So lately I've been taking in a lot more caffeine than usual. I have been staying within my target calories, counting and weighing every tiny morsel. My deficit says I have a loss of 3/4 lbs., yet the scale has gone up 1 1/2 lbs. I know for a fact that I haven't eaten anywhere near enough to gain that much.

So trying not to get discouraged, I attempt to rationalize the cause. Food weight? Possible. Excess sodium? Maybe.. but I've been watching it. Then today it hit me. The caffeine! Although caffeine is a diuretic, I've read that an excess amount can actually have the opposite effect, dehydrating you which will make the body hold on to even more water. And I will admit, I don't drink as much as I probably should.

So do you think I'm grasping at straws here, or is it a real possibility that too much caffeine can cause severe water retention? Anyone else experience this?

Its my understanding that caffeine is a diuretic so you wouldn't retain water because of the increased caffiene, if anything you would lose more water....so hopefully you are hydrating adequately.

Ah, but see... I haven't increased my water, so since the caffeine is trying to expel it all, my body (being the resilient freak it is LOL) is desperately holding onto as much as it can for fear of severe dehydration. That's my theory anyway. I never feel thirsty, and it's hard to drink when you're not. I wish I could say the same about eating.. lol

so drink more water and see if it helps I guess.

How would you suggest I get more water when I'm not thirsty? I try drinking it flavored sometimes as a "snack", but even that gets old.

force yourself to drink more. that's what i have to do. i get really big cups and try to finish then off when i get a drink.

Well... I'll do my best. Does it have to be ONLY plain water? Would milk, smoothies, hot chocolate, and/or cider be okay? It's liquid.. lol

Nothing is going to hydrate you more than plain H20.

Are you talking about coffee...or soft drinks?

Everyone reacts different to caffeine. Coffee can bloat some people temporarily, I know if I drink an excessive amount I do. But it always goes away after a few hours.

As for hydration, like that chick said. Water wins. You could always try flavored water..but then sodium comes into play.

More supplements than actual coffee. I'm not bloated or anything, I feel just fine.

I use sugar free flavor packets. I don't remember exactly what the label said, but they either contain little (5mg) to no sodium. I managed to get 34 oz. so far today! LOL That's an improvement.

Drinking water takes some effort.
My trainer had me up it to 2 GALLONS in August.
a
lot
of
water
tooks some getting used to also ( I was drinking 1 to 1.5 gallons already...I wouldn't advise trying this from the get go...work up to it)

Plus, remember there are a lot of benefits of increasing water intake, helps with suppressing the appetite, keeps skin looking nice, etc.

2 gallons a day?? How in the world did you go anywhere without having to pee every 10 minutes?

yeah. it took a little getting used too alright.

I drink a little over two gallons a day, but like MoLowe said, don't try to do it all at once. That's a lot of peeing.

If your pee isn't clear, you need to drink more.

Lots of water does take some getting used to and, be careful not to drain your minerals and get electrolyte imbalance. I drink about 120 oz a day, and at times I will try and make up for not drinking water early in the day and drink much of it at once. Then I get light headed and overall feel crumby. Not a good thing. So, don't drink too much at once. I agree on the benefits though. Curbs hunger, decreases anxiety, increases quality of sleep and overall makes me nice to be around :>