Water intake

Talk to a registered dietitian who can calculate exact water needs. I don't think 12 cups is to much, especially not if you are sweating when you work out or in hot weather. Water retention is not a concern unless you have what is called pitting edema. Press with a finger or thumb into your shin and count how many seconds it takes for the skin to go back to normal. If it is over one second, talk to your doctor. Remember, that in our female cycles certain hormones cause us to bloat a bit. It happens to me every month. When I record my weight every day, I can tell when the hormones have changed just by when I gain or stop losing weight if I am sticking to my eating plan. When hormones change again in a week or so, the weight goes back down. Something else that can cause water retention is if you are salt or sugar sensitive. Some people will feel bloated or achy or have other reactions to too much salt or sugar. If your potassium intake is very low, that can also cause an imbalance because you should be taking in more potassium than sodium. And your potassium needs increase if you are sweating a lot. I know the struggle is real because I am salt and sugar sensitive and I never seem to get enough potassium. These are things I am working on. Do NOT try to gorge yourself on water choking it down, thinking you will flush out the bloat. This will cause you to lose more electrolytes like potassium and can cause serious issues such as hyponaetremia, etc. Some foods that are natural diuretics are watermelon and cucumber. You could try eating those or some green tea. Don't overdose on caffeine either, because that can cause issues as well, but a little caffeine would not hurt and may help you lose some water. Whether or not you should be drinking caffeine depends on if you have any health conditions, your doctor or registered dietitian can tell you if caffeine is a bad idea. For most people a cup or two of tea or coffee a day is not going to harm you. Hope this helps.