Water weight is the result of the body retaining extra water. Usually, excessive water retention is the result of poor diet and not enough exercising, although some medications can cause it as well. Water retention can even be caused by dehydration, as the body tries to hold onto extra water. Whatever the cause, water weight can make you feel bloated and swollen and make usually comfortable clothes too tight. To lose water weight, try out some of the following strategies.
Cut down your salt intake. Salt dehydrates the body and makes it grab for any moisture it can hold onto. By switching to a lower-sodium diet, you will not only be more likely to make healthy food choices, you will also help eliminate water retention. Cutting down sugar intake will also make high insulin levels drop, which will help your body rid itself of excess sodium.
Important factors that will help you lose water weight are respiration and transpiration, which can both be increased by regular exercise. Every time you exhale, your body loses a minute amount of water. Transpiration occurs when sodium and water are sweated out of the body, usually due to activity. By maintaining a healthy exercise regimen, you can increase both respiration and transpiration to help stop water retention. This doesn’t necessarily mean killing yourself at the gym. A thirty minute brisk walk four to five days a week will most likely provided the necessary levels of movement to lose this weight.
Although drinking water leads to temporary weight gain, you should not stop drinking water to eliminate water retention. Water is vital to the body, hydrating the organs and helping to remove waste and toxins from your system. Denying your body water is counterproductive to losing water weight, as dehydration sends your body into crisis mode and will cause additional retention.
Some experts suggest swimming as a way to lose water weight. In addition to the exercise it will give you, water pressure can force water out of the body’s tissues and push the body to eliminate through urination. However, make sure that you drink additional water after a long or strenuous swim, as chlorinated or salted water can cause dehydration.
Insufficient nutrition can also lead to water retention. Be sure to eat foods high in protein, potassium, and amino acids. These nutrients have been shown by scientific studies to relate to water levels in the body. Ensuring you are getting proper nutrition will not only help your overall health, but will also help you lose water weight.
To help your body eliminate extra water, certain foods and herbs can aid you naturally. Dandelion root and green tea are both natural diuretics, although they may not be to everyone’s taste. One of the easiest ways to increase elimination is to add pure lemon juice or unsweetened pure cranberry juice to your daily glasses of water. These additions are excellent replacements for flavored or sugary drinks, can make your water taste colder and more refreshing, and help you stop water retention.
Unlike fat, water weight is easy to get rid of and can take only hours to achieve. If you notice the scale suddenly jumping a few pounds for no reason you can think of, water is normally the culprit. By following some of the tips above, you can safely and effectively lose this weight and get back into your skinny jeans.
