How much water weight?

[Beatlesboy]

Is there anyway to tell how much weight loss could be from water weight when beginning a weight loss program? I lost 20 pounds in 20 days when I started, then it shifted back up to a 7 pound loss in the days after.

My question is: is there a maximum number of pounds lost that can be attributed to water loss? If the first 20 pounds someone loses is water and they've lost 40, then only 20 has been from fat (we'll ignore the fact it could be muscle loss etc.). Could one then expect the same results from only losing 20 more pounds?

Another question: As one's diet varies, can sodium in the diet and other variables cause water retention and thus you can lose "water weight" at many stages of your weight loss and not just the start?

 

[jaraku]

I think it just depends from person to person...there are many factors that might contribute to it, such as the previous diet, how much water did they normally drink, things like that

 

[ansonteo]

Many people believe that drinking water will increase water retention. But this really just a myth.

Truth
The body requires water for all bodily functions. If water intake is insufficient, the body will need to retain some in order to fufill functions.

If water intake is sufficient, then it will not need to retain.

Water and Weight Loss
Drinking water removes toxins and thus water retention.

Drinking water removes fat metabolic wastes and encourages more fat utilisation.

Drinking water prevents constipation, which reduces toxin accumulation and faecal weight.

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Anson Teo believes in good health and seeks ever to find ways to improve his health and wellness. He has a certificate in weight management as well as enzyme therapy, and regularly shares his knowledge on related health issues with family and friends.

 

[edco76]

No way to tell really without doing a body comp test. I usually use my common sense. If you lose more than 2-3 lbs in a week it is likely mostly water. Think about it. If you lose 10 lbs in a week. Thats 35k calories. To lose that as fat you are looking at a 5k a day deficit. Pretty tough to accomplish.

 

[tutinhloi]

oh Jesus, never lose weight by losing water in your body, it will slows down metabolism, and gain weight as soon as you have something to drink. Burn fat, feed muscle. building muscle need water to do that.

I always drink a lot of water especially tea cause it helps me stop cravings, a healthy skin, increase metabolism.

 

[kenislosingit]

water weight

Water weight will always fluctuate. You need to be consistent with your fluids and watch your sodium intake. Water weight can account for up to about 20 lbs. of weight in some people and drops very quickly when you become more hydrated. Personally, I use an '8x20 oz. bottles method.' It is easy to measure and keeps me well hydrated.

Outside of my morning cup of coffee, this is my fluid breakdown:
1 bottle before morning exercise
1 bottle with lunch (I work 2nd shift, so lunch is technically my first meal)
1 bottle before afternoon exercise
1 bottle on the way to work
1 bottle with my mid shift meal
1 bottle throughout the day to sip on
1 bottle with dinner
1 bottle after dinner

Routine is hard for everyone to achieve, even myself. But, routine is great for the body! The body loves patterns and predictability!

 

[tom cat gibs]

It all comes down to calories. First you need to find out what your daily caloric intake is which you can find plenty of calculators for it on google. Mine is 2500. Over the past two weeks i have gone from 218 to 202 (16 pounds). I've been using a calorie counter which is great for losing weight. I am on a 1000 calorie deficit diet. So you multiply 2500 by X (amount of days) mine was 14 days and was 35000. Then take what your deficit would be, mine is 1500 and multiply by X. This for me was 21000. Now subtract 21000 from 35000. This is 14000. So there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. I lost a total of 4 pounds of fat and/or muscle together. And the other 12 pounds being water weight. And thats how you do it.

 

[Professor Tom]

Almost every diet out there recommends drinking water and staying away from soda because of the sodium. One of the reasons they do this is that their diet will seem more successful if you lose a lot of water weight in the first week!


I don't want to start a firestorm of comments about the health value of water versus soda, but let's face it, most of us are addicted to diet soda and it is not such a good thing to try to cut it out when you are starting a new diet; motivationally.


I love my diet soda and would not like a life without it. I have recently compromised and I now try to alternate and drink one bottle of water for every diet soda.


Professor Tom Laurie
author of The Losing Attitude for Dieters