wtf is water weight.
Replies
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JackieMarie1989jgw wrote: »SarahIluvatariel wrote: »Glycogen is definitely something you should read up on!
It's a big, big factor in the "water weight" thing.
I'm not a scientist/nutritionist, but from my memory of my own googling on the topic...
Your body has a preferred amount of Glycogen stored up for quick and easy access to energy. Glycogen is made up of one-part glucose (or carbohydrate) and three- to four-parts water. As you use your glycogen, the water un-binds and passes out of your system. Usually you replenish it soon by eating more food. But if you're on a diet, you generally use more glycogen than you replenish, which means that the net affect is a loss of glycogen and therefore a loss of water weight.
So the general pattern of dieting is that when you cut calories, you lose both glycogen and fat. After your diet, your body needs to find its preferred amount of glycogen back, so you actually gain glycogen-related-weight (aka "water weight") back.
Overall, the glycogen factor explains why you lose weight most quickly at the beginning of your diet (from glycogen use, because it is easiest/quickest to access), less quickly in the middle (when less glycogen is available to use - so you must start getting energy from fat stores, which contain a lower percentage of water per calorie), and either seem to stall in your weight loss or actually gain weight towards the end of your diet when you're cutting fewer calories. (You might still be in a calorie deficit, but you're getting enough nutrition that your body starts rebuilding its glycogen stores - which requires water.) Finally, after you go back to maintenance calories, you'll finish rebuilding your glycogen stores and therefore gain "water weight" (which is good and normal and not something to panic about).
Here's a basic (and entertaining) explanation of what's happening, set in the backdrop of a low-carb diet (and since glycogen is part glucose and therefore a carb, low-carb dieters see this affect the most): https://8fit.com/blog/glycogen-gluconeogenesis-and-water-weight/ But there's far more technical/precise articles out there, too, if you're interested. (here's one... http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/3500-calorie-rule.html/)
People who diet more slowly don't deplete their glycogen stores as much, so they probably don't notice the "water weight" thing as much.
Interesting. This explains why on my last MFP journey, I lost 3-4 lb a week the first couple weeks, despite my calorie goals bring set to 1lb/week. I suspected water weight but never knew why.
that is why a lot of ads - like nutrisytem - guarantee that you will drop five pounds in the first week or two, because if you eat less you will exhaust glycogen and in turn drop "weight"….0 -
SarahIluvatariel wrote: »Also, a little math (if i'm any good at math...), extrapolated from that second article, given that 1 lb = 454 grams
1 lb fat = 454 grams fat = 87% triglyceride + 13% water = 394g triglyceride + 60g water = (394*9) calories of energy + 60g water = 3546 calories of energy + 60g water
1 lb glycogen = 454 grams glycogen = 22% glucose + 78% water = 100g glucose + 354g water = (100*4) calories of energy + 354g water = 400 calories of energy + 354g water
So you can cut your calories from anywhere between 400 to 3500 and still lose a pound of weight, depending on which kind of energy your body is burning. But your body needs glycogen at the end of the story, so don't get too excited if you lose a pound after only cutting 400 calories - because if you burn glycogen, expect to gain it back later. That's why there's so much focus on the 3500 calories that make up a pound of fat - because you can lose that and not gain it back.
Edited to fix my math.
Ok, I fixed my math. Hopefully this is right, now....0 -
JackieMarie1989jgw wrote: »Interesting. This explains why on my last MFP journey, I lost 3-4 lb a week the first couple weeks, despite my calorie goals bring set to 1lb/week. I suspected water weight but never knew why.
I totally agaree with you. That's why I typically bump my activity level up by one level - to match my actual loss, better (and I get more calories! yay! lol).0 -
wow this is crazy.0
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angelamichelle_xo wrote: »wow this is crazy.
Right??
You asked a question and got...answers!! Crazy indeed.0 -
thanks!!0
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The back and forth in this thread is leading me to believe of the stickie potential. Awesome stuff.0
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Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!0
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QueenofHearts023 wrote: »angelamichelle_xo wrote: »drinking more water flushes out water weight?
wtf again lolol.
Yeah, that helps. Sometimes.
I mean, if I drink a glass of water I pee out much more than I drank... like 3 glasses
its confusing but true.
It goes back to when drinking water was a scarce commodity. Basically if your body senses the onset of dehyration, either from not drinking enough or increased metabolic need for water, it will hold on to whatever its got to prevent dehydration. Drinking more signals that you're not at risk for dehydration so your body can relax and not hold onto as much.
Kinda like a super low calorie diet can actually cause your body to hold onto fat because it thinks it is starving and needs to store as much as possible.0 -
Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/0 -
Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
Well, thank you and excuuuuuuuse me! Geez...0 -
This is one of the reasons I try not to be a slave to the scale. My goal is fat loss, not weight. Water retention is neither here nor there.
It's not crazy to consider that drinking water helps you lose water. Remember your osmosis experiments in school? If one solution is more salt saturated on one side of the membrane, water will move between to equalize. By drinking more water or reducing salt, you make it easier for the body to release water.
But water loss is a silly way to try and hit a weight loss target. It's fat loss you're after.0 -
Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
Well, thank you and excuuuuuuuse me! Geez...
Shrugs, it's like asking for a study showing that the moon revolves around the earth...
And you are welcome0 -
chalk_and_chaturangas wrote: »QueenofHearts023 wrote: »angelamichelle_xo wrote: »drinking more water flushes out water weight?
wtf again lolol.
Yeah, that helps. Sometimes.
I mean, if I drink a glass of water I pee out much more than I drank... like 3 glasses its confusing but true.
It goes back to when drinking water was a scarce commodity. Basically if your body senses the onset of dehyration, either from not drinking enough or increased metabolic need for water, it will hold on to whatever its got to prevent dehydration. Drinking more signals that you're not at risk for dehydration so your body can relax and not hold onto as much.
Kinda like a super low calorie diet can actually cause your body to hold onto fat because it thinks it is starving and needs to store as much as possible.
Please see the comments from @earlnabby and @EvgeniZyntx up thread. Neither starvation mode, nor dehydration mode, as you are describing, actually exist. The explanations provided above are a great reference to better understand the physiological impacts of water retention...0 -
Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
Well, thank you and excuuuuuuuse me! Geez...
Shrugs, it's like asking for a study showing that the moon revolves around the earth...
And you are welcome
To you, yes. It's new to me. Thank you for the information; you linked a great article.0 -
Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
I see the alien abduction is over and you are back to your normal, charming, helpful self! Missed you!0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
I see the alien abduction is over and you are back to your normal, charming, helpful self! Missed you!
Bwahahahahahhhhaaaaa
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JackieMarie1989jgw wrote: »SarahIluvatariel wrote: »Glycogen is definitely something you should read up on! It's a big, big factor in the "water weight" thing.
I'm not a scientist/nutritionist, but from my memory of my own googling on the topic...
Your body has a preferred amount of Glycogen stored up for quick and easy access to energy. Glycogen is made up of one-part glucose (or carbohydrate) and three- to four-parts water. As you use your glycogen, the water un-binds and passes out of your system. Usually you replenish it soon by eating more food. But if you're on a diet, you generally use more glycogen than you replenish, which means that the net affect is a loss of glycogen and therefore a loss of water weight.
So the general pattern of dieting is that when you cut calories, you lose both glycogen and fat. After your diet, your body needs to find its preferred amount of glycogen back, so you actually gain glycogen-related-weight (aka "water weight") back.
Overall, the glycogen factor explains why you lose weight most quickly at the beginning of your diet (from glycogen use, because it is easiest/quickest to access), less quickly in the middle (when less glycogen is available to use - so you must start getting energy from fat stores, which contain a lower percentage of water per calorie), and either seem to stall in your weight loss or actually gain weight towards the end of your diet when you're cutting fewer calories. (You might still be in a calorie deficit, but you're getting enough nutrition that your body starts rebuilding its glycogen stores - which requires water.) Finally, after you go back to maintenance calories, you'll finish rebuilding your glycogen stores and therefore gain "water weight" (which is good and normal and not something to panic about).
Here's a basic (and entertaining) explanation of what's happening, set in the backdrop of a low-carb diet (and since glycogen is part glucose and therefore a carb, low-carb dieters see this affect the most): https://8fit.com/blog/glycogen-gluconeogenesis-and-water-weight/ But there's far more technical/precise articles out there, too, if you're interested. (here's one... http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/3500-calorie-rule.html/)
People who diet more slowly don't deplete their glycogen stores as much, so they probably don't notice the "water weight" thing as much.
Interesting. This explains why on my last MFP journey, I lost 3-4 lb a week the first couple weeks, despite my calorie goals bring set to 1lb/week. I suspected water weight but never knew why.
I like to call it the "new diet cycle":
You set your calorie goal to lose 2 lb a week but, woohoo, you are losing 3-4 lb the first few weeks. Then you don't lose for a couple of weeks "oh noes, the dreaded plateau", then you start losing an average of 2 lb a week. I like to think of it as your body drops lots of water at the beginning of a diet, then it goes, "oops, I dropped too much, I need to put some of that on again" and finally it reaches equilibrium. For most it seems to take about 4-6 weeks to reach the equilibrium stage. The actual mechanics have been explained nicely.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
I see the alien abduction is over and you are back to your normal, charming, helpful self! Missed you!
HAHAHA
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WinoGelato wrote: »Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
I see the alien abduction is over and you are back to your normal, charming, helpful self! Missed you!
its been a painful weekend….0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
I see the alien abduction is over and you are back to your normal, charming, helpful self! Missed you!
its been a painful weekend….
Were there probes involved?0 -
queenliz99 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
I see the alien abduction is over and you are back to your normal, charming, helpful self! Missed you!
its been a painful weekend….
Were there probes involved?
Thankfully, no0 -
Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
Well, thank you and excuuuuuuuse me! Geez...
Shrugs, it's like asking for a study showing that the moon revolves around the earth...
And you are welcome
Give OP a break. Not everyone knows as much as you. It's awesome that OP wants to learn this info in depth!0 -
Very interesting! Can someone point me to good, scientific resources to help me understand the role of water retention in "sports-related inflammation" and in "glycogen sheathing the increase in glycogen storage"? I understand basic physiology related to sodium and movement of water in and out of cells, but water weight in relation to working out is new to me. Thank you!
your muscles use glycogen/water to repair themselves, so after you workout you hold onto more water due to muscle repair…
not sure why you need a source as this is considered common knowledge…but here you gohttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905295/
Well, thank you and excuuuuuuuse me! Geez...
Shrugs, it's like asking for a study showing that the moon revolves around the earth...
And you are welcome
Give OP a break. Not everyone knows as much as you. It's awesome that OP wants to learn this info in depth!
Thank you, I appreciate that.0
This discussion has been closed.
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