Too Much Water?

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bellydancer72
bellydancer72 Posts: 41
in Health and Weight Loss
A fitness pal of mine who is in great shape listened to me telling her how I am doing everything right, i.e. drinking 96 oz of water a day, eating my correct calories (or just below), and exercising and I'm still losing and gaining the same 3 lbs over and over again. She told me that maybe I'm drinking too much water and that I should maybe not drink more than 64 oz a day. I am confused now because I heard that the more water you drink, the more it flushes out the water weight you carry, yet everytime I drink my 96 oz, the next day the numbers on the scale are up again. It's getting very frustrating.

For example, Sunday I weighed in at 157.8 lbs and by today I'm back up to 160.8. This happens to me every week over and over again. It's always the same 2-3 lbs that come and go and NEVER goes down any further (let alone STAYS down!). So any advice out there as to what may be the cause? Is is too much water like my fitness pal said, or something else?

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  • bellydancer72
    bellydancer72 Posts: 41
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    A fitness pal of mine who is in great shape listened to me telling her how I am doing everything right, i.e. drinking 96 oz of water a day, eating my correct calories (or just below), and exercising and I'm still losing and gaining the same 3 lbs over and over again. She told me that maybe I'm drinking too much water and that I should maybe not drink more than 64 oz a day. I am confused now because I heard that the more water you drink, the more it flushes out the water weight you carry, yet everytime I drink my 96 oz, the next day the numbers on the scale are up again. It's getting very frustrating.

    For example, Sunday I weighed in at 157.8 lbs and by today I'm back up to 160.8. This happens to me every week over and over again. It's always the same 2-3 lbs that come and go and NEVER goes down any further (let alone STAYS down!). So any advice out there as to what may be the cause? Is is too much water like my fitness pal said, or something else?
  • Zara11
    Zara11 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    So, for a week, drink a bit less, and see if it helps!
  • MisoSoup79
    MisoSoup79 Posts: 517
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    Do you eat a lot of carbs late in the day? How is your sodium intake?

    I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt you're drinking "too much" water. If you exercise, 96 oz per day sounds about right. I'd look a bit more closely at your foods.

    If I eat a carb heavy meal at night, I tend to weigh heavier the next morning. It's not necessarily fat, but carbs before bed can inhibit the release of growth hormone, which is responsible for weight loss, and for some, they may cause water retention. Excess sodium also causes water retention, so that's why I ask about your sodium levels.

    I also fluctuate on a daily basis, but I can usually attribute a gain in the morning to something I didn't do right the night before, and if I watch what I'm eating very carefully, I always weigh less the next morning. It's really hard to prevent fluctuating water levels unless you eat exactly the same things day after day... Drinking excess water is not going to prevent you from losing fat, though. I'd say don't focus too much on the water weight.
  • persian_dancer
    persian_dancer Posts: 110
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    it could also be waste..... like poop! hehehe! I do the same thing. I just took Anatomy and Physiology and you only expel like 1% of the water you drink or something like that. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I just know that when I don't drink a lot of water the day before and I weigh myself before I eat or drink anything if I've lost weight I log it, if I don't I drink more water and try harder to not eat as much sodium. :drinker:
  • bellydancer72
    bellydancer72 Posts: 41
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    I've actually cut down on the carbs and if I do have them, they're the good kind (whole wheat), and my sodium levels are in check, so I don't know what's going on.:grumble:
    Do you eat a lot of carbs late in the day? How is your sodium intake?

    I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt you're drinking "too much" water. If you exercise, 96 oz per day sounds about right. I'd look a bit more closely at your foods.

    If I eat a carb heavy meal at night, I tend to weigh heavier the next morning. It's not necessarily fat, but carbs before bed can inhibit the release of growth hormone, which is responsible for weight loss, and for some, they may cause water retention. Excess sodium also causes water retention, so that's why I ask about your sodium levels.

    I also fluctuate on a daily basis, but I can usually attribute a gain in the morning to something I didn't do right the night before, and if I watch what I'm eating very carefully, I always weigh less the next morning. It's really hard to prevent fluctuating water levels unless you eat exactly the same things day after day... Drinking excess water is not going to prevent you from losing fat, though. I'd say don't focus too much on the water weight.
  • purrrr
    purrrr Posts: 1,073
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    what about your potassium levels? i recently read somewhere that as opposed to sodium which leads to water retention, potassium helps the water flush out of the system, if you are not getting enough of it, it may work the same as sodium excess

    are you by chance drinking water just before, during or after you eat? as long as you are not, 8 cups of water should really not be a problem

    btw, your flunctuation can be due to so many reasons and too much water is like the last of all the possibilities here... :huh:
  • SwSe86
    SwSe86 Posts: 11
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    When your body breaks down fat it uses water so you need water in order to lose weight. The problem is you are retaining the water instead of using it. Salt can make you retain water, so try cutting down on your sodium intake.
  • ngwife4life
    ngwife4life Posts: 569
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    Try focusing more on what you're eating and step up your exercise routine. Weigh yourself in TWO to FOUR weeks and make sure you're taking all your measurements. Just chunk the scale out the window if you are honest with yourself and you KNOW you're doing what you need to be doing for living a healthy lifestyle and losing weight. No, 96 ounces of water does not sound like too much.

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