Afraid to drink water... NOT Rational

btrfeder · August 2019

Dude you weigh the water? Let your husband help you or admit your sick at least. Lots of people go through life without people telling them they have a problem and then all of a sudden it’s too late. Your post screams for help and lots of people here who also are on a fitness journey are telling you that you have a problem. You should listen to them.

I think weighing everyday is horrible. I know it has become hot but so what. It’s terrible because weight fluctuates , bowel movements fluctuate, and Water weight fluctuates. Every week is even too much but acceptable

What you’re doing is ludicrous and incredibly unhealthy. If you wanted someone to agree with you or Feed your sickness you came to the wrong place. Please get help. Gl.

sandymram · August 2019

I just wanted to say how brave you were to share your feelings and concerns. You are helping more people on here than you realize. I am sure you are not the only person who does this, and others are probably suffering from similar behaviors. Or, they might start to do something similar down the road. So kudos to you for bringing it to light. 🙏🏻

Lots of great responses here, especially deleting the weight trending app. Yes, for many people it can be helpful, but for others it can be harmful. CICO works for all, but weighing daily does not. And like someone said - you lost the weight, you did that on your own. Don’t give that app so much power. ❤️

JohnnytotheB · August 2019

You do you. If that helps you be successful then do it. It's your life and you are an adult.

missysippy930 · August 2019

OP, have you ever had an eating disorder in your life? If so, maybe this irrational fear of drinking water could be a transference stemming from that. Just wondering.

pontious11349 · August 2019

Weight gain is not fat gain! Understand that the scale is simply data which is influenced by lots of things ...salt intake, stress, poop, menstrual cycle...water. But fear not the weight fluctuations.

Maybe change your daily routine. Try taking progress pictures instead of the scale?

Whatever happens something needs to change. The only reason I dont chug water before bed is I dont want to have to wake up for a pee. Id far rather the solid 8.

texasredreb · August 2019

Seek therapy. Not rational. Not normal. Not healthy. I sincerely hope you get it under control.

Tedebearduff · August 2019

brittlb07 wrote: »

This is going to sound crazy but at the end of the night as I approach bedtime I am afraid to drink even water. I am trying to get as low as I can so in the morning I am at an all time low. I should note I use Happy Scale and weigh daily to track trends (this works for me- please don’t suggest I not weigh daily- I’ve lost 25 pounds doing it this way!). I know if sounds rediculous but sometimes the scale jumps close to a pound after a large glass of water. My husband tells me I am crazy and I will eventually pee it out but it totally messes with my stats. And I panic my body is going to retain the water and bloat. I KNOW I am irrational about it but don’t know what to do. I even weigh my water before I drink it so I can subtract it from the scale at bedtime. I almost want to start always drinking a lot at night and just cause my stats to go up for a short time. Then I can compare apples to apples after drinking a large glass of water after my workout but before bed every night.

Does anyone else ever feel this way??? I wish you just instantly peed out the water lol.

You have an unhealthy relationship with the scale, you need to focus on how you look in the mirror instead. You can gain or lose 8lbs a day.. it's even worse for woman and even more likely around your menstrual cycle. You gotta get over it before it effects your life and happiness.

sadiebot · August 2019

brittlb07 wrote: »

This is going to sound crazy but at the end of the night as I approach bedtime I am afraid to drink even water. I am trying to get as low as I can so in the morning I am at an all time low. I should note I use Happy Scale and weigh daily to track trends (this works for me- please don’t suggest I not weigh daily- I’ve lost 25 pounds doing it this way!). I know if sounds rediculous but sometimes the scale jumps close to a pound after a large glass of water. My husband tells me I am crazy and I will eventually pee it out but it totally messes with my stats. And I panic my body is going to retain the water and bloat. I KNOW I am irrational about it but don’t know what to do. I even weigh my water before I drink it so I can subtract it from the scale at bedtime. I almost want to start always drinking a lot at night and just cause my stats to go up for a short time. Then I can compare apples to apples after drinking a large glass of water after my workout but before bed every night.

Does anyone else ever feel this way??? I wish you just instantly peed out the water lol.

I understand wanting to weigh yourself frequently, but at the very least, you should stop weighing yourself at night. There are so many fluctuations throughout the day that it really doesn't tell you anything.

As for the water, I know where you're coming from with wanting to see the lowest possible number every time, but try thinking about water as something that flushes out waste, and salt that might cause bloating, and excess fat. That's not exactly physiologically accurate, but it might be a visualization that helps you see water as a positive, helpful thing, rather than scary.

And try not to view changes on the scale as make-or-break. You know this, which is why you are tracking trends. It can be disappointing to see a higher-than-expected number, but you've lost 25 pounds - you've got this! Weight loss isn't a straight line down.

And if you keep panicking, you might want to talk to a nutritionist or your primary care doctor - it can be easy for all these numbers to turn into disordered eating, and you need to make sure you're working on health, not just the number on the scale.

DancingMoosie · August 2019

Drink your water at night, pee in the morning, then weigh yourself. If that does not help you feel better about the scale weight and drinking, then it's probably time to put the scale away.

poisonesse · August 2019

I weigh daily, I've lost over 60 pounds that way. But it sounds like you're weighing at night? Try weighing in the morning, first thing after using the bathroom and before so much as a sip of coffee/tea/water. That's your true "dry weight", and while it will fluctuate according to the sodium you had the day before, that time of the month, etc, it will give you a much better idea of how much YOU weigh, not your food/fluid intake. I can understand not wanting to drink water in the evening because it will make you get up to pee it out during the night, but not because of weighing yourself. If you weigh in the morning, you won't have to worry about this anymore, so you might even sleep better knowing you'll get a better idea of your weight the next morning.

BuddhaBunnyFTW · August 2019

I'm a middle aged man on diuretics I drink lots of water and I get up twice a night to pee. I guess I should be afraid too. LOL

callsitlikeiseeit · August 2019

i would suggest therapy.

chris_in_cal · August 2019

Congrats on losing 25 lbs. that takes a lot of consistency and dedication. Sure, go to therapy. I'm a big fan and think everyone should go. The outcome is that for some it will do nothing, and for others it will help. Therapy can't hurt.

Another thing, people get really out of control about water intake so you have triggered a bunch of people by your particular issue. If you had said "I can't eat lean protein six hours before I go to bed" it might have been similar. Or "Here is way HIIT doesn't work for me."

Anyway, glad you are here, sure get therapy, try new things, enjoy your successes.

kimny72 · August 2019

chris_in_cal wrote: »

Congrats on losing 25 lbs. that takes a lot of consistency and dedication. Sure, go to therapy. I'm a big fan and think everyone should go. The outcome is that for some it will do nothing, and for others it will help. Therapy can't hurt.

Another thing, people get really out of control about water intake so you have triggered a bunch of people by your particular issue. If you had said "I can't eat lean protein six hours before I go to bed" it might have been similar. Or "Here is way HIIT doesn't work for me."

Anyway, glad you are here, sure get therapy, try new things, enjoy your successes.

It's true. Many of us do get "triggered" when we see a young woman who is heading down a dangerous road, especially when she specifically asked for the help we are suggesting.

But no, being afraid to drink water because it might not all get peed out before you weigh yourself in the morning is not the same as saying "HIIT doesn't work for me".

And no, losing 25 lbs does not require the kind of consistency and dedication that involves needing to weigh the water you are drinking and a fear of consuming it.

brittlb07 wrote: »

This is going to sound crazy but at the end of the night as I approach bedtime I am afraid to drink even water. I am trying to get as low as I can so in the morning I am at an all time low. I should note I use Happy Scale and weigh daily to track trends (this works for me- please don’t suggest I not weigh daily- I’ve lost 25 pounds doing it this way!). I know if sounds rediculous but sometimes the scale jumps close to a pound after a large glass of water. My husband tells me I am crazy and I will eventually pee it out but it totally messes with my stats. And I panic my body is going to retain the water and bloat. I KNOW I am irrational about it but don’t know what to do. I even weigh my water before I drink it so I can subtract it from the scale at bedtime. I almost want to start always drinking a lot at night and just cause my stats to go up for a short time. Then I can compare apples to apples after drinking a large glass of water after my workout but before bed every night.

Does anyone else ever feel this way??? I wish you just instantly peed out the water lol.

OP, this is not healthy. Water weight will go up and down all day, every day, for there rest of your life. It is how your body is supposed to work, and obsessing over it to this extent is alarming. Fear and panic shouldn't be associated with your weight at all, and certainly not for something essential and neutral to fat loss like water. Please talk to someone you trust, if not a therapist.

apullum · August 2019

chris_in_cal wrote: »

Congrats on losing 25 lbs. that takes a lot of consistency and dedication. Sure, go to therapy. I'm a big fan and think everyone should go. The outcome is that for some it will do nothing, and for others it will help. Therapy can't hurt.

Another thing, people get really out of control about water intake so you have triggered a bunch of people by your particular issue. If you had said "I can't eat lean protein six hours before I go to bed" it might have been similar. Or "Here is way HIIT doesn't work for me."

Anyway, glad you are here, sure get therapy, try new things, enjoy your successes.

Perhaps you're not aware of this, but saying someone is "triggered" has a negative connotation: that they are overreacting or getting unnecessarily upset about something. I don't think that telling someone they need professional help because they are afraid to drink water constitutes an overreaction.

NovusDies · August 2019

I am not at all "triggered". I am concerned. I crafted my initial response the way I did because the lure of the lower scale number can make people engage in temporarily unwise behavior and I am not sure if that is what is happening or if the OP needs therapy. Those that were more alarmed from the first post made a very sensible suggestion. No one is suggesting the OP needs to be locked up for her own safety just that maybe a weekly visit with someone that can give her tools to help her through this.

Weight loss can be quite a strain on a person and after an doable eating routine is established most of the weight loss happens between the ears. I have had a few moments myself that have given me pause.

HoneyBadger302 · August 2019

OP, I get the impression your weigh-ins are not consistent? Generally, as others have mentioned, weighing first thing in the morning after using the toilet is going to give you the most consistent numbers, however, you are STILL going to have natural fluctuations based on TOM, workouts, higher sodium food the day before, the weather, etc.

If you've lost 25 pounds and have been weighing daily, you should have enough data to see your natural fluctuations. For a slightly different take from what's been suggested, perhaps go back through and analyze that data a bit more. See where you went up and down. Personally, I find the trend app doesn't work great for me - while I record my weight in it daily, I also created a spreadsheet were I enter my daily (morning!) weigh-in, and then each week is averaged, and at the top I can see my starting weight, total loss, and average loss per week. Unlike the app, these numbers are pretty straight forward, and I can also leave notes if something relevant happened.

I like seeing the numbers myself - and it helps me also see how my "high" days slowly move down as my weight moves down, and that it's okay to have a high day, and also what a "high" day means for my body (in my case, it is not unheard of for me to have 3+ pound fluctuations, especially after a race weekend).

I agree with the others (and you) that your fear of drinking a glass of water is irrational, but there may be some easy fixes, starting with when you weigh in. Keep in mind that losing the weight is only the beginning. You are going to deal with daily fluctuations the rest of your life, and if you want to keep the weight off, you are going to need to know what is normal (and healthy) - best to get a good grasp on that now.

ExistingFish · August 2019

I also suggest seeking counseling. You seem to have an unhealthy relationship with your scale.

From a practical standpoint, I'd suggest increasing your water consumption earlier in the day. Many people limit their fluid intake before bed to avoid middle-of-the-night urination. There is no hard and fast rule that says you have to drink water before bed.

Get your fill of water during the morning and afternoon, AFTER you weigh for the day. Just aim for consistency in your weighing. I always weigh first thing in the morning, before eating or drinking, after peeing.

cwolfman13 · August 2019

brittlb07 wrote: »

This is going to sound crazy but at the end of the night as I approach bedtime I am afraid to drink even water. I am trying to get as low as I can so in the morning I am at an all time low. I should note I use Happy Scale and weigh daily to track trends (this works for me- please don’t suggest I not weigh daily- I’ve lost 25 pounds doing it this way!). I know if sounds rediculous but sometimes the scale jumps close to a pound after a large glass of water. My husband tells me I am crazy and I will eventually pee it out but it totally messes with my stats. And I panic my body is going to retain the water and bloat. I KNOW I am irrational about it but don’t know what to do. I even weigh my water before I drink it so I can subtract it from the scale at bedtime. I almost want to start always drinking a lot at night and just cause my stats to go up for a short time. Then I can compare apples to apples after drinking a large glass of water after my workout but before bed every night.

Does anyone else ever feel this way??? I wish you just instantly peed out the water lol.

You need to put the scale away...and no, the trend app isn't working for you because if it was you would be looking at the trend over time and not weighing your water so you can subtract it. IDK why you're weighing in at night either.

Beyond that, drinking water doesn't cause you to retain water...it has the opposite effect. When you don't hydrate sufficiently you retain water and get bloating.

Your husband is right...this is crazy.

elainemariebenes · August 2019

i got into a similar bad habit a couple years ago, i was trying to reach a certain goal by a certain date and i got obsessed with weighing myself...all hours of the day, before food, after food, you name it...and getting frustrated if i didn’t see a number i liked. then started trying to manipulate the scale based on if i used salt on my food the night before.

i tried putting the scale away altogether and that lead to a regain that i am now working on, so maybe that is not the best solution for everyone. as with most things in life, finding balance is key.

Afraid to drink water... NOT Rational

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