3 Reasons You’re Retaining Water & How to Fix It
Why you’re losing weight even when you don’t think you are
A common theme amongst dieters is the idea that weight loss has a mind of its own.
Sometimes the weight comes off consistently, like the drip, drip, drip of a tap and other times nothing happens for weeks and then suddenly you drop 5 lbs.
Why is this?
Well, first off, it’s important to realise that weight loss is not a neat or tidy process. Its results are non-linear, meaning if you were to plot your daily weight on a graph it’ll jump about all over the place instead of neatly going down.
This in and of itself highlights the importance of taking a weekly average and looking for a general downward trend over time.
However, whilst sound advice this doesn’t explain why even though the typical advice is to lose 1–2 lbs a week, in reality, it rarely looks like this.
Instead, you go through periods of consistent weight loss, followed by periods where the scale won’t budge only to wake up one morning and see a large drop in weight.
Whilst not always the case, the common culprit is water retention.
You might be more familiar with these as feeling soft and fluffy instead of lean. It often presents itself as static scale weight, bloating and the aforementioned change in how your body looks.
In this article, we’re going to look at what causes water retention and how to get rid of it.
Why You Struggle with Water Retention
I want to kick this off by reminding you that water retention is a normal part of dieting and although annoying it’s nothing something you need to be worried about.
However, it does mask what’s really happening and distorts both your scale weight and how you look in the mirror, which is why you do need to be aware of it.
Water retention occurs due to hydration imbalances in the body and is common amongst dieters trying to lose fat and particularly for those who are a low level of body fat i.e. sub 12%.
Let’s take a look at the 3 main causes.
#1: Elevated Cortisol Levels
Cortisol, commonly known as the stress hormone, is not normally responsible for water retention. However, being in a calorie deficit for a prolonged period of time spikes your cortisol levels which result in water retention. (1)
The longer you diet for and the larger your calorie deficit is, the more you raise your cortisol levels and the more water you hold on to. This leaves you feeling bloated, looking soft and wondering why your weight isn’t changing.
#2: Sodium and Potassium Imbalances
Sodium and potassium work together to maintain proper hydration balance, with sodium binding with water to keep it in and potassium working to flush it out.
Adjusting your sodium intake can affect how much water your body holds on to with a higher intake resulting in more water retention and a lower intake the opposite.
However, it’s your potassium intake that determines whether you become bloated and retain water. You see, whilst sodium binds with water, it’s potassium that expels it.
This means whether your sodium intake is high or low, if your potassium intake is adequate, you’ll expel the water that is there. However, if your potassium intake is low then your body won’t be able to get rid of the excess water. (2)
When this happens you hydration balance gets thrown off and water retention occurs.
#3: Not Drinking Enough
Hydration is an important part of the proper functioning of the human body. Whether it’s water, tea, coffee or a range of different sources, you need to stay hydrated. If you don’t drink enough/stay hydrated your body will begin to hold onto what you do have. (3)
This is done in part by releasing the hormones aldosterone and vasopressin which can both increase water retention. (4, 5, 6)
How to Overcome Water Retention
As we’ve already discussed water retention is a normal part of dieting and the fat loss process. The goal here is not to avoid ever becoming bloated, that’s unrealistic.
Instead, my aim is to give you strategies to manage and reduce water retention as and when it occurs on your fat loss journey. There are several ways to do this.
#1: Reduce Your Salt Intake
Salt intake is often on the high side for people. It’s a popular seasoning when cooking, frequently added to foods and a common ingredient in a lot of popular supermarket products for its preservative properties.
Reducing your salt intake is simple, provided you know how much you’re getting compared to the recommended health guidelines. For example, in the UK the NHS recommends no more than 2.4g of sodium per day, whilst in the USA the USDA recommend no more than 2.3g per day.
The exceptions to this are for children, those over 50 and anyone with hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. All these people need less sodium than the above amounts.
On the other hand, people who are very active, sweat a lot and/or live in humid environments which cause them to lose a lot of sodium through perspiration may need more sodium to help maintain a healthy balance. (7)
#2: Increase Your Potassium Intake
In the same way, salt intake can be problematic for lots of people, research shows that nearly 98% of adults in the US are not getting enough potassium in their diet (8) with the assumption being that other developed countries have a similar problem.
Thankfully, increasing your sodium intake is as simple as including more sodium-rich foods in your diet. Examples include:
- Yams, squash
- White and sweet potatoes
- Spinach, beans and dark leafy greens
- Bananas
- Avocado
- Salmon
- Mushrooms
- Yoghurt
#3: Decrease Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is often the biggest contributor to water retention. This is mostly because of the effect being in a calorie deficit for a prolonged period has on it. As a result, your ability to manage your cortisol is vital to being able to reduce water retention and bloating when dieting.
We already know that when dieting your cortisol levels go up which increases water retention. However, the opposite is also true and a large drop in cortisol will decrease water retention. You can do this with an increase in calories.
This increase in calories often creates a whoosh of weight loss as your cortisol levels return to normal and the excess water is expelled from your body.
There are also several other factors which can help you manage your cortisol levels and water retention:
- Exercise Levels: doing too much exercise, particularly cardio, can further elevate your cortisol levels. Avoid this by lifting weights no more than 2–5 hours and cardio no more than 2 hours per week
- Calorie Deficit: using a calorie deficit that is too large not only increases the side effects of dieting and ramps up cortisol, but it also results in muscle loss and more persistent water retention. Avoid this by using a small to moderate calorie deficit
- Refeed Days: as we’ve seen temporarily increasing calories can be an effective way of reducing cortisol and water retention. Using refeed days you can help overcome the side effects of a calorie deficit and flush out any excess water
#4: Stay Hydrated
How much water you need to drink daily is the subject of debate and to a degree dependent on your circumstances, with those who are more active and sweat more needing to drink more than those who are sedentary.
However, most recommendations agree you need around 2 litres per day to maintain a healthy level of hydration.
Not sure if you’re hydrated or not? Check the colour of your urine, clear or light yellow means you’re hydrated and anything darker means you need to drink some more water.
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It’s important to note that water retention doesn’t mean that you’re not losing weight. Instead, it is simply masking the progress you’re making which is why once you’ve restored balance the weight comes off all in one go.
When you noticed that your weight has stalled it’s important you don’t change anything too drastically. Instead, use the strategies in this post to help manage and reduce water retention.
Then, if that still doesn’t work you might have hit a workout plateau. Learn more about what to do in that situation here.
