Water Retention

beatrice33

Hi everyone!

I am trying to loose weight but i have a lot of water retention. I went to Naturhouse(dieticians) to help me with the diet etc and on the weigh ins, they can see the amount of fat and water retention, and i had like 10k (1st 8lb) of water retention :eek:

I try to drink near 2 l of water a day and i try to walk a bit everyday (no time for gym or muchelse with a 2 year old). I also drink herbal teas. To be honest i dont drink 2l everyday, only when im working and i have my bottle at the desk. At home, i never get to drink that much water, i forget.

I was wondering if there are any food or diet that can help with this? I know green sparragus are good, but anythingelse?

Thanks

metamorphosis

You really should increase your fluid intake -

If you are drinking copious amounts of caffeine or caffinated bevrages cut them out and increase your water more. If you find it hard maybe add some sugar free squash to it for a bit of flavour?

that's an awful lot of water to retain though tbh.

Reduce your salt intake if you have too much. Things like crisps, red meat, some dairy food stuffs had a lot of added salt, especially some cereals. Corn flakes have more salt per 30gm serving than a packet of walkersready saleted crisps. Read food labels.

beatrice33

Thanks ULstudent,

yeah, i must try and drink 2.5 l everyday. Is easy when im stiting down in work for 8 hrs, but when you are on the go, is not that easy, and always looking for a toilet!!!

I dont drink much caffeine, just a coffee in the morning, and i dont eat junk food. I eat veggies pretty much everyday and fish, meat, etc. I dont use much salt, but i use chicken stock cubes with stews, soups etc.

I rarely eat crisps and in the mornings I have Ready Brek, with some seeds (some mornings i have other cereals).

Thanks anyway!

EileenG

I know this sounds like a silly question, but how do you know you are retaining a lot of water? Those scales are notoriously inaccurate. Are there physical signs of water retention?

It's a classic thing with bodybuilders that they are often convinced all they have is water retention and as soon as they lose that, they'll look like Ronnie Coleman.

One way you can lose a lot of water pretty quickly is to drop carbs so low you go into ketosis. You should lose a lot of water over a couple of days when that happens and see if you think water retention really is your problem.

beatrice33

Thanks Eileen,

what is Ketosis? sounds scary.

I went to Naturhouse for a few months to help me loose weight after pregnancy. I use to have the weight measured by one of those fancy scales, and they told me the amount of fat and water i had. That was last year, after summer maybe, so it might be different amount now.

I have swollen fingers and ankles after exercising. I know it gets worse before the period.

EileenG

Ketosis isn't scary. It's the technical name for burning fat. Most endurance athletes are in ketosis at the end of a long workout. A very low carb diet can put you into ketosis even if you are not doing long exercise sessions (though exercise will speed it up).

Being pregnant can do it too.

Normally, you hold a certain amount of glycogen in your body, mostly in your muscles and liver. Glycogen is a fancy word for sugar solution. Each molecule of sugar holds onto three molecules of water. When you need energy, the body uses this glycogen to provide instant energy, and when the sugar is used up, the water can be discarded, either through sweat or urine. If you use up your glycogen and don't replace it (by eating high carb foods) your body will burn ketones (fat) instead, and won't replace the stored water.

Typically, someone going into ketosis can lose between 4-6lb of water in a matter of days. It's just water, it's not a miracle weight loss. But it may give you an idea of how much water you are holding.

A certain amount of swelling after exercise is normal. Does it go away when you've cooled down? Also before periods. If it goes away as soon as your period starts, that's normal.

If you are getting consistent puffiness, then I'd see a doctor.

beatrice33

Ah ok! sorry. Burning fat sounds good tho

What kind of diet would be the very low carb? i know, no pasta, bread, rice, potatoes... but whatelse i would need to avoid?

Thanks so much for your help

ps: yeah, the pufiness goes away, but i had a thyroid unbalance after the pregnancy and although it was fine when i checked last year i should get it checked again.

EileenG

Get a doctor to keep an eye on your thyroid numbers, and just eat well.

Yes, low carb typically cuts out all the white stuff, bread, rice, pasta, cereals, potatoes, and replaces them with lots of green veg. If you are being very strict, you'd cut out most fruit (not berries, they are fine) and milk at the start, but you bring those back very quickly.

Also, low carb diets are not low fat. If you are low carbing, then make a point of eating whole eggs, oily fish, nuts, nice cuts of steak, olive oil and real butter. One advantage of those foods is that they have a natural stopping point. No-one ever binges on eggs when they are not hungry. Okay, nuts may be an exception, I could eat way too much of those...

beatrice33

I want to try this. Would this below be ok to eat then?:

breakfast: porridge with water +seeds+berries
lunch: salad? with tuna, sardines or smoke salmon? nuts+seeds/ egg omelette
dinner: meat or fish, with veggies:parsnips, turnip, carrot?,spinach, peppers.../egg omelette

snacks: ?

Would that be ok? for how many days?

Sorry for so many questions.

EileenG

Great, except for the porridge. Try a couple of eggs instead. Omelettes for breakfast are great, and quicker to cook than porridge.

Maybe more green veg rather than carrots or parsnips. Cauliflower can be mashed and makes a good substitute for rice or potatoes.

Raw nuts or cottage cheese make good snacks. Stewed rhubarb is good too.

Try it for a week. If nothing else, you'll be eating a lot of very fresh food. Then see how you feel.

El_Dangeroso

Just be aware that you will feel kind of flu-ish for a day or two in the first week. This is your body switching from carbs to fat as the primary food source. I've heard it compared to the 'hitting the wall' that long distance runners experience when they run out of glycogen. Symptoms can be anything from being completely zapped of energy to feeling like a cold is impending, don't worry though, if you go to bed early you'll wake up with a burst of energy the next day like nothing else.

Best of luck!

corkcomp

going into ketosis is not whats required here TBH. speak to your doctor and dietician and firstly determine if it REALLY is water retention. if it is then cut down salt intake (cut out almost all salt for a week) and drink plenty water.

El_Dangeroso

Drastically cutting down on salt can be very dangerous and in some cases lead to hyponatremia, especially if you drink a lot of water.

Ketosis doesn't carry those risks and effectively does the same thing (ie lower blood pressure, reduce water retention)

I know which one I'd choose.

corkcomp

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Drastically cutting down on salt can be very dangerous and in some cases lead to hyponatremia, especially if you drink a lot of water.

Ketosis doesn't carry those risks and effectively does the same thing (ie lower blood pressure, reduce water retention)

I know which one I'd choose.

I know which one you would choose too but hyponatremia does not happen all that easily and if you read between the lines of the OP's situation it would "appear" the diet is healthy so there are two things here 1. we dont really know if there is any significant water retention in the first place and 2. if there is significant water retention based on the diet mentioned then I believe medical intervention is required - IMHO, no agenda here.

El_Dangeroso

But the OP is going to the doctor for her thyroid, and water retention is a very common symptom of that.

I think ketosis could be a nice, gentle way of reducing that symptom, with zero danger or side effects. Hyponatremia isn't all that uncommon, someone got permanent brain damage last year from a detox diet that advised zero salt and plenty of water.

Of course the OP is free to discuss this with her physician, all we can do is try to point her in the right direction for her query.

beatrice33

corkcomp wrote: »

I know which one you would choose too but hyponatremia does not happen all that easily and if you read between the lines of the OP's situation it would "appear" the diet is healthy so there are two things here 1. we dont really know if there is any significant water retention in the first place and 2. if there is significant water retention based on the diet mentioned then I believe medical intervention is required - IMHO, no agenda here.

Now Im getting worried.

I dont really use too much salt and i eat home made stuff most of the time. I am no saint and everyday i eat something i shouldnt (snack here and there, oven chips, ), the diet i mentioned above is the one i would follow if i want to try this ketosis thing.

How can i find out for sure if i have such high water retention?

corkcomp

beatrice33 wrote: »

Now Im getting worried.

I dont really use too much salt and i eat home made stuff most of the time. I am no saint and everyday i eat something i shouldnt (snack here and there, oven chips, ), the diet i mentioned above is the one i would follow if i want to try this ketosis thing.

How can i find out for sure if i have such high water retention?

the best way is to drink plenty water and cut down salt intake - if you keep to 5 g a day (and remmeber fish and lots of other foods contain salt) you will be fine. im guessing your CURRENT diet may not be that good maybe? savoury type snacks can contain tons of salt. so give it a try for a week..

El_Dangeroso

beatrice33 wrote: »

How can i find out for sure if i have such high water retention?

Don't mind us, we just like ironing out the finer points in the discussion

A healthy body is very efficient at regulating salt levels, the evidence against salt consumption is pretty much non-existent. In fact most of the symptoms of salt-sensitivity are more often than not attributable to a potassium deficiency.

You can get various tests such as blood tests, urine tests, liver and kidney function tests. Ask the doc, they should be able to figure it out from a physical exam alone.

corkcomp

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

. Ask the doc, they should be able to figure it out from a physical exam alone.

yes, very true. Im not saying its not water retention but it could also be excess fat stored (no offence meant here, just giving another possible cause)

El_Dangeroso

corkcomp wrote: »

yes, very true. Im not saying its not water retention but it could also be excess fat stored (no offence meant here, just giving another possible cause)

In fairness, I don't think anyone cares if it's fat or water, it still looks the same when naked

Actually OP, had a quick research and it seems potassium intake does very nicely at reducing water retention, as it balances the sodium in the blood stream.

Good sources of potassium include porkchops, tomato paste, coconut water (this is an especially good source, just drill a hole in a coconut and drink!)

Or switch to potassium chloride for salt such as losalt. *Warning: Salt substitutes should NEVER be used by anyone with compromised kidney function.*

beatrice33

Guys,

thanks for all the advice.

corkomp, i do have excess of fat apart of the water retention. I weight 11st 2.5lb. My healthy weight would be about 9st 6.3lb, so i know is not all water.

Temple, i will try those suggestions, thanks. I am also going to get the thyroid checked again because i remembered it has been actually nearly 2 years since i got it checked last time.

I will keep you updated

EileenG

In this case, I'm not advocating long term low carb, just as an non-medical way to lose excess water, so she can see how much of a problem it really is.

MissMotivated

Eileen is there a website or book that gives a definitive list of foods to be consumed in order to achieve Ketosis?

metamorphosis

Basically you need to deplete fully your glycogen stores for ketosis so cut out all the carbs

No fruit (except berries like blue/straw etc - watch portions)
Keep your veg to leafy greens - spinach kale, brocolli, bok choy, celery
Nuts/seeds
Fish and chicken
Eggs
Real butter
Oils
Cream - double cream better

Your bulk should be from fats, protein, then carbs

If you were serious about going down the route of low carb or ketosis go out and read a book about it - The Idiot Proof Diet is a popular one and is only about 12e in easons at the mo.

MissMotivated

Thanks UL, have been meaning to get that book for a while actually, I find my stomach practically bloats to twice its size instantly when I eat bread or potatos or those kind of carbs so I'm thinking it's time to cut them out completely. As it is only fruit I eat is berrys, I have eggs, berrys, some nuts every day, will pick up that book and read more on it, thanks