TUMMYTOX blogs.

Is water weight dragging you down, too?

You diet, you exercise, you start losing some weight. But then all of a sudden, your progress screeches to a halt. Or even worse, you go to bed, and wake up the next day with 3 extra pounds. By the end of the week you’ve gained 10 more. What gives?

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We all know it’s not physically possible to gain that amount of fat in such a short time – especially if you’re not overeating every day.

So what is going on?

The answer is actually quite simple – it’s water weight. It can obscure fat loss, both in the mirror and on the scale. This can be down to numerous factors, like stress, increased salt intake, too much carbs, hormone fluctuations or (ironically) not eating enough calories.

What to do?


1. Don’t starve yourself.

Calorie deficit, especially together with heightened physical activity will raise your stress hormone level (cortisol). One of the side effects of cortisol is water retention. If you hit a plateau, have a few more rest days and increase your calorie intake.

2. Don’t eat too much carbs.

1 gram of carbs requires 3-4 grams of water to process and store it. 1 medium potato is about 37 grams of carbs, which requires 111-148 grams of water. That’s just under half a pound of water

3. Drink enough water.

When you’re not drinking enough water, it’ll make your body hoard it – store it in tissues, making you look bloated.

4. Include high-potassium foods in your diet.

Leafy greens, bananas, oranges, squash, yoghurt and, yes, even potatoes.

5. Let us help

If you’ve already tried all of the above and it’s still not enough (and let’s face it, for most of us, it’s not), we’ve got your back with Draining Drink – it will get rid of 27% of excess water in your body, alleviate swelling and bloating by 60% and, at the same time, will not flush minerals out, like so many other diuretics do. The solutions are at your fingertips - the rest is up to you!