, low-carb diets are partially just calorie restriction...but what the critics don't understand is that the insulin control is what allows for people who tend to overeat to curtail their calorie intake.

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