Water Question
 

Hi all :)

I've put my gym membership on hold for November to take a little break, so I've been maintaining and fluctuating between 198-200.

Just a quick question.

I have been drinking maybe a cup of water a day the whole month (I know, bad bad), when I usually drink 4-6.

Could that cause the scale to show higher than it really is?

Just curiosity!

Hi schubunny! I've always heard that you should drink the equivalent of half your weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 196 pounds, you should be drinking 98 ounces a day, or 12.25 cups.

I follow this rule, and noticed that my weight comes off easier when I drink half my weight in ounces. Not drinking enough water causes water retention, so it's possible that if you're not drinking enough water that your body is retaining more water than it should. That would mean higher numbers on the scale.

So guzzle that water!!

If you don't drink enough water your body holds on to as much water as it can. That will definitely impact the scale.

Ok, thanks everyone :)! I'll be going back to my usual water habits starting tonight, and will see if the scale goes down before I get my bum back to the gym on the 9th.

Water weight rules the scale. One of the key factors in losing weight long term is having patience with the scale. Your water weight can fluctuate for so many different reasons. The simplest being too much or too little. When your body stores glycogen it also stores water. Also a gallon of water weight over 8 pounds, so as soon as you finish drinking you will immediately weigh more.

So the key is too not worry about water weight and simply focus on the true villain, BODY-FAT.

When I hear people talk about water-weight, I want to say "who cares"? I'm not trying to be mean, and because "I have been there before", I am understanding. It's just that I hear it all the time, and really "who cares"?
It's water, and it doesn't make a difference in how we look. From where I've been, to where I am now I can honestly say I do NOT care about the scale or water weight, I can't control it. I can however control my workouts and my eating. Those two factors WILL help me eliminate nasty body-fat.

We need to focus on burning body-fat, and let water do what it will.

I'm not trying to be harsh, but I'm trying to get my point across. If we don't learn this early the scale will make us go crazy. It will jump up and down and for no logical reason sometimes.
A huge benefit of drinking lots of water is that it helps to curb appetite and hunger pangs.