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Beat the Bloat
It’s the start of a New Year. You’ve gotten through Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Christmas (or whatever else you may celebrate) and all the New Year’s festivities. You just have 1 small problem. The scale is up and your pants are feeling a bit tighter than they did before the end of November hit. We’ve all been there. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been sitting down after a good meal wishing I didn’t eat so much. The good news is that it’s NOT permanent OR actual weight gained from all that extra holiday eating. I’ll be going through what it is, why it happens and how to beat the bloat.
I’ve got some good news for you. It’s not as bad as you think.
What is Glycogen and Why Does it Matter?
Well, we know what happened. Your clothes are a bit snugger than they should be and the scale is up an unmentionable number of pounds. No, you didn’t gain all that weight. It isn’t “real” weight at all.
It’s water retention from excess sodium, carbs, and glycogen.
Why do sodium, carbs, and glycogen matter?
Those very three things are the reasons you’ve “gained” 8 lbs seemly overnight.
According to dictionary.com glycogen is “the principal carbohydrate storage material in animals and occurring chiefly in the liver, in muscle……” (1).
It’s an energy source for our muscles. When you exercise you use up your stores of glycogen. The more carbs you eat the more glycogen your body stores and the more water you will be holding.
The truth about carbs
Carbs get a bad rap a lot. You see all this stuff about “low carb this” and “low carb that” and the diets! There is a diet for everything. Don’t get me started on all of them, that’s a post for another day.
In general, your body will hold about 3-4 grams of water for every gram of carbohydrate you consume. That’s why when people go on a low carb diet they “lose” a ton of weight all at once in the beginning.
They only lost the excess water they were holding. If you reintroduce the carbs the weight will come back quickly.
On the flip side of that, you didn’t suddenly gain 8 lbs overnight because of that side of French fries you had at dinner. That, my friend, is impossible. To gain a pound of real weight you need to consume roughly 3,500 more calories than you burn. So for those 8 lbs, a normal side of French fries just isn’t enough calories to have converted into real weight gained. You are just holding more water than you were the day before.
For most people under most circumstances, there will be some minor fluctuations in the scale that are normal.
What about Sodium?
Salt plays a large factor in water retention as well. Put simply the more sodium you consume (salt) the more water you will hold. And the easier you will hold water. Conversely, the less sodium you consume the less water you will hold.
So Now What?
Not I know what you must be thinking by now. Desiree, so you’re telling me that the more carbs and salt I consume the more water I will hold. So, I need to not eat salt and carbs right? NO! I’m not telling you that at all. Carbs are our energy source. You need a certain amount of them and sodium to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Related Read [5 Tips for Healthy Eating on the Go!]
How to Manage Water Retention
How can you manage water retention so that the scale isn’t on a roller coaster every other day? Here are a couple of quick tips to help beat the bloat.
3 Ways to Beat the Bloat
Drink up! (hydration)
It’s no big secret that staying hydrated has a whole host of health benefits. Only one of them is helping with excess water retention because of too much sodium.
The general recommendation is 8 eight-ounce glasses a day. That’s only 64 oz. I’ve also read that drinking half your body weight in water is a good guideline as well. Keep in mind that you will need more than that if you sweat a lot.
I always keep a water bottle with me. I refill it as needed and I know that I need to drink at least 4 of them a day to meet my water intake (6 is ideal for me).
Sweat it out!
That brings me to my next tip. Sweat it out! Getting in some exercise where you work up a good sweat is a great way to get rid of excess weight due to water retention.
At a minimum, you should shoot for 3 – 30-minute sessions a week of exercise. You can do whatever you like best. Lift weights, go for a run, take a spin class. Pick your favorite! The key is to get moving and work up a sweat.
Regular exercise can help to prevent excess fluid retention because you’re constantly allowing your body a way to get rid of the excess water through your sweat.
Keep it from happening (Moderation)
My last tip may seem like a no brainer but it’s to keep it from happening in the first place. We’ve all heard the expression “everything in moderation” and this is no exception either. If you make sure you don’t overdo things then you won’t ever have to worry about gaining 8 lbs of water seemly overnight.
Related Read [5 Healthy Snacks Even Kids will love!]
Bottom Line
Remember, if you overindulge for a holiday or a night out it isn’t the end of the world. You didn’t gain “real” weight and you can send it the way of the dodo bird in short order with the tips that I outlined above.
For more great tips and suggestions on how to live a healthy lifestyle subscribe to the blog. You’ll receive my Meal Prep email course FREE just for signing up!
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I’m definitely going to take your hydration tips. It’s so easy to get sidetracked into drinking juice and pop. Maybe I’ll go by myself a cute water bottle to stay on point
The cute water bottle does it for me every time! Hope you find one you love!
I’m definitely bad about water and exercising! Lol. Thanks for the advice!
Every little bit counts. Remember if you can start small then it is easier to build up over time.
Yea. I definitely need to drink up and cut down on my salt intake! Thanks for all the information!
Faith, you don’t necessarily need to lower your salt intake if you’re taking in enough water.
My favorite way to beat the bloat is to cut out dairy! I promise, it helps! 🙂
I’m mostly dairy-free myself. I seem to be able to handle yogurt and cheese the best. I do agree with you on that!
Great list! Im currently working on a few pounds, thanks for sharing!
Melissa, I’ll be posting more workouts and healthy eating tips soon. Good luck on your journey!
This information and the tips are great! I’m a personal trainer and many of my clients don’t understand water retention until I explain it to them! They also get confused that drinking more water actually helps decrease the bloat!
Thank you! It can be tricky sometimes and I know it can seem counterproductive that staying hydrated helps to decrease water retention. Many people think it’s the opposite!
This is so smart. I didn’t know that about carbs taking on water, but it totally makes sense! I felt great when I was paleo…… maybe I should go back!!
Dawn, neither did I for the longest time! I LOVE how I feel when I keep mostly paleo.
This is super insightful! I didn’t know any of this. I hate feeling bloated and I feel like I only do when I eat sugar. If I go without it for over a week, my stomach feels great, but as soon as I eat it again, I feel like crap! Now with the sodium, I have super low blood pressure so the doctor suggested to increase my sodium. How does that work?
Sugar isn’t really good for anyone. If you need more salt as long as you’re well-hydrated it shouldn’t be an issue.
Great post – gotta get my summer bod ready!
With small changes, you can see big results!
These are good tips! Thank you for all the information. I’m all about hydrating up!
You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it!
This was definitely my experience when I did Whole 30 last year. My goal wasn’t to lose weight, but to figure out what foods contributed to bloating. High gluten and some dairy are the biggest contributors for me.
It’s amazing what it can uncover!