Shannan’s Journey

Water Retention and Bloating- Joanne Lee

I hear these type of situations so often….

You have a great couple weeks with your eating and exercise. You’re starting to really see progress i.e. your clothes are fitting looser, your face looks leaner, your stomach’s tightening up, your energy’s increasing… You’re fired up to weigh yourself because you feel like you have dropped a few lbs! You step on the scale and… what the heck… Your weight is actually up…???  You don’t get it! You see it in the mirror and feel great in your clothes but why is the number on th scale up!? You feel discouraged and frustrated. Sometimes that number does mean something… and sometimes it doesn’t.

There are many factors that determine your weight. The biggest one is water retention. Your body’s made up of between 55%-75% of water. This means that your weight will be directly affected by your body’s retention of water. What causes your body to hold water and what causes it to shed water? This will help you with knowing the difference between water and body fat! Hopefully this will help you avoid those little freakouts! Every cell in your body controls its water balance through a sodium/potassium pump. Potassium resides inside the cell and sodium stays outside the cell. Both of these are electrolytes. An equal balance of sodium to potassium must remain in each cell so that proper cell integrity and water/electrolyte balance can be maintained.

As with every other system in the body, the goal is to maintain homeostasis (balance). Water retention is a side effect of the disruption of this balance. Why does the body retain water? Once the balance is lost, the body will need to make an internal adjustment in order to regain cell balance. Many times, the body adjusts by retaining water. The main reason for this is blood flow. Our circulatory system is the method in which our body is supplied with oxygen. Without water, our blood cannot flow. When there’s a cell imbalance with possible dehydration (lack of water), the body triggers the release of hormones to retain and protect its remaining water and ensure the proper hydration of the body’s blood supply.

What causes water retention? This cell imbalance can be affected by many things; the most frequent are: high sodium and/or carbohydrate foods, a lack of water intake, the ingestion of diuretics (substances that force your body to release water), women’s menstrual cycle and stress. Every gram of sodium and carbohydrates attract 3-4 water molecules. This means when you eat too much sodium or carbohydrates, you’ll will force the body to retain excessive water. Many people also think that drinking water causes water retention… Not true.

In fact, the exact opposite is true. Please remember that the body is a "feed as it goes" machine…

If the body is being fed consistently, it will release consistently. This means by drinking more water, your body will release more water and in turn flush out excess sodium. Taking diuretics or “water pills” are also a big cause of water retention. These substances force the body to release its water and directly affects the sodium/potassium pump of each cell. By taking diuretics, your body begins to rely on them, and temporarily loses its ability to self regulate this internal water balance. This means that when the substances aren’t taken, the body doesn’t know how to release water, causing heavy water retention. Diuretics taken for long periods of time can cause permanent damage to the body’s water regulating system as well as the kidneys.

Another cause of water retention is a women’s menstrual cycle. This is caused by the increased levels of hormones present. Typically, a woman on her menstrual cycle can gain 5-6 lbs. The last thing that frequently causes water retention is stress. Stress is defined as the body’s reaction to change, producing a physical, mental, or emotional response. Stress naturally occurs in life, so in moderation it’s a non-factor. When stress levels reach a high point, they cause a hormonal response that triggers the accumulation and retention of water and toxins in the body.

What are the effects of water retention? When the sodium/potassium pump goes out of balance, the main effect of water retention is weight gain. I’ve seen clients gain 10 lbs of water by eating a heavy sodium/carbohydrate meal alongside a stressful few days. That same 10 lbs will then dissappear a couple days later by eating correctly and managing stress. In this circumstance, the increase of weight is just a sign of water retention and nothing else. It is important to understand and accept that there will be times when your body will retain water and get bloated.

The goal is to know how to avoid this and minimize its happenings…

1. Drink Water You should drink at least 64 oz (2 liters) of water per day, and ideally 96-128 oz (3-4 liters) per day. The best way to tell if you’re drinking enough water is by the color of your urine. If it’s clear you are doing well, if it’s yellow, you’re dehydrated and should increase your daily water intake.

2. Exercise on a regular basis! Movement equals optimal circulation. The more efficient you are with your exercise, the better your body can remove excess water.

3. Eat High Quality Foods The ideal sodium/potassium ratio in mg is 1:3. The great news is that if you eat high quality foods, you’ll automatically hit that ratio. If it has 3 or less ingredients, it is of great quality. More ingredients means more processing, and that typically means higher sodium. A good rule is to center your meals on higher quality foods. This will ensure minimal water retention and bloating.

4. Manage Stress Levels Stress causes the over release of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is a water retaining, fat storing hormone. Managing your stress levels will help reduce water retention and bloating. Remember this the next time you step on the scale. If you know you have been following your program and have done nothing that could have possibly caused weight gain, it is most likely just water!

So the next time you step on that scale, if your socks leave an imprint in your legs (I hate that!), or your face looks fuller than normal, or your rings don’t fit your fingers… I invite you to remember your new found understanding about water retention and bloating. If the cause of those things is an occasional “off plan” meal or a stressful day, it’s just excess water. If you get back on track by implementing these 4 strategies that water retention will be gone in a day or two… there is never a need to panic once you understand the process.

The Cheat Meal

The Cheat Meal… There comes a day in most dieters’ lives when a cheat meal is necessary. And depending on your personality, you either love it or hate it. There are those who look forward to a cheat meal because it gives some psychological relief from the strictness of a stringent diet and gives an energy boost that rejuvenates a heavily trained body! Then there are the dieters who use a cheat meal as a license to overeat. This, by the way, is not a true cheat! It is a binge!

On the other side of the spectrum, we have dieters who dread a cheat meal…athletes who are so locked into "the zone" that they are afraid to eat anything other than what is on their base meal plan. Even though their metabolism may be slowing, they may be losing muscle and they may be suffering from the fatigue a tough diet can induce, they refuse to cheat.

The benefits of cheating, and the importance of cheating when you are told to (and only when you are told to in some cases!)

What is a Cheat Meal?
The definition of a Cheat Meal is a meal that is higher in calories (and potentially higher in carbs or healthy fats) but is still nutritionally dense. In other words, eating foods that your body can put to good use, such as a steak and a potato (or even Chipotle!) and NOT eating empty calories like sweets and highly processed foods.

An important note that many dieters may not be aware of, is that a cheat meal is meant to be consumed within a 20 minute time frame. It is a MEAL not a DAY! The benefits are to be gained from one caloric boost, not a day long binge that, instead of stoking the metabolism, instead overwhelms the body’s systems. Such prolonged overeating stresses your digestive system and leads to unwanted fat storage.

Benefits of Cheating
When you are on a very restrictive diet, as time goes on, the metabolism begins to slow, adapting to the current calorie intake you are taking in. So, for example, if you used to require 1800 calories to maintain your weight, but have been dieting at a level closer to around 1300, you now may only require 1600 calories to just maintain because of the fact the metabolism has slowed. The degree of slow-down that you experience will vary depending on how severe your diet is and how lean you are to start with, but one thing is for certain, long periods of dieting can spell trouble for metabolic rates. When you incorporate in a cheat meal you may trick your metabolism into thinking that it’s okay to speed up once again. Basically, that famine it thought was occurring is not.

Physically, as you diet to break down fat, you also inevitably break down muscle. The less fat you have to lose, the more your body will turn to muscle when it requires a source of energy. By eating a cheat meal, you fill your glycogen stores, offsetting catabolism and maintaining that hard earned muscle. Since muscle tissue burns calories at a higher rate than other body tissues, you are also maintaining a higher metabolic rate based on your body composition!

Cheat meals also offer a great energy boost. When trying to lose body fat, you are not only dieting, but you are training hard as well. A depleted body cannot work as hard and thereby burns fewer calories. A nutritious cheat meal can boost energy levels for days, allowing for increased training intensity and more effective workouts.

In addition to this, cheat meals can also help your psychological mindset, making it that much easier to stick with a diet program. A bit of relief and slight indulgence can satisfy cravings and make the focus and discipline required for intense dieting possible.

To Cheat Or Not To Cheat
Cheat meal frequency and/or size should be minimized when you are carrying high levels of body fat. Basically, the more fat you carry, the more likely that any excess food will be shuttled toward body-fat storage rather than muscle mass, whereas, the leaner you are, the more likely you are to burn those calories or use them for muscle retention.

Here are the physiological benefits of cheating, when it is appropriate:

• Increased release of thyroid hormone (T3 and T4).
• Increased thermic effect of feeding. This is the energy expenditure for metabolizing the food.
• Increased spontaneous activity or NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). This represents the activities of daily living, changes of posture, and fidgeting.

It’s important to note that individual responses are quite variable. In fact, as you might expect, your genetic make-up and exercise activity have a lot to do with your response. Your degree of leanness is also an important factor. This is where the timing of a cheat in a diet plan is crucial!! Cheat too soon and you undo your hard work and set yourself back days and even weeks in the process!

Physiological responses to cheating based on these variables:

• Lean people have a significant increase in sympathetic autonomic nervous system activity while obese people often have no response.
• Lean and obese people show increases in T3 and T4 release but there’s large variability. This variability may be explained by the fact that the obese may release less thyroid hormone when overfeeding.
• When exercise-trained people overeat, they may store more carbohydrate while burning more fat. Non-exercisers, on the other hand, may store more fat and burn more carbohydrate.
• Weight-gain resistant people tend to experience huge increases in NEAT as a result of cheating (most of the extra calories are burned, not stored), while people who gain weight easily tend to store most of the extra calories as fat. In one overfeeding study, subjects were given 1000 calories above maintenance per day. The weight-gain resistant subjects in this study oxidized 70% of those 1000 calories. Those who gain weight easily actually stored most of those calories as fat. After 8 weeks of this cheating pattern, fat gain varied almost 10-fold among subjects, ranging from a gain of only 0.79 lb to a gain of 9.31 lb!
• In lean people, the normal insulin response to a meal only minimally affects fat mobilization and fat storage. However, in fatter people, the normal insulin response to a meal nearly shuts down fat mobilization and leads to large increases in fat storage.

As you can see, reaping the benefits of a cheat meal depend on a few different factors. The more body fat you carry, the more likely you are to store those “cheat” calories as fat; the leaner you are, the more likely you are to burn those calories. In addition, genetics play a big role. Since some people respond to cheating by boosting their metabolisms dramatically while others respond by storing that energy as fat. You must also define exactly what you’re hoping to accomplish with the cheat. Are you hoping to make the diet psychologically easier? Are you hoping to increase the intensity of your subsequent workouts so that you can burn more calories during and after the workout? All of these factors play a role in determining whether to cheat or not to cheat. 

SO, start considering all of these variables when incorporating cheat meals into your nutrition plan. If you do not have them on your plan given bya trainer or nutritionist, do not take or add them! Your body is not ready for it and there will be no benefits, only set backs and the undoing of weeks of focus and hard work. If you are asked to take a cheat meal, enjoy it! Eat something to replenish your body and know that you are refueling your muscles and, if eating responsibly, you are increasing your metabolism!

Remember: “Don’t Cheat Yourself, Treat Yourself”…but only when it’s appropriate!

Every goal requires a plan of action. Once you know
the plan, you must prioritize your actions.
–Rev. Shelia McKeithen

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"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition."

Martha Washington

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"You never know when one act, or one word
of encouragement can change a life forever."
~ Zig Ziglar