I am on day 10. I started on a Saturday but I wanted to have my weekly weigh-ins on Tuesdays...

1st day - weighed in at 284.4, hydration index 25.8

4th day weighed in and lost 5lbs (from Saturday)...Hydration index was 22.48

10th day (today) weighed in at 275.6 so I lost a total of 7.4 lbs since day one. My hydration index is still 21.0...

My coach was not available today so I saw someone else who wasn't really helpful (nice, but not sure about the hydration). Originally, my coach said it was high and should go much lower. The person I saw today said it was still high so I should be losing that water weight. I drink 90-120 oz of water a day, use my salt but I don't measure it, no cheating.

What is everyone else's normal hydration index?

I have no idea what that is or how it's measured, so I have no idea.

They use the device that you hold out in front of you and it is supposed to measure your fat mass, lean mass, hydration. I'm sure it's not 100% accurate but it's probably better than nothing.

Interesting....I'll have to search the boards to see if I can find more info about it. Thanks for bringing up the issue!

Hmm, my office doesn't have one... All they do is weigh and measure. Never had one used on me either.

When I was going to a clinic they always admonished me for not keeping my hydration up. It kept going down a fraction or a point every visit. I drank way over the required water, but they thought it was bad to be going down. Now your clinic is saying yours is not going down fast enough. Does it really mean anything???

My clinic uses it, but I had a different experience. Mine was high at my first visit as well, but my coach said it was because I keep myself hydrated. A week later at my first weigh in it was high, but about a point less than before...only thing my coach said was you must be drinking plenty of fluids. There has never been any mention of it being too high or a bad thing.

We are SUPPOSED to be well hydrated! Do they want you to be dehydrated? I'm not sure their point or their fixation on the one number, esp since only one WI.
Hydration will fluctuate with what we eat and drink. There is a LOT of sodium in IP foods. BTW: lean mass will go DOWN as you lose too. There is more to lean mass than just muscle.
I believe all of those numbers are there for observation, not for fixation.

I agree with Lisa, my hydration's been going up. I'm not sure what it was at the beginning, but over the past 5 weigh in's it's increase from 45.8% to 47.4% (she has a scale that measures weight, body fat, lan mass & hydration %).

You want that number to go up not down!

They measure your hydration index to make sure it is not getting too low, so you are still doing fine. Mine started out at around 14 and is now around 3. When you log into ip.stayhealthy.com you should be able to see your results and yours should be in the "green" area. Now whether you are carrying around TOO much water would be more of a question for your doctor or cardiologist. Initially when I started the diet I was taking a blood pressure medication that included a diuretic, but I am off that medication now.

Double Post

I look at my pee to see how well hydrated I am. Nice and clear = well hydrated. It can get tough with the supplements when they change the color of our urine. But if you're drinking enough you will be peeing quite a bit.

I found this on another website and thought it was interesting - no idea where it came from

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE PROPERLY HYDRATED?

Clean pure water is essential to the health of every cell in your body. In the presence of fresh water, the body is able to effectively breathe, digest, eliminate and perspire. Even our glandular activities rely on the presence of water. However, an amazingly small minority of all Americans drink sufficient amounts of water! And even if you are drinking enough water, it may still be difficult to avoid dehydration.

It is very difficult to achieve a state of optimum hydration if you carry too much body fat. A fat cell can only hold up to 15% water, whereas a healthy muscle cell can hold up to 72%; the more fat you carry, the less space you have for storing water. Therefore, losing muscle over time contributes towards an overall state of dehydration. You can drink all the water in the world, but unless you have somewhere to put it, it will go right through you.

Ideal hydration percentage (intracellular water) is >65% for men and >60% for women. Most people carrying excess body fat (28-38%) come in around 52-55%. Even if these people drink gallons of water a day, they will remain dehydrated. The focus should then turn to increasing lean body mass (muscle), and decreasing fat mass. This is done through dietary changes and the addition a of muscle-building fitness program.

Thanks for the research, Lynnie. I wish I could remember what my hydration index was. The gizmo I use now for body composition doesn't report on hydration.

Thanks for everyones feedback.

I do not think that the Hydration Index and our Hydration percentage is the same thing. I think the Hydration Index is the amout of water weight we are holding in our cells...basically the bloat that we have. One of the first things we normally lose on a diet is the water weight, the cells letting go of the excess water.

I will talk with my coach next week to get the accurate answer and will respond.

I've started to measure my salt (1/2 tsp daily) instead of just shaking it on everything - just in case that has anything to do with it.

Thanks!