# "Water weight" (dieting related) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305 "2012-01-12T17:13:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/1 "2012-01-12T17:13:58Z")
You are overweight. Morbidly obese, even. You put yourself on a strict diet and lose 14 pounds in one week. “That’s mostly water weight,” you’re told. Week two, you continue the same strict diet. You lose two more pounds that week. “See? Told ya!” OK, help me understand this. By altering your diet and restricting your intake, you are losing fluids? So what, you’re dehydrated? Now, at week two, the two more pounds you lost are ‘legit’? But you are still walking around with a fluid deficit? And, once you re-hydrate, you’ll gain back that weight? Let us note here that a gallon of water weighs more than eight pounds. I’ve done the strict diet/crazy amount of initial weight loss thing, and trust me: I was properly hydrated. Increasing water consumption was a part of the plan, in fact. So how could I have lost ‘water weight’? Clearly, weight loss is greater at the very beginning of a new diet. I just don’t understand how it can be attributed to fluid loss. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/2 "2012-01-12T17:21:49Z")
One part of initial weight loss that’s not water weight is the glycogen you aren’t storing in your liver anymore, once you’re in calorie deficit. A well-fed person can store three to five pounds of glycogen in their liver. When the body needs energy, it burns that up and it goes away. Part of what makes it weigh so much is that when it’s stored, it’s associated with water molecules. So in a way those pounds are “water weight”, though not really. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/3 "2012-01-12T17:27:36Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > One part of initial weight loss that’s not water weight is the glycogen you aren’t storing in your liver anymore, once you’re in calorie deficit. A well-fed person can store three to five pounds of glycogen in their liver. When the body needs energy, it burns that up and it goes away. Part of what makes it weigh so much is that when it’s stored, it’s associated with water molecules. So in a way those pounds are “water weight”, though not really. Actually, it’s about a pound of glycogen but there is about four pounds of water bound with it. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/4 "2012-01-12T17:37:32Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > A well-fed person can store three to five pounds of glycogen in their liver. Cite? The figure I’ve seen is 100-120 g. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/5 "2012-01-12T17:42:55Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Cite? The figure I’ve seen is 100-120 g. That’s the liver storage. Glycogen is also stored in the muscles. Typical is around 350-500 grams with figures up to 750 grams in a few highly trained endurance athletes. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/6 "2012-01-12T17:48:58Z")
When I started losing weight, I also restricted salt and started peeing up a storm. Lost maybe five lb that way. But I didn’t know about the glycogen, that’s interesting. The water you shed from lowering salt is water you don’t otherwise need, so you are not dehydrated. I drink plenty of water (and pee plenty). ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/7 "2012-01-12T18:11:23Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > That’s the liver storage. Glycogen is also stored in the muscles. Typical is around 350-500 grams with figures up to 750 grams in a few highly trained endurance athletes. That’s my understanding as well. Even if you include muscle glycogen (which far exceeds liver glycogen), 750 grams is still far short of “three to five pounds.” ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/8 "2012-01-12T18:20:33Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > That’s my understanding as well. Even if you include muscle glycogen (which far exceeds liver glycogen), 750 grams is still far short of “three to five pounds.” And even ‘three to five pounds’ is far short of the 10-15 pounds of ‘water weight’ often lost. mmm ---
**Author:** ![nofloyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nofloyd/32/2870_2.png) [@nofloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nofloyd)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/9 "2012-01-12T18:38:13Z")
glycogen bound water + water not needed from lower sodium intake + weight of food currently in digestive tract goes down (if you’ve made big changes to volume eaten) + actual weight lost from calories restriction/exercise. How many people really lose that high the first week? I’m on a weight loss board and most people’s first weeks are not in that range. I was over 300 and lost 8 the first week. water to balance sodium is significant. I can bounce 4 pounds overnight from a really salty meal. ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/10 "2012-01-12T18:48:01Z")
I’m not overweight, but for New Year’s my wife and I started a new diet for healthy living. In two days I lost 8 pounds, which boggled my mind. This thread has been most educational, thanks dopers. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/11 "2012-01-12T18:51:39Z")
Having excess insulin in the bloodstream spurred on by excessive carbohydrate intake tells the kidneys to store more water. I don’t know the mechanism or reason for this. So a diet in which you keep your blood sugar less on average - due to lowered calorie intake or lowered carbohydrate intake - will stop instructing the kidneys to hold onto excess water and you’ll piss it out over 1-3 days. I recently began a low carb diet and dropped 15 pounds over the first week, but then regained 4 pounds over the next few days as my water levels dropped dramatically and then bounced back to an equilibrium. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/12 "2012-01-12T18:56:25Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > That’s my understanding as well. Even if you include muscle glycogen (which far exceeds liver glycogen), 750 grams is still far short of “three to five pounds.” Those figures are glycogen only, 750 grams plus the attendant water is a little over eight pounds. However, the OP is not a highly trained athlete(sorry) but retained water from too much salt can account for much as pointed out by **nofloyd**. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/13 "2012-01-12T19:32:01Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > So a diet in which you keep your blood sugar less on average - due to lowered calorie intake or lowered carbohydrate intake - will stop instructing the kidneys to hold onto excess water and you’ll piss it out over 1-3 days. The human body does a nice job of regulating blood glucose; absent of conditions such as diabetes, restricting calories or carbs would not lower it. > [@runner pat](#): > > the OP is not a highly trained athlete… Why, I oughta… 😃 mmm ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/14 "2012-01-12T19:42:12Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > The human body does a nice job of regulating blood glucose; absent of conditions such as diabetes, restricting calories or carbs would not lower it. You’re right. I meant to say that your average insulin level in response to blood sugar spiking can change on a diet, and that insulin level regulates to some degree the amount of water your kidneys retain. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-weight-dieting-related/609305/15 "2012-01-12T20:26:13Z")
Fat itself holds water. Camels are famous for being able to go great distances without water. That’s because the hump is mostly fat tissue, and it’s a water tank. The human body does NOT like change. It gets upset when the status quo is interrupted. When you begin a diet, the body sees this as stress. When you are stressed you start getting rid of what you don’t immediately need. With dieting (especially with the low carb diets), there is a OMG loss in the beginning. Water is something that can be released or regained quite quickly. After the excess water is gone, and the diet continues, the body will reluctantly start to burn the fat for fuel. The furnace which burns this fat (your metabolism) has a very grumpy controller. The controller tried to placate the stress with the water loss, and since the stress is continuing, he doesn’t want to destroy his precious hoard of fat. He slows the furnace down, so it uses even LESS fat to maintain body functions. (miser!) So you count your calories, you count your carbs, you refuse desserts, you eat your celery, you drink your 8 full glasses of water a day. The scale creeps down. And then the damned thing stops. You want to step in front of a bus, or eat an entire cheesecake. The furnace master is mightily pissed at the lower intake of fuel. He is adamant about keeping this lovely stockpile of fat. “Suppose there’s a famine? We might NEED that!” He keeps dialing down the furnace output. Here’s the snotty part: while there IS INDEED fat burning going on (grudgingly!) that rascal furnace master is telling the kidneys, “Start saving water again! We might NEED it!” If you take the same voumes of fat and water, which weighs more? WATER, of course! While the scale itself (if you haven’t thrown it in the middle of the freeway by now) shows no total weight loss, you HAVE lost fat and sucked up water to counterbalance that. And your metabolism has dwindled to that of a rutabaga. The ONLY way to de-thrown the furnace master is to add that dirty word to your vocabulary: exercise. Coupled with the diet, exercise will give the frugal furnace master a pink slip, and hire on a new supervisor who is more liberal with the metabolism. Your muscles demand the fuel and since you aren’t consuming enough the new furnace master will authorize deductions from the fat stores. ~VOW