Water retention or Fat?

danielwillis22
danielwillis22 Posts: 43
in Food and Nutrition
Hi guys, so after coming off a super low calorie diet ( one that definitely wasn't healthy) ive started eating normally and going to the gym. im just wondering whether I have water retention as my belly seems to change size a hell of a lot from morning to night.

I ate really clean for a couple of days and my belly pretty much vanished and my abs were more or less visible. The next day my mum had a day off and made a big pot of home made onion soup and put 2 vegetable oxo cubes in it which have about 1.8 grams of salt each. Me, being the greedy (growing) teen I am now pretty much polished off the lot to myself because my mum had lovingly made it for me because she likes seeing me eat after I got far too skinny. That night i felt really bloated but that was probably due to eating a lot to try and put more muscle on. the next morning I had a belly and for the rest of that day probably ate a decent amount of salty foods along with fruits and veg. I then went to the gym yesterday morning and had put on about 1.5 kg in 2 days. Could this be fat gain? I also have a picture of my belly after I pressed it and it left a slight indent as you can see from my profile picture.

Any help would be appreciated and if you think it is fat just give it to me straight and ill right back to a strict diet :L

Replies

  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    Water retention-drink a lot of water!
  • DaveneGfit
    DaveneGfit Posts: 338 Member
    Water retention for sure
  • danielwillis22
    danielwillis22 Posts: 43
    how much water are we talking here because i already drink a good few litres already?
  • freemystery
    freemystery Posts: 184 Member
    Less salt (try low sodium stock cubes in the soup next time for example)
    More water- the amount you're drinking is fine but let your body do what it needs to do, don't freak out about temporary fluctuations.
    Protein - Your body needs to survive day to day, it is not your enemy. So help it out and give yourself some high protein foods.

    Don't go back to severe calorie restriction if you were eating below maintenance, you're shooting yourself in the foot. It's the lean body mass that helps you burn off the food you eat so you want to preserve it as much as you can. When you don't feed yourself enough, your body will find what it needs to keep you going. Even if it means breaking down your muscles to get sufficient protein.

    The community here is extremely knowledgeable and helpful, their advice is usually solid. Many of these people have had the experience of losing weight- from 200+ lbs to 15lbs and the one thing that people seem to agree on is don't do anything too severe. Be nice to your body. You only get one and in the long run you'll be glad you were kind.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Rapid / daily changes in weight and appearance is not due to suddenly gaining or losing fat. I'm sure you know how much extra you would have to eat above/below maintenance to achieve that.

    It is totally normal for your weight to fluctuate day to day - 2 or 3lbs a day isn't unusual.

    There is no need to react to these fluctuations, it's normal and nothing to get obsessed about.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Rapid / daily changes in weight and appearance is not due to suddenly gaining or losing fat. I'm sure you know how much extra you would have to eat above/below maintenance to achieve that.

    It is totally normal for your weight to fluctuate day to day - 2 or 3lbs a day isn't unusual.

    There is no need to react to these fluctuations, it's normal and nothing to get obsessed about.

    all of this...

    maybe just weigh yourself once a month? especially if you are still growing and trying to eat more.
  • danielwillis22
    danielwillis22 Posts: 43
    Im not obsessed about my weight, its more about my physique i care about. I know that as i put on muscle my weight is going to get higher, but its just annoying that if this is water weight, its hiding the results im getting at the gym. I only really weigh myself out of curiosity to see if im putting on muscle mass but i was shocked when i saw that i had jumped more than 2kg since the last time i was at the gym.

    I love this website, thanks for all the friendly and helpful advice guys :)
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Im not obsessed about my weight, its more about my physique i care about. I know that as i put on muscle my weight is going to get higher, but its just annoying that if this is water weight, its hiding the results im getting at the gym. I only really weigh myself out of curiosity to see if im putting on muscle mass but i was shocked when i saw that i had jumped more than 2kg since the last time i was at the gym.

    I love this website, thanks for all the friendly and helpful advice guys :)
    If you're eating at a calorie deficit you will not put on muscle mass. you need to eat at a surplus to do that
  • danielwillis22
    danielwillis22 Posts: 43
    so after drinking atleast 4 litres today my belly has got worse, could it possibly be that im drinking too much and the excess water is leaking into body cells?

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