Myth or fact: Your body stores water when its afraid it wont get any more later?

kaitbannonrun
kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So Ive been noticing recently that I don't drink nearly enough water or none actually . I workout in the heat a lot(its been around 100-105 degrees) but don't drink any water afterwards, only a protein shake cause I'm not very thirsty or I'm just exhausted i forget to drink. I'm 100% sure I'm in a extremely dehydrated state so I'm gonna start making the effort to drink more water. The problem is I read up on a couple of sites that when you've been extremely dehydrated for a long period of time, your body automatically stores the water you finally drinking in your body (making you alot more bloated and puffy) because its afraid it won't get any later? Is this true or is it just a myth?
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    So what you're saying is you'd rather stay dehydrated and damaging your body than risk adding a couple of pounds of water weight by drinking enough water....?
  • berolcolour
    berolcolour Posts: 140 Member
    edited August 2016
    I think it's true, but I think it happens for short or long dehydration. You have to drink water to release water. As you become more hydrated you will lose the water it's already storing - and any in the initial rehydration.

    That's what happens to me anyway!
  • RachNRoll
    RachNRoll Posts: 192 Member
    are you sure the bloating is due to water/lack of water? I don't think it's rare that people get bloated because of protein shakes, especially if you're lactose intolerant (which you might be, even if it's a mild intolerance - which is extremely common, actually).
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    Rather than a protein shake you would be better with water and some nuts and/or fruit, give your digestion something to work on and satisfy your thirst much more cleanly and effectively. Add a rehydration sachet if you are concerned about lack of salts due to the high heat.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    What's your pee look like? And are you drinking anything else during the day other than that one protein shake?
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited August 2016
    Your made up of about 70% water so getting enough is really important. Will you bloat from drinking more water possibly but certainly temporarily I would be more worried about inflamation from not getting enough water as your liver and kidneys aren't capable of getting rid of toxins without adequate water. Finally any nutritionist with half a brain will tell you if your using Protein powder to supplement a deficit in your nutrition to drink plenty of water.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Firefly0606 wrote: »
    I don't mean to sound rude, but really, who cares? If you have realised that you are in an extremely dehydrated state....getting puffy or adding water weight should be the least of your concerns. Dehydration has a whole range of other really unhealthy effects on your body....it can kill you.

    Agree with this. Also, any water retention would be short term.

    As for whether you are actually dehydrated, the pee test is a nice check. Drinking water when working out in the heat is a really good idea, though, in any case.

    Also, your body doesn't experience feelings and emotions like being afraid so holding on to weight or water or what have you. I know you probably didn't mean it literally but I think it's an odd way people have of talking about it. Your body is given signals/inputs that result in certain actions.
  • kaitbannonrun
    kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
    RachNRoll wrote: »
    are you sure the bloating is due to water/lack of water? I don't think it's rare that people get bloated because of protein shakes, especially if you're lactose intolerant (which you might be, even if it's a mild intolerance - which is extremely common, actually).

    I'm not bloating because of my protein shake, I ment I bloat whenever i start to drink water since I hardly/never drink water and I'm always dehydrated.
  • kaitbannonrun
    kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    What's your pee look like? And are you drinking anything else during the day other than that one protein shake?

    No I only drink a protein shake after my run and I don't run everyday but other than that I don't drink anything not even tea or other beverages. I know its really bad :/ but sometimes I'm not as thirsty or again I forget to drink. I do eat a lot of foods with high water content though. Does that count?
  • kaitbannonrun
    kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    What's your pee look like? And are you drinking anything else during the day other than that one protein shake?

    Oh and I forgot to mention my pee is a dark yellow which I'm assume means I'm dehydrated as I've been told/learned
  • kaitbannonrun
    kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    Your made up of about 70% water so getting enough is really important. Will you bloat from drinking more water possibly but certainly temporarily I would be more worried about inflamation from not getting enough water as your liver and kidneys aren't capable of getting rid of toxins without adequate water. Finally any nutritionist with half a brain will tell you if your using Protein powder to supplement a deficit in your nutrition to drink plenty of water.

    What exactly happens if I get inflammation due to not enough water? And I only drink after my runs which isn't everyday other than that I don't really drink much which is why I'm asking this because Im curious to know whether my body is actually storing the extra water.
  • kaitbannonrun
    kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Firefly0606 wrote: »
    I don't mean to sound rude, but really, who cares? If you have realised that you are in an extremely dehydrated state....getting puffy or adding water weight should be the least of your concerns. Dehydration has a whole range of other really unhealthy effects on your body....it can kill you.

    Agree with this. Also, any water retention would be short term.

    As for whether you are actually dehydrated, the pee test is a nice check. Drinking water when working out in the heat is a really good idea, though, in any case.

    Also, your body doesn't experience feelings and emotions like being afraid so holding on to weight or water or what have you. I know you probably didn't mean it literally but I think it's an odd way people have of talking about it. Your body is given signals/inputs that result in certain actions.

    Yeah it was sorta a silly way to put it but I ment it figuratively haha Im just curious whether its true or not. I'm not afraid to drink water I'll happily drink it but like I mentioned I forget to drink it sometimes or I just don't get thirsty and I'm sure that's just damaging my body as I'm being told in this forum :/
  • rebel_26
    rebel_26 Posts: 1,826 Member
    http://www.eatthis.com/drink-water

    read link pls. Drink water or gatorade or powerade...

  • kaitbannonrun
    kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    So what you're saying is you'd rather stay dehydrated and damaging your body than risk adding a couple of pounds of water weight by drinking enough water....?

    No of course not, I just want to know whether its true that your body holds onto water and stores it when you finally drink some after being dehydrated for so long
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited August 2016
    kaitbannonrun wrote: »
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    Your made up of about 70% water so getting enough is really important. Will you bloat from drinking more water possibly but certainly temporarily I would be more worried about inflamation from not getting enough water as your liver and kidneys aren't capable of getting rid of toxins without adequate water. Finally any nutritionist with half a brain will tell you if your using Protein powder to supplement a deficit in your nutrition to drink plenty of water.

    What exactly happens if I get inflammation due to not enough water? And I only drink after my runs which isn't everyday other than that I don't really drink much which is why I'm asking this because Im curious to know whether my body is actually storing the extra water.



    Most people can tolerate a three to four percent decrease in total body water without difficulty or adverse health effects. A five to eight percent decrease can cause fatigue and dizziness. Loss of over ten percent of total body water can cause physical and mental deterioration, accompanied by severe thirst. Death occurs at a loss of between fifteen and twenty-five percent of the body water.
  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
    I'm amazed you haven't gotten a kidney infection if you literally aren't drinking much. If I go a few days and drink only about 50 oz a day I start getting symptoms of a kidney infection.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    You realize your body needs water to process the protein in the protein shake? Drink lots.
  • kaitbannonrun
    kaitbannonrun Posts: 19 Member
    markrgeary1 wrote: »
    You realize your body needs water to process the protein in the protein shake? Drink lots.

    I actually didn't know that but thank you for telling me.

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