Water Loss During Run

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CharleneM723
CharleneM723 Posts: 80 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Yesterday I ran 11 miles. The temp was 80ish but the dew point was 66 (humidity was in the low 80s). Anyway, I was drenched one mile into it, which was making me feel great. I downed 4 17 oz bottles of water and even that wasn't enough. When I had left I was 133.4 pounds, when I returned I was 130.7 pounds. I had lost almost 3 pounds of water despite consuming 68 ounces of water which is 4 pounds itself. Was it possible that during those two hours of moderate exercise, I sweated out almost 7 pounds of water?

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  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    It's possible. I'd be more concerned with your electrolytes getting flushed out by drinking all that water.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    It's possible. I'd be more concerned with your electrolytes getting flushed out by drinking all that water.

    ditto...i drink coconut water in lieu of sports drinks for this very reason.

    Why are you weighing yourself before and after runs and whatnot...just be consistent with when and where and how you weigh in and observe the trends...don't get wrapped up in this kind of minutia, it's silly. Day to day natural body weight fluctuations can easily be 3-5 Lbs so who really knows here...again, it's not really important and this is the kind of minutia that people just drown in.
  • CharleneM723
    CharleneM723 Posts: 80 Member
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    I weigh myself only to see how much water I do lose during my runs.
  • ZenInTexas
    ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
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    I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just replenish your fluids over the next 24 hours and you'll be fine.
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
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    Sounds plausible. I run with a 2 liter bladder, stop at every water fountain I see, eat 6 or so servings of shot bloks, drink about 20 ounces when I get home and eat a clif bar or equivalent, and even still I usually am 3 lbs lighter after a long run these days.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    I've lost as much as 8 pounds on a run. The human body is designed to dehydrate during periods of work and to replenish those fluids after. I'd be more concerned about over hydrating than dehydrating. Hyponatremia can kill you.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia
  • 84reasons2run
    84reasons2run Posts: 11 Member
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    Its pretty common to loose about 3-4 pounds on long runs, at least for me. Do you take any running gels? This helps replenish what you loose also I agree that over hydration is just as dangerous as dehydration. Running gels made a huge difference for me when I do my 11-18 miles runs.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I weigh myself only to see how much water I do lose during my runs.

    I'm just wondering why this particular data point is of any value to you. Not saying there's anything wrong with it, just curious as to what value this data point has for you.
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
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    I weigh myself only to see how much water I do lose during my runs.

    I'm just wondering why this particular data point is of any value to you. Not saying there's anything wrong with it, just curious as to what value this data point has for you.

    A lot of sites seem to recommend it, especially in the summer heat, in order to help one understand their hydration needs.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    I weigh myself only to see how much water I do lose during my runs.

    I'm just wondering why this particular data point is of any value to you. Not saying there's anything wrong with it, just curious as to what value this data point has for you.

    For lots of longer-scale endurance events (ultras, Ironman, etc) where you're out doing stuff for hours and hours, this is a very important bit of data to know. For the everyman, probably not so much.
  • lizsmith1976
    lizsmith1976 Posts: 497 Member
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    As an Ironman distance athlete who trains in the summer in TX - I weigh myself before and after every long run. Plus monitor electrolyte replacement. It's actually very good data to have.

    11 mile run? I hope you are training for something and not just crazy ;-)

    I lost 3 pounds last weekend on a 7 mile run, so definitely possible. However, you drank a TON of water. Are you taking salt pills? At the very least drink coconut water or a sports drink for half of that fluid intake. You can drink as much water as you want, but if you are losing electrolytes with your sweat, the water is not getting where it needs to in your body.
  • CharleneM723
    CharleneM723 Posts: 80 Member
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    No, I don't use gels or any sports drinks. Occasionally, and I mean OCCASIONALLY I'll drink a bit of Pedialite after a long run or ride. I'm a few weeks off a bout of Prednisone which caused an almost 20lb weight gain and I find myself consuming larger amounts of liquids. I only drink water, sometimes diet iced tea, milk with my breakfast and sometimes in a protein shake.

    Normally I would never consume that much water under similar conditions, maybe one 17oz bottle, and I would drop 1-1.5lbs afterwards. I'm wondering if the water (making up some of the weight) from the steroids caused this phenomenon. I've been off them since June 17 and I've dropped almost 9 pounds. I went from 122 to 140 in 4 weeks, and now I'm at 131. On the plus side, my chipmunk face is almost gone but my clothes aren't fitting like they should yet. Plus I sat on my butt for the 6 weeks I was sick and know that I gained some fat.
  • lizsmith1976
    lizsmith1976 Posts: 497 Member
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    Ss possible that you are still losing excess water weight from the steroids - I've been there. Hate the puffies :(

    If you are trying to lose weight and concerned about the sugar or calories in sports drinks, then just take salt pills. I use thermo tabs, and there's lots of others. Easily available in most drug stores or on Amazon.com.

    Running more than 90 minutes in the heat I would at least carry them with you. If you feel fatigued/groggy/muscle cramps/cranky/want to quit/ or weak and have consumed adequate water, then give one a try. It seriously changed my racing.

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