Water Weight Issue

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timandbeckivillard
timandbeckivillard Posts: 24
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a problem with retaining water. I work with a trainer at my gym and he recently completed a body weight assessment on a special scale and body scanner they have there. And he was like wow, a lot of your weight is water. Which I know this has always been an issue I have had. I drink a lot of water and I stay away from salt in my diet as much as possible, but is there any other tips to get rid of excess water weight? I am in a weight loss contest at my gym and I would hate for my water weight to be what held me back. Please help!

Replies

  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    edited March 2015
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    There are a bunch of methods athletes use to dehydrate themselves. Many of which aren't safe, especially long term. For example, wrestlers will dehydrate themselves for a day or two to make a weight class. They can lose near 20 pounds in just water weight.

    That said, I wouldn't recommend you do any of those things. If you're in a weight loss contest, then I would think that would be cheating, because the contest is really about fat loss. Are they measuring your body fat%.

    It sounds like they're using a bioimpedence scale, just be aware that those scales measure % body fat inversely proportional to % body water. So if you lose water weight, the scale will tell you you gained body fat.
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
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    I wouldn't trust that scale completely. If you retain a lot of water, there will be other symptoms - do your shoes get a lot tighter at the end of the day than at the beginning? Do you wake up with a puffy face? Do your rings often feel very tight but not all days? Water weight and bloating vary in time so you should be noticing these things if you retain water a lot.

    If you do believe you retain too much water, I would discuss it with your doctor because it could denote an underlying health issue, i.e. kidney problems or others.

    Day to day, some things are mild diuretics like tea and coffee for example. But don't try to dehydrate yourself just for some contest! Health is a lot more important than vanity.
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
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    If you have a lot of muscle soreness you might be swollen and retaining water that way. Try increasing recovery time from lifts and use the foam roller liberally. Also, read up some on how to use the foam roller - a lot of people do it wrong.

    You can also try some aspirin or other OTC NSAIDs
  • Amanda4change
    Amanda4change Posts: 620 Member
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    From someone with kidney issues DO NOT try to dehydrate yourself, it's not worth the damage you can do to your kidneys. If you truly feel you have an issue with retaining to much water GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR! This can be an indication of an underlying medical issue!
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Amanda4change wrote: »
    From someone with kidney issues DO NOT try to dehydrate yourself, it's not worth the damage you can do to your kidneys. If you truly feel you have an issue with retaining to much water GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR! This can be an indication of an underlying medical issue!

    This.

    Also, If you're going to do it anyway. The safest way to do it is

    1. Drink more water (if you're dehydrated, then drinking water will actually help your body drop water weight)

    2. Lower your carb intake, especially refined carbs like bread, pasta, cake, cookies, sugars etc. This will lower the gycogen in your muscles, and glycogen is what binds to the water.
  • timandbeckivillard
    timandbeckivillard Posts: 24
    edited March 2015
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    The contest is based off of who loses the most % of their body weight. Which in a way almost seems unfair to me. Because say someone weighs 500 pounds, they lose 50 pounds and that is 10% of their body weight. But then you have someone that weighs 200 pounds, and they only have to lose 20 pounds to get that 10%. Unless people who weigh more, lose easier versus the people that don't have as much to lose? I don't know, it just seems kind of off to me.

    But regarding the water weight, no, I wasn't trying to cheat in any way. I just know that it is a problem that I have always had. It runs in my family actually. I was just wondering if there was any way that I could reduce this problem in a HEALTHY way. I am not looking to dehydrate myself and risk health issues in doing that.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    edited March 2015
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    timandbeckivillard wrote: »
    The contest is based off of who loses the most % of their body weight. Which in a way almost seems unfair to me. Because say someone weighs 500 pounds, they lose 50 pounds and that is 10% of their body weight. But then you have someone that weighs 200 pounds, and they only have to lose 20 pounds to get that 10%. Unless people who weigh more, lose easier versus the people that don't have as much to lose? I don't know, it just seems kind of off to me.

    But regarding the water weight, no, I wasn't trying to cheat in any way. I just know that it is a problem that I have always had. It runs in my family actually. I was just wondering if there was any way that I could reduce this problem in a HEALTHY way. I am not looking to dehydrate myself and risk health issues in doing that.

    This is generally correct.

    If the water retention is an issue you've always had and is in your family then definitely talk to a doctor about it.

    How much water are you drinking every day? How much sodium?
  • timandbeckivillard
    timandbeckivillard Posts: 24
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    So then it seems fair? Because someone who weighs less will have to work harder to lose the weight compared to someone who has more to lose to start with?

    I am drinking about 160 ounces a day. Which I just recently started measuring. I found a "formula" based off of your weight, which tells you how many ounces of water you should be drinking a day. But like I said, I just recently started paying attention to the exact amount. So maybe it will take time for my body to adjust to that? But how much time? And as far as sodium goes, I haven't really tracked it. I just try to make my food decisions based off if an item has a lot of sodium in it or not.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    timandbeckivillard wrote: »
    So then it seems fair? Because someone who weighs less will have to work harder to lose the weight compared to someone who has more to lose to start with?

    I am drinking about 160 ounces a day. Which I just recently started measuring. I found a "formula" based off of your weight, which tells you how many ounces of water you should be drinking a day. But like I said, I just recently started paying attention to the exact amount. So maybe it will take time for my body to adjust to that? But how much time? And as far as sodium goes, I haven't really tracked it. I just try to make my food decisions based off if an item has a lot of sodium in it or not.

    That's quite a lot of water. If you're going to to bathroom more than 8-10 times in 24 hours then it's probably too much. But It's good you're drinking more.

    I would give it a week or so for your body to adjust to the higher water intake.

    If you eat at restaurants frequent, most usually load their food with sodium. So be aware of that. It's easy to get your entire daily value of sodium in a burrito for example.
  • marinabreeze
    marinabreeze Posts: 141 Member
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    If you eat a lot of fast food or other processed foods, even the lower-calorie stuff often has lots of sodium. So that might be why you're retaining water, if that is the case.

    I agree with those who say to see a doctor if you're concerned. The doctor will be able to tell you for sure if you're retaining water and if it's an issue.

    Please don't dehydrate yourself. I knew a guy who did that (high school football) and messed up his kidneys to where he needed a kidney transplant and was on dialysis. Not worth it.

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