I just had a coworker tell me that drinking too much water can make you gain weight temporarily, even if your sodium level is low. Anyone heard of that before? I drink between 1 to 1.5 gallons of water each day, so I hope this isn't true.

Yes, water will make you gain weight temporarily ... if you step on the scale after drinking some.

Where do people get this stuff?

I know - I think she's crazy. She was acting as though water was a bad thing! Sure, if I eat a lot of salt, I'll retain water but just upping my water intake can't be bad!

Wait, I though if you ate a lot of salt and drank a lot of water, then that would flush the excess sodium out, not make you retain it . I don't know!

Hmmm - I drink 4.5 litres per day (a gallon) and I've been losing steadily since July. As a matter of fact, the weeks where my water intake is not as high, I gained weight. I don't have any articles to back me up or anything but I remember reading that water helps in weightloss. Sorry I can't offer any more substantial information.

~Dee

Holy moly! If I drank that much water a day I'd have to direct my co-workers to look for me in the loo with a laptop on my knees!

Im not a very good source either but the two day's I took off this weekend i did not drink hardly as much water as during the week and i could tell big time i was weaker had no energy and eating everything in site I also put on a pound durning the weekend but upped my water intake before my weigh in on monday and lost 4lbs! so I know water's good for the soul! lol just thought i'd share! ~ Kim

I've never heard this before. The only time I've ever heard of water making you gain weight is when you are retaining water at TOM or sodium can make you retain - then, of course, you would gain.

I have heard (not sure how true it is) that your body tends to retain water if you don't drink enough fluid to fight off dehydration. That makes more sense to me than what your co-worker is saying.

But, I'm no expert . . .

DNR

I guess that's where all my weight gain came from. I've always loved water. [/end sarcasm]

A gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds...not that you'll ever drink that much at once...

Actually, you phsyically CAN drink too much water, to the point you will get kidney poisoning. But......you would have to drink several, several gallons in a day, more than anyone is ever likely to drink. I think that a good rule of thumb is to try not and drink more than 10 liters (which is a helluva lot).

Also, any (marathon) runners out there might want to aprise themselves of the current literature regarding long distance running and water consumption. There are more warnings coming out about drinking too much water while running, it actually (in this instance) can lead to too much pressure in the skull and cause death. There was a NYT Science Times article on it last year as well as an HBO RealSports story on it. If you or anyone you know is a marathon runner, I would look into this.

Same here!! If I don;t drink as much water I gain weight too and lose more when I drink lots of water!

She is right.

I have drank 10 liters in a day before. But you must remember, I am on medication that MAKES me drink, and I was told I would die if I didn't get enough water.

I sneak in juices & decaf beverages occasionally, but right now am drinking a gallon or two per day.