Hi ladies---

I have 3 questions:

What is the benefit of drinking lots of water after a binge? I've seen lots of ladies mention they do this.

Also, do you drink water DURING meals? Is this hazardous or ok for digestion?

FINALLY: Whenever I drink lots of water, I feel so bloated and my stomach swells a lot! Is this good and normal? Will all the swelling go down naturally, eventually?


thank you!!!

drinking water after a binge helps flush out all the sodium that was consumed. Basically speeds up getting rid of that bloated feeling. Although you may feel worse at first.

I don't think there is anything hazardous about drinking water during meals. In fact it may help you feel fuller sooner.

Do you drink all of your water at once? Try just drinking water throughout the day. And yes you will get used to it.

I had never heard that before, Jessisaokay, but now that you mention it, it does make a lot of sense. I know that the morning after a binge I am always really dehydrated. It must be all of that sodium you mentioned.

Yeah, what Jess said. Most of the time when people binge, it's on salty, snacky food, or sweet food (that still has lots of added sodium). So drinking water helps flush all of that out and avoid the bloat and "hangover" feeling.

I drink water with my meals all the time and have never had a problem ... but some people prefer not to. Some studies have said that drinking while eating dilutes the stomach acid and makes digestion harder, but others have said that's not true. So I think it's one of those things that you just need to figure out what works for you.

Finally as far as drinking lots of water and being bloated - are you drinking it all at once? Like downing a glass at a time? That definitely could make you feel bloated and icky, especially if you're not used to it. Water should be consumed throughout the day, not in "chunks".

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I don't really buy the diluted stomach acids with drinking water thing.
Water is absorbed very early in digestion, from the stomach and the first parts of the small intestine, so it doesn't take long for the acid to get concentrated again fairly quickly.
We pee many times a day, and usually have to go within an hour or two of a large drink. (2 glasses water, a cup or two of tea or coffee etc), whereas we pass the solid waste only once or twice a day or two.
Also, re drinking after binges, we can flush sodium with the water, and if we had a binge on lots of sweets too, the water can also flush the sugar. (remember, an early sign of diabetes is sugar in the urine, the kidneys can flush it out rather effectively. In fact, people used to test their sugar levels by putting a test pill or strip in the toilet after peeing!)
So yes, drinking lots of water is the best thing to do after a binge, during too!

drink up!

Honestly I don't either. I have seen studies both ways, but I just don't really buy that it's bad to drink while you eat.

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Not really. Nondiabetics are not going to have terribly high blood sugar levels, even with a binge. And so they aren't going to have appreciable amounts, or generally any, sugar in their urine.