Realistically, I know I didn’t gain 4 pounds because that would mean I ate 14000 calories more than my maintenance, which is absurd given that I ate rice two out of seven days and generally drank fruit smoothies, yoghurts, and breakfast sandwiches. I also skip lunch because I fast from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or have yoghurt on days I can’t.
Except for Friday, when I had a work potluck, my diet has been unchanged, and I ate very little.
At best, I should have gained one pound or remained the same. So I know it’s water weight because my stomachs are bloated, and the clothes that started fitting me now are still the same.
But I’m not sure how it works. How am I retaining four pounds of water weight? Assuming I gained a pound, how am I retaining 3 pounds of water weight? I’ve read a lot of information, but it all goes over my head. Could someone please help?
Keep up the fantastic job, and don’t be discouraged. I remember gaining about ten pounds when I first started my diet. All of the new workouts had made me puffy, and my face looked even puffier. I despised it lol. Then, almost out of nowhere, I began to get smaller and less puffy. I’m not sure, maybe it’s simply the body getting used to it.
Sodium and carbs (sugar) are the primary causes of water retention. Fruit smoothies are heavy in sugar, which could be the culprit. Also, be sure to check the calories on these! Fruit smoothies are typically not as nutritious as corporations would like you to believe.
I’m currently retaining slightly more than twenty pounds of “water weight.” It’s nothing but bloat, primarily on my legs but all around.
I went on a 100-kilometer bike ride, which was by far my longest ride. I’ve run a full marathon previously, but I’m not used to these cycling muscles. I walked ten or fifteen kilometres per day, too.
On my bicycle, I got into a wreck. I enjoy riding bikes when the weather is beautiful, but I am an accident-prone moron. I have bruises of varying sizes spread from my ankles to my neck, including scabs and scratches.
Water weighs more than you think: 8.33 pounds per gallon. So, if you drink a lot of water, drinks, or smoothies on a hot summer day and possibly consume too much salt, some of that liquid is retained in your body for a while before being, eh, pissed away.
It’s difficult to understand or describe precisely because there’s so much going on: sodium-potassium balance, your colon’retaining poo’ for variable amounts of time, and so on. Simply stick to your plan and be prepared for unusual variations. Don’t limit your fluid intake or you’ll become dehydrated and unwell.
Hormones, inflammation, and nutrition levels can all influence how much water is retained. When I eat meals high in carbohydrates, I tend to drink more water. In addition, if I have strength trained, I hold on to more water as the muscle recovers.
Are you certain it’s all water? Your BMs can also influence the movement of some weight out of your body.
Another thing I notice is that if I don’t move, I tend to hang onto water. I have a circulation condition that makes this a possibility for me. Not lymphoedema, but extremely close.
Water is essential to our body’s functions and structures. We are around 60 percent water. At 280 pounds, you’re about 168 pounds of water. Our water retention might range by 5% on a regular basis, and 4 pounds represents merely 2.3%.
Water is one of the most strictly regulated chemicals in the body. We don’t keep more than we need, and we’ll start shutting down processes if we don’t have enough. Activity level, meal quantity, food quality, stress, sleep, immunological response, gut flora, time of day, time of year, climate—there are numerous elements that can have a direct impact on your hydration/water retention levels.
Water moves where salt does. The more salt you consume, the more water you retain. The less salt you consume, the less water you retain.
If you consume a high salt meal (such as Chinese), your body will retain more water, causing the scale to rise.
This is why you lose many pounds after getting sick, only to regain them later. You dropped water weight because you lost body fluids without consuming anything. When you start eating again, the weight normally comes back.
