Water Retention

Hey everyone,  

We’ve all experienced the annoying stage when the scale consistently displays the same weight for weeks on end. 

When in a fat loss journey, the body may store water in the quickly emptying fat cells, which could be one reason the scale isn't showing a decrease in weight. Typically, 50–60% of an adult's whole weight is made up of water. The cells may try to retain structural integrity by absorbing more water when fat is removed. 

Consider it this way: if you didn’t have enough bricks to build your house, you would try and build the house out of similarly block shaped objects. 

The golden question remains, who do you manage and reduce water retention, so that you can continue to smash through your fat loss goals? 

1. Reduce sodium (salt) intake – Consuming too much salt can result in rapid water retention. If too much salt is consumed, the body can't maintain a balanced sodium-to-water ratio to function properly.  

2. Increase your water intake – This may sound daft, but drinking water can help reduce water weight. The body can hold more water when dehydrated to make up for the lost fluids. 

3. Eat fewer carbohydrates – The body stores more water when it consumes carbohydrates. When we eat carbs, the energy that we do not use right away is stored as glycogen molecules. 3g of water is accompanied by every 1g of glycogen. 

4. Exercise - Exercise causes the body to remove excess water through sweat. Exercise burns through glycogen energy stores, which further reduces water weight. To prevent dehydration, it is important to replenish lost fluids following exercise. 

Written by - Tom Weaver