Water retention, how can I get rid of it?

Modifying your lifestyle by controlling cortisol, balancing sodium and potassium, and consuming more fluids eliminates water retention.

You've counted all the calories and double-checked them; you've logged every set and rep, every day. You've bought every supplement that could possibly help… and you're still not losing weight… do you have water retention ?

By now, you know how a calorie deficit works, and you're not overeating. You know how to prevent “metabolic damage,” and you're not starving yourself.

And you know you're working far too hard at the gym to see the same depressing sight in the mirror and on the scale every day.

Well, when the “obvious” reasons for a weight-loss plateau have been eliminated, the culprit is usually water retention. And when this is the problem, it is important to address it correctly.

If you do what most people do—exercise more and eat less—the problem is likely to get even worse.

The emotional firestorm of anger and frustration will burn even hotter, and the only hope of extinguishing it will probably turn into a long, greasy binge.

You obviously don't want that to happen to you. Well, in this article, we will break down this topic in detail: what causes water retention, what works and what doesn't to get rid of water weight, and more.

Water retention: What are the causes?

The type of water retention we are talking about here threatens nothing more than your vanity and has nothing to do with endangering your life.

It is the wavy layer covering our abs, hips, and thighs that never seems to disappear, no matter how little we eat or how much we exercise.

There are three main causes, which we will discuss:

• Increased cortisol.
• The sodium and potassium imbalance.
• And not drinking enough water.

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress and low blood sugar levels.

• Nearly all cells have receptors for cortisol, so its effects are countless and include influencing fluid retention and blood sugar levels, food metabolism, the central nervous system, and more.
• Under normal conditions, cortisol does not cause problems with water retention. However, under abnormal conditions, it does.

On the other hand, sodium is readily absorbed by cells and brings in water.

• When you consume a large amount of sodium, it can cause cells to retain water temporarily until fluid balance can be restored to cellular levels.
• This is also why, when you restrict sodium intake, water retention

Potassium plays a vital role in restoring this cellular fluid balance. While sodium draws water into the cells, potassium pumps it out, which is why research shows that restricting potassium intake can increase fluid retention.

Also, if you do not give your body enough fluids, it triggers adaptations that increase water retention.

Water Retention: Is It Water Weight or Just Fat?

Why do people hate admitting that they are just fat? They are not bloated, they are not retaining water, and they do not have thick skin… they are just fat.

Sometimes we have to face reality. Sometimes, the rippling layer covering our abs is not water; it is just fat. However, how can you tell the difference?

Well, there are two different scenarios to address here.

• You have seen a rapid increase in weight …
• You can only eat so many calories, and your body can only digest and process so much food and synthesize so much fat in one day.

As a general rule, if you have gained more than half a kilo in one day, or an average of half a kilo per day over several days, you can bet that a considerable portion is water weight.

Of course, this does not apply to every situation: consume 10,000 calories from hamburgers and 5 carbonated drinks over the course of a week and you will gain a lot of fat… but who does that anyway?…

If your weight has been relatively stable… what happens?… well, some people say that water retention feels “softer” than body fat.

Others say that, particularly in the abdominal area, you can “test” it by pulling the skin away from the body and releasing it. If the area “ripples” when the skin returns to the body, there may be excessive water retention.

Others notice generalized swelling or larger-than-normal fingers or ankles when they have large amounts of water.

However, these indicators are not reliable because they are subjective and vary from person to person.

Water retention: what is the reality?

We believe the best way to make sense of your situation is to first determine (approximately) your body fat percentage.

The effects of water retention do not become pronounced or distinguishable from body fat until you have around 10% (men) / 20% (women) body fat or less.

In other words, if you are a man with 15% body fat, you will look bloated and undefined regardless of how much or how little water you have. The same applies if you are a woman at 25%.

However, if you are a man at 10% or less, or a woman at 20% or less, you are in the range where water retention can noticeably affect what you see in the mirror.

If you are in this state, you can review the criteria above to determine how likely the solution is… furthermore, you will no longer be able to avoid admitting that you are fatter than you want to admit…

Water retention: sodium vs. potassium?

If you have read everything up to this point, then you already have a good idea of how to lose weight…

You probably need to reduce your sodium intake…

As you know, consuming too much sodium in general promotes water retention, and large fluctuations in sodium intake do too.

Therefore, by stabilizing your sodium intake at a healthy level, you can reduce and stabilize water weight. To do so:

• Check the sodium content of the foods you consumed during the past week.
• Do not forget to add rough estimates of how much salt you have been using (salt contains approximately 2.3 grams of sodium per teaspoon).

If you are like most people, you will discover two things:

• You consume a lot of sodium.
• Your sodium intake fluctuates drastically from one day to the next.

The solution is simple: consume less sodium and make it your daily standard. If you sweat a lot, you may need more sodium to compensate for losses, which can range from 3.5 to 4 g per day.

Be careful with canned or prepackaged foods, cold cuts, certain condiments, sauces and dressings, dairy products, and other “labeled” foods. Add salt to your diet in moderation and, if necessary, use a potassium-based salt substitute.

Another solution is to add more potassium to your diet: the best sources are the types of foods that many people avoid—fruits and vegetables—and that is the widespread problem.

This mineral imbalance contributes to water retention, but it is much worse than that because it is dangerous for the cardiovascular system and can even cause heart attacks.

The conclusion is that people on diets very high in sodium and very low in potassium are playing with fire.

Water retention: what about cortisol?

Water retention is particularly common among people who diet, and the culprit is often chronically elevated cortisol levels.

There are simple things you can do to bring this hormone to the level you want and get rid of the water:

Reduce intense exercise: overtraining is much more common than undertraining. But, in the case of high-performance athletes, unfortunately, it cannot be reduced beyond a certain point.

• Yes, training 5 hours per week is more effective than 1 hour, but 10 hours per week is not necessarily more effective than 5.
• The reason for this is simple: intense exercise puts a lot of stress on your body, and you will need time to rest and recover.
• This is not just muscle stress either. The nervous system is also heavily involved, and if you try to push it too hard, over time you simply will not be able to keep up.

And if you are doing that while also dealing with problems like water retention and general fatigue, you are basically overtrained.

Relax: the options are simple:

• TAKE A DELOAD WEEK.
• REDUCE YOUR CARDIO for a few days
• INCREASE YOUR CALORIE INTAKE by 5–10%, especially by consuming complex carbohydrates.
• GET ENOUGH SLEEP, making sure you get anabolic sleep.

If you get an analytical test, make sure you are not in too severe a calorie deficit.

The worst way to lose weight is simply to starve yourself and do a lot of cardio.

You can be aggressive with your calorie deficit and do it well, but not recklessly.

That is why a deficit of 20 to 25% is generally recommended to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss while also managing metabolic adaptation.

And, should you take anti-cortisol supplements?… YES, if you train hard, YES…

Water retention: more water?

It is recommended that we drink plenty of water each day, and although we get a good amount from food, this requires drinking at least a few liters.

In terms of what type of water is best to drink, research shows that tap water is becoming increasingly contaminated with all kinds of contaminants: bacteria, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and various types of poisonous chemicals.

Bottled water isn’t much better either. It is expensive and also often contains chemicals; however, there are certain types of water with “fair” prices that should be part of your sports diet.

On the other hand, having an effective water filtration device or reverse osmosis system can be great; it all depends on you and your family.

Finally, don’t stop drinking herbal infusions, including teas such as green tea, among others; in certain cases, when things get complicated, add herbs for digestion, the kidneys, or the liver… there are even some to boost energy or relieve stress… everything helps.

And what about diuretics?

There are many foods and natural substances that supposedly have diuretic effects, including… caffeine, celery, onion, eggplant, asparagus, hawthorn, parsley, and watermelon…

Well, just like the false idea of “fat-burning food,” the idea of magically losing a large amount of water weight by making small changes to our diets and supplement regimens sounds great … but it doesn’t work that way…

• The reason for this is simple: although there are natural substances that have mild diuretic effects, they do not address the cause of water retention and therefore cannot solve the problem.
• For example, caffeine and certain herbs have mild diuretic effects, but they are so mild that the amount of liquid you consume to obtain the molecules can offset them.

Similarly, research shows that hawthorn and parsley are natural diuretics, but their effects are mild and temporary.

The reality is that if you are struggling with water retention, fixing it will require lifestyle changes rather than pills and powders, although these can help with certain diets or at specific times, such as before a competition.

The only situation in which we would recommend using natural diuretics is if you have a competition, a photo shoot, or some other one-day event that requires you to look as dry and defined as possible.