Thread: Water.. Really?

Hey there,

I guess I'll give you some background information on myself before I ask my questions.

I'm 16, 5"5, and about 133-135 lbs. About a year ago, I used to weigh around 154 lbs, so I've basically lost about 20 lbs. Which is awesome, don't get me wrong.

Anyways, I just recently joined a gym and I do 40 minutes of skywalking each time. That burns about 500 calories. I don't do any weights yet because I'm going to get a Personal Trainer soon and he/she will guide me through it.

Well, anyways, I've probably reached a plateau because I've been staying at this weight for quite a while. I do admit that I don't drink the suggested amount of water a day, but I do drink a lot. When I do drink, mixed with the food I eat, I gain a lot of weight during the day, and I don't usually lose it overnight. Maybe 1 pound or so but I go up like 4 a day. It's very odd and a tad frustrating. Any suggestions as to why this happens?

what's your sodium intake like? the more sodium, the more water your body has to hold to balance your system out.

if your urine is any darker than light pale yellow to clear, you're not drinking enough water.

Originally Posted by malkore

if your urine is any darker than light pale yellow to clear, you're not drinking enough water.

My urine is like neon yellow, cause I take this vitamin B tablet...I should work at a night club or something.

I have been drinking a lot of water lately and I noticed I've gained 5 lbs.

I am so devastated right now.

Why? Unless you're drinking so much you're becoming bloated your not harming your physical appearance. Quite, the contrary- your improving it. Weight is not a factor by itself. Your height, body fat, muscle definition, etc... are what contributes along with weight to make up your overall appearance.

If you drink a few glasses of water its sitting in your stomach and no one can see it- don't worry.

Most people that want to trim down don't want to lose weight- they want to lose weight from fat. Only real exception to that is if you have a large amount of lean muscle and want to shed some of that.

Hi there

First, well done on your weight loss. That's really good. Your probably right that you have reached a plateau. I have lost 22lbs but had about 2 months where i stopped losing. Just keep with it, it will come off! Maybe up your exercise a little, and check what your eating. Do you keep a food diary? And weigh out your portions. Its easy to 'overload'. Or it could be that your not eating enough! This can also cause you to stop losing.

Also its possible that your losing inches now, not weight, or maybe burning fat. Do you know you body fat %? It is possible to lose body fat without the scales going down.

What surreal has said is right. The water drinking will def help so stick with it, your not doing yourself any harm. And i wouldnt worry about the scales going up and down a little each day.

Some will disagree (but any good personal trainer or doctor will tell you the same) dont weigh yourself every single day. I know its very tempting but try and stick to once a week, around about the same.

Best advice (well, what worked for me)
Stop weighing every day, just do it once a week.
check your portions, (or make sure your actually eating enough)
up your exercise a little
and drink ALL your water.

Im sure the weight will start moving again if you actually have it to lose.

Good luck

Thanks for the great insights everyone. I'm so afraid to drink water because of the extra weight. I can't really tell if it looks like I'm fatter after i drink water but I definitely know that when I drink a lot, the scale tells me. I weight myself about 6 times a day. I know it's bad, but I can't stop!

Weighing yourself 6 times a day is just crazy, and your not even getting an accurate reading by doing so.

Dont be afraid to drink water, I really dont think its the water that is causing your weight gain. Your body cant survive without it.... So I think that's telling you just how important it is to drink it lol

Please dont take this badly, I dont mean to hurt your feelings but it sounds like you are totally obsessed! You def seem to have some kind of problem regarding your weight and your health. Perhaps you should see your doctor and see what they think.

Yeah I know i have a bad problem heh. Okay, i resolve not to check the scale until every Saturday.

Thanks for the tips and support

I just dont want to drink and gain weight.

Hiya

Cutting down your scale jumping will be hard i know. Maybe start off just doing it twice a week at first. Say for 2 weeks, then go to weekly. Also remember to check your inch loss, you could be losing inches although the scales are moving up.

I honestly dont think the water is whats causing your weight gain. Maybe the first 2 or 3 days you will feel more bloated because of it, as this happened to me at first but but once you get start drinking the 8 glasses a day the weigh really should start moving and the scales should sort out. Promise lol

Heh I'll take your word for it

Tomorrow, i'll start the water process ^^

So here are some foods I eat,

Tuna w/mayo
mini tangerines
apples
and grapes.

Those are my favorite foods, but are the fruits too sweet with sugar?

Hiya

Is that ALL you eat? Im hoping theres a lot more. Everything you eat sounds ok though. There are so many fad diets out there, and the fact is none of them really work. Well, not long term. Trust me... Ive done them. atkins (a number of times) slimming world, cabbage soup diet, slim fast, the grapefruit diet, the zone diet the ice cream diet, (yes, there really is a diet called that!!) i could go on all day but im thinking you get the point.

The only thing that ever helped me to lose and keep it off was healthy healthily with a few 'naughty snacks' now and then (like some chocolate, low fat crisps etc), exercise and the water. After all one or 2 squares of chocolate are not going to kill you or make you gain lbs, not if you balance it out with a good diet.

Sorry this is so long, but you do seem to have some issues with your food and water so thought this might help you


A 'good healthy (perfect for weight loss) diet should contain,

1) Fats (yes, its true) Fat is such a bad word these days and there's a huge amount of confusion that comes with it. But fats are absolutely essential to your diet as they are crucial to your digestive system. Without fats in our diet we would actually diet. Also, fat does not necessarily MAKE you fat, its the quantity you consume...and the type ( a bit like the carbs). Your body loves fat. Non fat foods take a lot of processing to be transformed into fat cells around your waist, and the processing takes a lot of energy which your body hates (it seems to think, why waste time!) where as fatty foods just slide right in there making is super easy to stick to your waist, your hips, butt etc saving your body the hard work. There's 4 kinds of fat, the best, the better, the bad and the horrible. The ones your looking to eat are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, The ones your wanting to avoid are saturated and the hydrogenated oils.(most food labels state the amount)

2) carbs and cereals - Carbs are vital for good health and well being as they are the primary source of energy for your body. They are rich in fiber vitamins and minerals,.All this carbs are BAD is rubbish, its not that they are bad, its just a case of choising the good ones that your body will actually beneift from.Carbs are found in grains, fruit, veg and dairy goods. Go for wholegrain cereals and breads if possible if possible as sugar cereals and white bread etc are just full of rubbish and have no goodness in them. One of the BEST breakfasts (with good carbs) you can have is porridge, Its not too high in cals or fat and will keep you feeling full for hours, so your not going to be tempted to snack, or even worse your not going to be hungry. If your not keen on a hot breakfast All bran is another good choice.

3)Protein & Calcium - There has been a lot of rubbish about how we shouldn't have protein in our diets. One half of your dry body weigh is made up of protein which is required to build & repair body tissue. But it has been proven that protein actually keeps you feeling fuller even longer than carbs and fats. Skinless chicken, lean cuts of mean, quorn, cottage cheese and egg whites are all good sources of Protein. There is also new evidence that having calcium based snacks (ie: low fat yoghurt or of a glass of milk) can help reduce fat. Many people try to avoid this as they think of milk and cheese as being high in fat. Just make sure you chose the low fat range and you will be fine.

4)Fruit and veg and plenty of it, its low in cals, low in fat and many are high in fibre or iron. They contains loads of vitamins and minerals too. There is also mounting evidence that people who eat lots of fruit and veg are less likely to develop chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and some cancers. People who are on a fad diet such as atkins will disagree (which is strange considering they are filling themselves with fat lol) but no, there's not too much sugar in fruit. The sugars that are in fruit are natural sugars (have not been messed with) unlike the sugar we find in says chocolate. Most fruits are mainly liquid anyway but contain loads of vitamins, minerals, fibre and so on. Making them pretty essential to your every day life. If you think back, 100s and 100s of years ago people mainly lived on meat, fish, fruit and veg as it was all there was. And although there exercise levels were perhaps higher from hunting etc im never aware of seeing a picture of an obese cave man lol The only fruits that id say to go easy on are dried fruits as they do have a high sugar level

5)Water (again lol)

More than half your weight is water and its something your body really cant live without. Fluids travel through your body, carrying nutrients and waste to and from all your cells and organs. Your heart, your eyes, your intestines, and even your big toe need water-based fluids to survive. If say you were lost somewhere for days on end. Your body (if it had to - although its obviously not recommended as tend to mess everything including weight loss up - could go without the food) but you could only survive a few days without the water.

Water also helps to fill you up, meaning that at meals times your may feel less hungry and will be less likely to over eat - saving you calories and fat!

Wow thanks so much for all this information I appreaciate it A LOT ^^

I started the water drinking today. I drank 3 bottles of 500ml so far and I think I should drink 3 more as is suggested. Heh that's 3 Litres a day O.O

I do feel pretty good now thanks to you Heh. I appreciate it so much!

Hey

Well done on your water drinking!! It gets better after a while. Ive read on many health sites that if you feel you really need to (some just hate the taste of water) you can add some low sugar/low cal juice to it. We would call is squash over here in the UK,unsure what its called in canada but hope you know what im on about.

Your very welcome for the advice/tips Glad you didn't think i was...lecturing lol
Im only 20 myself but struggled with my weigh during my teens, that's how i know so much about all these diets. Really was just like you. I think I have either tried them all or read every book. How sad I know I!

Forgot to say, another good thing about it water (once you get over having to go to the loo so much!!) is that it makes your skin much clearer and brighter. Sleep is also good, for the skin and for wight loss. Its been proven if you dont actually sleep enough your weight loss tends to stop.

Anyway, think ive muttered on enough! Glad i could be of some help

Fiona

Yeah I heard that water can help your skin too. I defintely need that Heh. Thanks again for all your insights and I know if I have any questions, i'll be sure to ask you =)