Does too much soy ( estrogen ) cause water retention?
Hi , I started my IP on 25th Dec 2014 and am at end of two weeks. I am 36 year old mom of two , height 5'5. At weight 188 and not able to drop any other way, I started IP . Now this is end of week 2. I went down 3 pound first week and only 1 the next. I have searched and read the forum and was glad to find many who lost weight later in the game, and plan to stick to the diet.I am vegetarian and am eating 4-6 eggs or 8 oz ( 20 gm protein) tofu for dinner alternating every day. I eat other IP foods 3 times a day, with 2 cups of veggies and vitamins.
I do have some constipation but its not too bad.
I was wondering if the slow rate of weight loss and water retention have anything to do with the sudden amount of soy in my diet due ..increase in estrogen?. I also using soy sauce a lot with vegetables.
My TOM also started on 25th itself. I feel my body is retaining more water after the periods got done.
I have some amount of insulin resistance as per my doctor but the only thing she had advised was exercise and diet.
The weight I put on to get to 188 was primarily in very hectic and stressful periods, times when I was down and was a binge eater.
Would be grateful for any advice, I do not want to keep eating soy/tofu if it can cause water retention.
Last edited by BlueFish; 01-07-2015 at 08:20 PM.
Reason: added more info
Not sure if i am miss reading or not but you appear to be missing 2 cups of veggies (there should be 4 total each day plus some unlimited, lettuce, celery etc) the veggies plus your oil should keep things moving for you.
As for the water retention, soy may be the reason. First have a good look at what you are eating along with how you are seasoning it. Eliminate any salt that isn't part of the recommended amount. Up your water intake and see how those things help. If you are still retaining water after two or so weeks with those changes then try reducing your tofu to once or twice a week.
Soy is a common source of food intolerance and could cause inflammation. I avoid soy for a multitude of reasons. First because of the estrogen effect. Second because it can be hard on thyroid and I already have thryoid issues. Third, because it is almost always heavily sprayed with Round Up (it is a GMO crop) and Round Up has been found to be correlated with many stomach issues.
From my reading, it isn't the health food it had originally been purported to be.
I eat soy and have eaten almost it every day for the last few yrs, either in IP foods, or as my regular protein as a variation from chicken that I adore : ).I have many Asian friends who also eat soy regularly. We are all healthy, and I had no problems with water retention during or since weight loss. Other than IP-type foods, I have restricted my soy to a localy-grownl, organic, non-GMO brand since being in maintenance. I wonder if some of the soy issues reported might be due to proteins from the foreign DNA that is shotgunned into conventional soy.
All that said, I should add that I am post menopausal & possibly less sensitive to nano quantities of plant estrogens. I thought that had been shown to be unsupported by evidence, other than soy milk anyway, but I'm not sure. An easy way to test it would be to eliminate soy and see what happens. Best to trust what you are eating, it's hard enough to stick to a diet, lol! But it would be a shame to eliminate a choice if there is not a need to do so. Good luck!
I'm just wondering: What's wrong with retaining water?
I understand that it might be a little discouraging to look at the scale if your weight fluctuates a lot more, because it can fluctuate upwards more than usual. But if it's water retention causing the fluctuation, you're going to see downward fluctuations as well, and in the long run the difference will be negligible.
Anyway, if you want to get rid of water retention, my advice (however counter-intuitive it might sound) is to drink more water. Drinking more water will flush the salts and water-retaining chemicals out of your system along with the excess water, which will in turn leave your body with less ability to hang onto water. (People actually can get dehydrated by drinking too much water for this reason—but if you keep within doctors' guideline amounts, even on the upper end, this shouldn't be a concern)
Last edited by faiora; 01-08-2015 at 01:46 PM.
Reason: typo
I'm just wondering: What's wrong with retaining water?
I understand that it might be a little discouraging to look at the scale if your weight fluctuates a lot more, because it can fluctuate upwards more than usual. But if it's water retention causing the fluctuation, you're going to see downward fluctuations as well, and in the long run the difference will be negligible.
Anyway, if you want to get rid of water retention, my advice (however counter-intuitive it might sound) is to drink more water. Drinking more water will flush the salts and water-retaining chemicals out of your system along with the excess water, which will in turn leave your body with less ability to hang onto water. (People actually can get dehydrated by drinking too much water for this reason—but if you keep within doctors' guideline amounts, even on the upper end, this shouldn't be a concern)
Not sure if i am miss reading or not but you appear to be missing 2 cups of veggies (there should be 4 total each day plus some unlimited, lettuce, celery etc) the veggies plus your oil should keep things moving for you.
As for the water retention, soy may be the reason. First have a good look at what you are eating along with how you are seasoning it. Eliminate any salt that isn't part of the recommended amount. Up your water intake and see how those things help. If you are still retaining water after two or so weeks with those changes then try reducing your tofu to once or twice a week.
hope that helps
Hi Canadiancandy, sorry for not mentioning, I do eat two cups of veggies with dinner and lunch, usually i bake/stir fry them and they become one cup
About the oil, I am using olive oil for stir fry which maybe not good, I need to eat raw olive oil to get the nutrition?
I am in phase one, and my coach recommended high salt intake in this phase, I can eat pickles and salt with my veggies and soups, and even have salt with water in case of headache....am i supposed to restrict the salt in this phase?
I know that sodium retains water, but in this phase the insulin is supposed to let go of the sodium..or so I thought...please correct me if I am wrong.
Soy is a common source of food intolerance and could cause inflammation. I avoid soy for a multitude of reasons. First because of the estrogen effect. Second because it can be hard on thyroid and I already have thryoid issues. Third, because it is almost always heavily sprayed with Round Up (it is a GMO crop) and Round Up has been found to be correlated with many stomach issues.
From my reading, it isn't the health food it had originally been purported to be.
Thank you Lisa...being a vegetarian , I do not have too many options..the other options I am sued to in my culture's diet are lentils and beans and legumes ...but they are not allowed on this diet due to carb content.
I do think processed soy is a huge culprit..i try to get my tofu non-genetically modified. But I am going to give a break to tofu for a week and see.
I eat soy and have eaten almost it every day for the last few yrs, either in IP foods, or as my regular protein as a variation from chicken that I adore : ).I have many Asian friends who also eat soy regularly. We are all healthy, and I had no problems with water retention during or since weight loss. Other than IP-type foods, I have restricted my soy to a localy-grownl, organic, non-GMO brand since being in maintenance. I wonder if some of the soy issues reported might be due to proteins from the foreign DNA that is shotgunned into conventional soy.
All that said, I should add that I am post menopausal & possibly less sensitive to nano quantities of plant estrogens. I thought that had been shown to be unsupported by evidence, other than soy milk anyway, but I'm not sure. An easy way to test it would be to eliminate soy and see what happens. Best to trust what you are eating, it's hard enough to stick to a diet, lol! But it would be a shame to eliminate a choice if there is not a need to do so. Good luck!
Thanks Mars..unfortunately I am stuck right now and need to try different options about whats not working for me. Both me and my husband are doing the IP diet together, he has lost 11 pounds in 2 weeks where as I am barely getting to 5 . We cook together and eat the same food!!....So therefore I am reacting differently to the foods than he is.
I am giving a break to tofu for a while to see if it helps....I will add it back when I am more confident about it.
I'm just wondering: What's wrong with retaining water?
I understand that it might be a little discouraging to look at the scale if your weight fluctuates a lot more, because it can fluctuate upwards more than usual. But if it's water retention causing the fluctuation, you're going to see downward fluctuations as well, and in the long run the difference will be negligible.
Anyway, if you want to get rid of water retention, my advice (however counter-intuitive it might sound) is to drink more water. Drinking more water will flush the salts and water-retaining chemicals out of your system along with the excess water, which will in turn leave your body with less ability to hang onto water. (People actually can get dehydrated by drinking too much water for this reason—but if you keep within doctors' guideline amounts, even on the upper end, this shouldn't be a concern)
Thanks Fiora....it wouldnt matter much except I am trying to see if the diet is working for me. I am drinking 4 bottles of 32 ounces each , per day. I admit, that I am trying to see results , for all the restrictions and expense the diet takes.
Thanks Fiora....it wouldnt matter much except I am trying to see if the diet is working for me. I am drinking 4 bottles of 32 ounces each , per day. I admit, that I am trying to see results , for all the restrictions and expense the diet takes.
While having plenty of water is good for you, you might actually be exceeding what your body can process.
I was told that water consumption should be between 64oz and half of your body weight. If you drink more than that you are risking putting your electrolytes out of balance. It will definitely mean you should be taking more salt and more potassium as they will be heavily diluted.
A 16oz glass of water can raise your body weight by 3-5 lbs, too.
The only advantage to consuming that much water is that you shouldn't suffer from the big C.
The other risk with trying to race the scale is that you eat too little, and your body believes you are starving yourself and refuses to let go of the fat store. Unlike conventional diets you cannot do this with ketosis. Eat everything you are supposed to - from your 3 packets, 8oz (raw weight) protein, 4 cups of veggies, 2 tsp healthy oil, free salad and include your restricted packet and you will avoid that trap.
IP works. You just have to remember that you are no longer using carbs, you are a fat burning machine. Your body probably hasn't done this before and it takes time for it to bring all the processes online and get them working as effectively as carb burning did. Be patient, you will see results.
While having plenty of water is good for you, you might actually be exceeding what your body can process.
I was told that water consumption should be between 64oz and half of your body weight. If you drink more than that you are risking putting your electrolytes out of balance. It will definitely mean you should be taking more salt and more potassium as they will be heavily diluted.
A 16oz glass of water can raise your body weight by 3-5 lbs, too.
The only advantage to consuming that much water is that you shouldn't suffer from the big C.
The other risk with trying to race the scale is that you eat too little, and your body believes you are starving yourself and refuses to let go of the fat store. Unlike conventional diets you cannot do this with ketosis. Eat everything you are supposed to - from your 3 packets, 8oz (raw weight) protein, 4 cups of veggies, 2 tsp healthy oil, free salad and include your restricted packet and you will avoid that trap.
IP works. You just have to remember that you are no longer using carbs, you are a fat burning machine. Your body probably hasn't done this before and it takes time for it to bring all the processes online and get them working as effectively as carb burning did. Be patient, you will see results.
Wow..so I might be drinking more water than I need..oh oh. I started out at 188 so i dont need more than 94 ounces then....
Yes about eating I am trying to eat as much, except 6 eggs for dinner gets too heavy so i eat 4 only for the evening.
Is it not true that if I am insulin resistant, I need to go very low carb..I am trying to keep it less than 30 gms...? Am i denying myself the restricted packed unnecessarily?
Bluefish, I do not know the answer to your question, but want to suggest you look into Quorn products--the ones that are plain such as the grounds or unbreaded cutlets. These are mushroom based proteins. I've cooked a lot with the grounds making veggie chili, etc and there would be a way to use them that is on plan.
Does too much soy ( estrogen ) cause water retention?
