Water Intake

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dduke01
dduke01 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is drinking water bad for you? My gym instructor said that I need to cut out my water intake cause I am retaining to much water. I only drink about five cups a day and burn 500 to a 1000 calories a day working out in the gym. I only eat near 1350 calories or less a day.
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Replies

  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    You need a new gym instructor if they are giving you advice like this.

    Water retention is apart of any workout regimen. It will flush itself out. You body needs you to consume water. We only get so much from our food. What your instructor wants you dehydrated so you can see the scale move. Thats cheating and definitely not good for your body.
  • hydrosmak
    hydrosmak Posts: 16
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    I have never heard of such a ridiculous thing! Of course it isn't, the more the better (within reason obviously). If you are retaining water it has nothing to do with how much you drink. Sodium is usually the main culprit for retaining water. How much sodium do you consume a day?
  • MissYogapants
    MissYogapants Posts: 106 Member
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    It sounds really bad to cut down on water when you aren't actually drinking that much. If you feel your gym instructor is correct about you retaining more water than is normal, then you need to try and find out why your body does that. Usually it's just the result of overconsuming salt, but there could also be other reasons such as stress or maybe some sort of sickness.
  • alischaid
    alischaid Posts: 46 Member
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    I would not cut out water. I bet your gym instructor is male, right?
  • AHealthierRhonda
    AHealthierRhonda Posts: 881 Member
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    WHAT????? 8 cups is the recommended amount of water and mroe on hot days!!! I drink 10-12 cups a day on average. Not sure what your trainer is talking about!
  • tafaye
    tafaye Posts: 19 Member
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    If you are retaining water you need to INCREASE your water intake. At least according to my doctor. You also want to watch the amount of sodium you are intaking. My dr. also wants me to increase my water by 2 glasses above my normal intake on days I work out. I would consult your doctor. Doctor trumps gym instructor.
  • jessmew
    jessmew Posts: 8
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    I have never heard of such a ridiculous thing! Of course it isn't, the more the better (within reason obviously). If you are retaining water it has nothing to do with how much you drink. Sodium is usually the main culprit for retaining water. How much sodium do you consume a day?

    I'm wondering if I'm also maybe getting too much sodium. How much is too much?
  • MissYogapants
    MissYogapants Posts: 106 Member
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    Actually, I would recommend you to drink more water than you do now. It's good for ya, girl :)
  • JamieCRodriguez
    JamieCRodriguez Posts: 88 Member
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    at 5 cups a day you are not drinking enough water. Especially considering you workout hard (and in doing so are loosing water due to sweating). For me personally, drinking water (80-100 ounces a day) helps me prevent water retention. I retain water when I drink diet soda/ sugar free energy drinks or have too much sodium.
  • yes_i_can
    yes_i_can Posts: 419
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    I've never heard anyone say to cut water intake. To flush retained water, you drink more water. Most people say to take your weight in pounds, divide it in half, and that's how many ounces you should drink a day (e.g. you weigh 160lbs, you drink 80oz of water). I drink more than that though, personally.

    However, don't do what I did last night... After finishing about 14 glasses during the day I knew I was retaining becuase my feet were swelling, so I drank about 8 more glasses to try to flush that. Then I really wasn't feeling well by the time I went to bed... almost like I was drunk - sick to my stomach, tipsy, etc. I happened to have a doctor's appointment this morning and asked about it and was told that drinking more is the right thing to do to flush the retained water, however, you have to be careful not to drink too much too quickly without food because you can drain your electrolytes - hence the woosy feeling.
  • MissYogapants
    MissYogapants Posts: 106 Member
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    You should get no more than 2 300 milligrams of sodium a day. According to The American Heart Association.
  • JamieCRodriguez
    JamieCRodriguez Posts: 88 Member
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    I have never heard of such a ridiculous thing! Of course it isn't, the more the better (within reason obviously). If you are retaining water it has nothing to do with how much you drink. Sodium is usually the main culprit for retaining water. How much sodium do you consume a day?

    I'm wondering if I'm also maybe getting too much sodium. How much is too much?
    [/quote

    I wish we could track sodium on our food tracker. That would help a lot!
  • wjkirby
    wjkirby Posts: 120
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    There is a thing called hyper-hydration that can affect marathon runners who drink too much water. You're no where near that level of consumption.
  • brph26
    brph26 Posts: 207 Member
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    I say find a new instructor! lol I used to barely drink any water, but as soon as I upped it, I really started seeing the weight come off (with sticking to my calorie goal and little to no exercise too).

    I normally drink about 10-16 cups a day. I'm currently on number 12 and it's only 1:30 in the afternoon here. You should be drinking AT LEAST 8 cups a day :smile:
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Drinking water does not cause you to retain water, in fact it does just the opposite. By forcing more frequent urination, drinking water can relieve water retention. Sodium can cause water retention, as can many other factors including hormones. If you have a concern about chronic water retention, which can lead to high BP, you should discuss that with your doctor. But for most people water retention naturally comes and goes.
  • amberleemoore
    amberleemoore Posts: 123 Member
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    That really is crazy! I have never heard of that. You are supposed to drink at least 8 cups a day and more if you are working out!
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    I would not cut out water. I bet your gym instructor is male, right?

    Um.....not sure what this has to do with anything :laugh:
  • SoCalSwimmerDude
    SoCalSwimmerDude Posts: 480 Member
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    I would not cut out water. I bet your gym instructor is male, right?

    Um.....not sure what this has to do with anything :laugh:

    I guess us males don't know how to drink water correctly.

    To the OP, get a new instructor and tell the gym management what he (OR SHE!) told you. The dude (OR DUDETTE!) needs to be fired for giving flat out wrong instruction.
  • dduke01
    dduke01 Posts: 19 Member
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    yes
  • girlwapp
    girlwapp Posts: 136 Member
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    Actually, your body hoards water ('water weight') when you aren't getting enough of it, kind of camel style. Drink plenty and your body won't need to hold onto reserves. If you retain too much water try cutting out salt/sodium. If you're working out and want to drink things like powerade or gatorade, cut them at least 1:1 with water, if not 2:1. You can drink a lot of calories that way without much extra benefit.

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