!!!Gallon of Water a Day for Two Weeks, GAINED weight !!!

Water is great, though to be honest a gallon a day seems excessive. If it works for you on most levels, go for it, but realize that a gallon of water weighs over 8 pounds and your body doesn't always expel all that it takes in right away. Certain foods, especially salty ones will cause you to retain water. Weight lifting can also cause temporary water retention. Chances are that 6 pounds will drop over the next few days.

Doing a little math:
16 cups = 1 gallon
16 cups = 8 ounces each
16 x 8 = 128 ounces in a gallon

In addition to all that water, you're also getting some water/liquid in your food and any other drinks.

Hydration is very important, but I've always been afraid of over hydrating myself. You can seriously hurt yourself. I would knock off the extra water and let my body slowly get rid of it. Good luck to you.

domineer4life wrote: »

Given my body weight, drinking a gallon a day is on par with what many health articles online have said is ideal. I do not count calories like I used to but I generalize portion sizes fairly well from the years I consistently did it. I find that counting calories to the T is not fun for me. I fast a few days out of the week and I move my body a lot. I have decreased the amount of food I consume so I should be seeing decreases in weight.

You are correct that your water intake is close to what is recommended. It's a bit more than you need but not dangerously more. I would argue that you may think you are doing a good job with limiting your calories but if you are not seeing loss, you should revisit weighing and counting you calories. It's about calories in and out. Water and fasting is not magic...the calories still matter.

People tend to over complicate hydration. Determining whether or not you're hydrating sufficiently couldn't be easier. Look at the color of your pee. If it's a pale yellow then you're golden (no pun intended). The only exception to this is if you're taking riboflavin or some other supplement/vitamin/food that makes it's way into your urine and causes color changes. Then just lay off that item for a day to see where you're at.

Take it from a guy who passed a kidney stone a few years ago due to not hydrating properly with all the running I was doing at the time. I have done a lot of research on how to never let that happen again. The pain was an unbelievable motivator for learning how to judge my hydration level properly.

domineer4life wrote: »

peachvine29 wrote: »

The only way to lose fat is to be in a calorie deficit. I guess there are many ways to get into a calorie deficit (calorie counting is the most direct way to know if you are in one), but you have to have one to lose fat.

Drinking water may help fill you up with 0 calories, but you can still eat more calories than you are burning. Working out can help burn a little extra calories than you may have without working out (I burn 95 calories in a half hour of heavy weight lifting), but you can easily eat more calories than you are burning (a pack of 2 Reese's cups is 210 calories).

You need a calorie deficit (energy deficit) to lose fat (excess stored energy). It is as simple as that. Are you tracking food?

I track calories but not for every meal. I am not a big fan of it because although it works (I’ve done it in the past), it is not a sustainable habit for me. I’ve been going the route of eating smaller portions of food, fasting, upping water consumption, working out, and getting more sleep. I did Keto earlier this year and cut 20 lbs (I wasn’t counting calories or working out and I fasted 5 days a week).

Personally for me doing keto and fasting 5 out of 7 days a week sounds really extreme and unsustainable to me. I honestly don't know how you did that. Obviously that was unsustainable, or else you would be still doing that...

The notion behind this is that you feel full from all that water and won't eat as much - increasing the potential to create a caloric deficit. Water intake has little to do with weight management - other than the fact one should stay hydrated, which really isn't an issue in the Western world.

I get the rationale behind not tracking, because faced with objective information one has nothing else to blame on their situation other than themselves. Time to break this cycle and track your intake.

domineer4life wrote: »

Personally for me doing keto and fasting 5 out of 7 days a week sounds really extreme and unsustainable to me. I honestly don't know how you did that.[/quote]

Will power. I have strong will power and it actually became easier to do over time. I felt like I was plateauing on it so I switched back to the base of 3 days a week. I had to stop Keto because it wasn’t good for my cholesterol levels.

[/quote]

So you can will yourself to fast and do keto but logging your food is a bridge too far?

domineer4life wrote: »

So you're favoring other temporary and marginally unrelated measures vs. a known-effective methodology?

Why do you find logging to be such an unsustainable habit?[/quote]

Calorie counting works but Is not the only way to lose or maintain weight. It is not sustainable for me because I don’t enjoy counting every calorie in each morsel of food I consume. I want to find enjoyment in what I eat and as long as I am aware of the portion size, that is something I can stick to during this lifestyle habit.

[/quote]

You certainly don't have to count. You have to eat less calories than your body burns tho. And if the way you are using to control that isn't effectively doing it, it doesn't matter how much water you drink. Calorie deficit lose weight, not anything else.

domineer4life wrote: »

Hi MFP,

Two weeks ago I started the 30 day gallon of water a day challenge in an effort to drop weight and get a boost in energy. I have done a lot of cardio (13 times) over
the past two weeks. My workouts have consisted of 90 min walks in the neighborhood or 35 min elliptical machine training in the gym. I have done a few weight machines over this time as well but not as much as the cardio. As far as my water intake is concerned, I normally drank 50 to 80 oz a day before the challenge. After drinking a gallon a day, I’ve noticed immediate improvements to my energy and quality of sleep. My motivation to go to the gym, even on my rest days, have been a real boon to my confidence level. Last Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Morning before any food or drink) I actually lost 1.5 lbs from the prior week. I attributed that to the uptick in water consumption and fitness activity. I made it a point during the Thanksgiving period to workout often as to offset some of the incoming calories. The gallon of water a day commitment has contributed to a decreased consumption of food and although I might of had some “cheat” snacks during that time, I’ve been active and fasting for 16 hours a day (IF) for three days a week.

I felt discouraged this morning when I stepped on the scale and gained 6 lbs when I’ve been feeling and witnessing positive cognitive effects. Physically I feel heavier and I feel like my body still has a ton of water to dispel from my body but just hasn’t yet. Has any one of you experienced this and what have you done to get your body back to losing weight with the gallon of water a day routine? I am a male, 5’10” 246 lbs as of last week’s weigh in and I have tried on clothes and they don’t feel tighter so I know my body is holding on to serious water weight. I just feel bloated with water and my body is reluctant in releasing it.

Any guidance, advice, or encouragement right now would be much appreciated.

Hey Brother,

First, let me start by saying welcome to MFP! There are lots of great folks here, as evidenced by the response you've been getting.

Barring any potential medical conditions that might be affecting your goals here what I have to offer...

OK, on to the matter at hand: I too drink about a Gallon of water a day, Sometime a little less, sometimes a little more. I lift weights 4 days a week, (heavily) and do cardio 6 days a week. 4 days light cardio, just elliptical or bike, 2 days HIIT training. While I do ride a desk all day, I am hitting the gym hard, and man, I am a sweater... LIke dripping sweat.. So for me, I need to drink that much water..

In order to really help you out here we would need to take a look at your diet. Fasting is great, and I myself have had some great success with it, however, as a few folks have pointed out, it's all about calories in, calories out. If you're looking to lose weight, you'll need to be in a Calorie deficit. ie. Burning more calories than you are consuming. I would think that a good place for you to start is 2200 - 2000 cal a day if you're exercising regularly. Try that for two weeks, and see how it goes. I know it seems like very little food, but it's all about smart food choices. It helps if you think in terms of changing foods out, verses denying food. For example, I like to have a snack every night at around 8 pm. So instead of the "Peanut butter toast" etc, I have a "Atkins" bar or Protein shake.

Get used to reading labels and track all of your food, without exception! You'd be surprised how many of us have gone over our daily Calories goal when we are honest about what we are actually eating. Pay special attention to Sodium levels too. Nothing will have you holding onto water like a heavy salt diet. I myself, actually weigh all my food, whether i'm "cutting" or "bulking". I find the routine of it helps me stay on course.

Last thing, and I probably skipped 100 things, but, Do not weigh yourself every day! I literally fluctuate 5lbs on the regular. If I have a "cheat" weekend, I can put on 10 + pounds in 2 days. It will come back off in 3 days though of dialing back into my routine.

Hope all of this helps in some small way. Feel free to hit me up w/ a friend request. Don't be afraid to ask questions, we've all been in the same boat as you.

PAV8888 wrote: »

I disagree with your approach but only because it sounds to me as if you're literally floundering around looking for a solution, any solution, and the truth of the matter is that consistency over time is what, in my opinion, seems to work best for those who are maintaining their loss a few years down the road.

In your case and your current problem, the first suspect would be my method of determining my weight level over time. I use a weight trend app and try to keep my daily weigh-in conditions identical. And possibly due to overconsumption of water!

The more extreme your deficit and intervention and the more far off from the norm for you it is, the harder it will be to stick to it long term.

Anything you start doing to lose weight, ask yourself: do I see myself doing this during the next three to five years?

If the answer is no, then it is either too extreme, you're not ready for it, or, obviously, you're not going to stay the course.

But weight loss and maintenance is not a one month thing.

So find what works for you. For years at a time

And do remember that the size of the deficit and the increase in exercise or activity don't have to be heroic. Just like with compound interest, time multiplies consistent effort

I could not agree more...

OP, I know you want to lose this weight ASAP... everyone does. But quick results quickly go away, while long lasting changes bring about lost lasting results. There really is no way around it in the long run. And it's true, we have all been there, tried this or that, only to come about and realize that lifestyle change is the lasting way to change your weight for the long term. I just encourage you to take a deep breath, be kind to yourself, take the pressure off, feed your body foods you truly enjoy, and make small changes here and there. There really is no rush. When you lose the weight, you are not done, you are just at the beginning of a new state of body you now have to maintain. Whatever you do to lose weight, you really do have to be able to stick to or else it will come back. Your body is the result of your lifestyle and habits of what you are doing consistently over time. What you are doing consistently will reflect in your body's state (fat mass, muscle mass, etc).

I sincerely hope you find your way in this.

rheddmobile wrote: »

My feeling about not counting calories is that if you can lose weight just fine without counting calories, have fun, go for it. Some people can. However, if you can’t be bothered to count calories you lose the right to ask why you aren’t losing weight as expected, because there is no “as expected” if you don’t know your intake.

I keep reading your replies about how you don’t need to count calories. If so, what the heck is this thread about? You aren’t losing weight the way you want and you are wondering why not. The way to get that answer is to count your calories. You don’t have to do it forever, but you should do it until you have the answer to your question.

By the way, it takes me literal seconds every day to log, and I can do it on my phone at a restaurant. It’s especially easy if the restaurant menu is in the location tab. If it really does take you a long time, just snap a photo of your food and log later. “Just want to eat without the task of logging and recording” sounds like a fancy way of saying, “I want to pretend this meal fits in my calorie limits even though I secretly sort of know it doesn’t,” to me. I’m betting that’s the reason you aren’t losing as expected.

Yes, I can lose weight just fine without counting calories under certain circumstances. But since I'm not single, don't have an active job, am not living in a yoga retreat center in Costa Rica, and don't expect any of that to change, I weigh and log my food.