Your body can retain water for a variety of reasons. If you are trying to lose weight, consider what some of the causes for your fluid retention could be by discussing your concerns with your health care provider. Some women experience bloating during phases of their menstrual cycle. Eating a high-salt diet and some medical conditions might cause your body to hold onto water. You should also consider your type of exercise program and your water intake.
Take Small Steps
When initiating a weight loss program, you will experience the most success with a combination of healthy eating and exercise. To lose weight, you need to expend more energy in calories than you eat. By cutting back a few calories in your diet and adding in daily physical activity, you can tip the energy-balance scale in your favor. Your body will react better if you slowly and progressively decrease calories and increase activity. If you make big changes too abruptly, you shock your system, and it will actually try to maintain your current weight. Water retention might be one of the signs that your health changes were too drastic.
Training Type and Diet
If you are participating in a lot of endurance exercises or increase the amount of carbs in your diet to support your physical activity, you might find that you gain a little water weight. This might be a sign that your body is becoming better at storing carbs to be used for energy when you exercise. As long as you are not eating more calories than you need, do not feel alarmed. This type of increase in water weight does not mean you are storing more fat.
Beware of Dehydration
If you are not drinking enough fluids, your body will actually try to retain water. A series of hormonal reactions will take place in your body to hold on to water as a protective mechanism. Exercising in hot and humid weather can also bring on this process. By drinking more water, your body will actually stop retaining as much water.
Drink Up
In addition to avoiding dehydration, which might be a cause of fluid retention, drinking sufficient water throughout the day can help you with your weight loss goals. Drinking one or two glasses of water prior to meals might help you with portion control by making you feel more full. Water should not replace your recommended caloric intake, but it can prevent overeating. While some recommendations suggest drinking eight or more 8 oz. glasses of fluid per day, this amount should be adjusted to meet your individual needs.
References
- American Council on Exercise; "Why Do I Seem to Gain Weight When I Start to Train for an Endurance Race Like a Half Marathon?
- Science Daily: Drink Water to Curb Weight Gain? Clinical Trial Confirms Effectiveness of Simple Appetite Control Method
- Daily Science: Obese Dieters' Brain Chemistry Works Against Their Weight-Loss Efforts
- Mayo Clinic: Water Retention -- Are There Any Natural Diuretics?
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