Could less water = weight gain

gila24
gila24 Posts: 20 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I know I shouldnt weigh myself every day, but I do, it helps keep me accountable.

Yesterday I only drank 6 cups of water (as opposed to usual 8) and today when I weighed myself I had put on 1 lb. Even though yesterday was a good eating day. Could the two be related?

Replies

  • barbiex3
    barbiex3 Posts: 1,036 Member
    yeah. its possible. one pound is not a big deal. could be many things
  • ciege77
    ciege77 Posts: 60
    My weight swings up to 3lbs on a daily basis, so 1lb is definitely nothing. Could be related to your sodium intake. Bottom line: don't stress it until you see significant, steady gain, and even then, you're not going to gain excessive weight from drinking too much water.
  • amaczu
    amaczu Posts: 23 Member
    6 cups is still a lot. If you only drank 2 cups I'd say yes, but it's not likely.

    Here are the likely reasons you weighed more:

    1.) Urine in your bladder
    2.) Un-pooped poop
    3.) Recent meal/drink
    4.) Hot gross humid night dehydrating you causing you to retain water during the night (if you weighed yourself in the morning)
    5.) Time of month is near~

    Think about it, if you drank a glass of water before weighing yourself, you would weigh a pound heavier, right? Not really something to freak out over.
  • dreamer4
    dreamer4 Posts: 27
    I have noticed as I have been up and down with the weight loss since starting....when I drink more water I will loose weight. If I do tea, diet coke, or just don't hit my water intake I tend to not loose and often gain weight. Maybe our body needs to water to break down fat?
  • ciege77
    ciege77 Posts: 60
    6 cups is still a lot. If you only drank 2 cups I'd say yes, but it's not likely.

    Here are the likely reasons you weighed more:

    1.) Urine in your bladder
    2.) Un-pooped poop
    3.) Recent meal/drink
    4.) Hot gross humid night dehydrating you causing you to retain water during the night (if you weighed yourself in the morning)
    5.) Time of month is near~

    Think about it, if you drank a glass of water before weighing yourself, you would weigh a pound heavier, right? Not really something to freak out over.

    6 cups isn't a lot of water. Per Mayo Clinic recommendations, just over 6 glasses of water should be a MINIMUM intake (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283).

    And 1 glass of water would not make you a pound heavier. A gallon of water weighs roughly over 8 pounds. So a fl. oz of water is roughly an ounce of mass. 6 glasses of water would only be about 3 pounds of water weight.

    gila, I understand you're trying to keep yourself accountable, but weighing yourself every day is counterproductive to your overall goal. Stressing a single pound is absolutely nothing to be worried about, as there are many variables as to what the cause could be, good or bad. Stick to your recommended calories. If you're exercising and not noticing a scale difference, try measuring yourself. You may not be losing much in terms of pounds, but you may find you're losing it in inches instead.
  • gila24
    gila24 Posts: 20 Member
    I should have clarified this earlier, but I was nursing a baby and only using one hand, hence the short post. I'm not stressing the 1lb weight gain, because even though I weigh myself every day, I only 'count' it from week to week, if you know what i mean.

    Last week, I made a concerted effort to drink 8 cups of water a day (which I wasn't doing before then) and I lost more weight than I expected to last week, then yesterday I didn't drink the 8 cups I had over the last 6 days or so and noticed the weight gain and I was wondering if they could be related, that as pp said drinking water helps with weight loss...
  • sunnyday789
    sunnyday789 Posts: 309 Member
    Re: Mayo Clinic suggestion
    Yes the Mayo clinic does suggest good fluid intake but you didn't make reference to the whole article which states that you can get your water from other sources including fruit, vegetables, coffee, tea etc. The following is a copy and paste from their article.

    Although it's a great idea to keep water within reach at all times, you don't need to rely only on what you drink to meet your fluid needs. What you eat also provides a significant portion of your fluid needs. On average, food provides about 20 percent of total water intake. For example, many fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and tomatoes, are 90 percent or more water by weight.

    In addition, beverages such as milk and juice are composed mostly of water. Even beer, wine and caffeinated beverages — such as coffee, tea or soda — can contribute, but these should not be a major portion of your daily total fluid intake. Water is still your best bet because it's calorie-free, inexpensive and readily available.




    If you like drinking straight H2O, great. But not everyone need to drink 8 cups of pure water every day to stay hydrated.
  • ciege77
    ciege77 Posts: 60
    Re: Mayo Clinic suggestion
    Yes the Mayo clinic does suggest good fluid intake but you didn't make reference to the whole article which states that you can get your water from other sources including fruit, vegetables, coffee, tea etc. The following is a copy and paste from their article.

    Although it's a great idea to keep water within reach at all times, you don't need to rely only on what you drink to meet your fluid needs. What you eat also provides a significant portion of your fluid needs. On average, food provides about 20 percent of total water intake. For example, many fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and tomatoes, are 90 percent or more water by weight.

    In addition, beverages such as milk and juice are composed mostly of water. Even beer, wine and caffeinated beverages — such as coffee, tea or soda — can contribute, but these should not be a major portion of your daily total fluid intake. Water is still your best bet because it's calorie-free, inexpensive and readily available.




    If you like drinking straight H2O, great. But not everyone need to drink 8 cups of pure water every day to stay hydrated.

    It says right in your paste that "beverages such as milk and juices are composed mostly of water," and "THESE SHOULD NOT BE A MAJOR PORTION OF YOUR DAILY TOTAL FLUID INTAKE." Why would you reference something from the article that shouldn't be considered a significant source of water intake? All I said was drinking 6 rather than 8 was likely still a good amount, and cited the reference for 6 glass minimum.

    I'd rather encourage people to go read articles for themselves than try and extract all of the information for them. She's the only one that can tell whether she's hydrating enough, and it would be in her interest to follow the link and read the article than someone potentially taking information out of context. The more people take an active interest in their health, the better off they likely will be.
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