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As promised, I am addressing the issue of water weight. Many of you have asked what it is exactly and why is it the first thing I lose on a diet? I thought these were some great questions, and so I’ve done a little homework for you. While there were several references to water weight, there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of information about why we lose it first. I hope that what I have found will help you to understand it just a little better.

Approximately 60% of our total body mass is made up of water. There are normal fluctuations that occur all day long. Two of the factors which influence water retention or water weight are the daily consumption of water that we take in and how much salt we get daily. Now you are probably thinking that if you drink less water that you will weigh less. Wrong! The less water that you drink; the more your body will hold onto it. With even a slight case of dehydration, your body will begin to hold onto all of the water it can get. So in order to flush out the excess water, you actually need to drink more water.

Salt or sodium, can also play a big part in water retention. You should understand that a teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. We should only have between 1,000 to 3,000 mg of sodium each day. You can see how it would be easy to get too much. Sodium is also a very sneaky substance. You would perhaps expect to find it in mainly in the foods we consider to be salty such as chips, crackers and nuts. But a food doesn’t need to taste salty to be filled with sodium. Take instant pudding for example. One ounce of salted nuts actually contains four times less sodium than a ½ cup of instant pudding. Generally, the more a food is processed, the higher the sodium content will be. That is why it is best to basic, whole foods when dieting. Choices such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans and lean meats are best. Be sure to read the labels on all of the foods you consume which are canned or are frozen dinners and boxed mixes.

Glycogen is another factor to consider when looking at water weight. Glycogen reserves carbohydrate for our bodies to use for energy. There is some glycogen that is stored in the liver and some is stored in the muscles. This reserve of energy weighs more than a pound and it is stored with 3 to 4 pounds of water. If you do not take in enough carbohydrates, then your glycogen reserve will shrink during the day. That is one of the reasons that the weight loss of a low-carb diet is so dramatic.

It is important to understand that it is generally possible to only lose 1 to 2 pounds of actual fat per week. When you are following a very low calorie or carbohydrate diet, and you lose 10 pounds in 7 days, it is physically impossible for all of that weight loss to be fat. What you are really losing is a combination of water and glycogen.

And that is why you are losing water weight first when you diet and why it happens so quickly. Any more questions?