Can you counteract water weight gain?

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yiscaht
yiscaht Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Had a pretty disastrous day yesterday, cheat wise. By disastrous, I mean I went over by about 550 calories (which honestly, isn't horrible, considering past "binges"), but my sodium intake was super high. Stepped on the scale today and had gone up 4 lbs. I know I don't actually weigh 4 lbs more, so it's probably water.

Can you (or should you) counteract high sodium intake by an increased water intake? Or do you just leave it be and it'll sort itself out in a few days?

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  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    No. Counteract sodium with potassium.
    You dont over consume water to counteract sodium for fat of hyponatremia.
    By increasing potassium, the body is better able to use the sodium for energy production across the cell.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    *fear of hyponatremia
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
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    unless you are getting on stage tomorrow you don't really need to worry about it.... drink as normal - maybe a tad more if you can - couple of days and you'll be back to your normal weight
  • yiscaht
    yiscaht Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks, Dan! I'll grab a banana - which hopefully will help the leg cramps too lol :)
  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
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    Helloitsdan wrote: »
    No. Counteract sodium with potassium.
    You dont over consume water to counteract sodium for fat of hyponatremia.
    By increasing potassium, the body is better able to use the sodium for energy production across the cell.

    By this, I think he means eat more fruits and vegetables. You should not attempt to take a potassium supplement. It is very easy to get too much potassium from supplements and this can be life-threatening. Don't ever take potassium unless instructed to do so by your doctor.

    Or you could "leave it be and it'll sort itself out in a few days".
  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
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    I got sweaty. I weighed 206 this morning after coffee and a couple bm's. I spent the latter part of last week and all weekend eating nutritious but plentiful food. Some times, I ate til my stomach lining was stretched.

    All I did was start my diet again on Monday, went out in the beautiful 90 degree sunshine, and sweated it out for about 4 miles. I got back, took a shower, and weighed in nude at 199.8 lbs.

    The potassium thing is true. They work together in some way. But all water will do is flush out the sodium to a point where you will feel exhausted and lethargic. Sodium is the predominant electrolyte in the body, and is needed for muscle movement.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    To be honest, I just wait it out. It doesn't happen often or anything, but when it does, I realize that it's water weight/weight of the food, that I still fit into my clothes and that in a couple of days, it will be gone.

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