Water Retention Triggers?

[Roslyn]

Hi all!

Just wondering if anyone has experienced water retention after certain foods? I am noticing after I eat ANY flours (I.e. LC torillas, soy and flax biscuits, LC pizza crust) that I will, without fail, be up 1-3 lbs the following day. Then, 48 hours later, I have a 3-4 lb drop in weight! While seeing the drop on the scale is great "eye candy", seeing the instant climb the "morning after" is not quite as delightful!

I have witnessed this several times. At first, I went over on carbs somehow! So then I would purposely be super low on carbs (10-12/day) and sodium when I ate the same trigger foods....same result...

Its like any flour/starch that enters my body act like little super sponges that suck up water and hang on to it for 36-48 hours...

Anyone have anything similiar? If it matters, I've been tested for Celiacs, as I've had some tummy troubles in the past. Tested negative, but that was after 4-5 days of gluten-free diet, so not sure if that impacted results or not.

[shawn116]

Hi Roslyn  It is very normal for our weight to fluctuate, even in a day.  It's interesting that you have noticed it with certain foods.  The ingredients used in these products will absorb several times their volume in liquid, so it stands to reason that your weight would reflect that until it is expelled from your body.  This is the biggest reason you are instructed to drink lots of water when increasing your fiber or taking a fiber supplement.  If you don't it will absorb what you have and become stuck (if you know what I mean  ) 

By the way this is also why I always recommend not weighing yourself every day.   It is so easy to become obsessed with those numbers on a daily basis.       

[Roslyn]

Oh I know the scale can wreck havoc on the mind...think you're doing good, hop on the scale, and then break down in tears and eat a chocolate pie...kidding of course!

With me it is VERY obvious when I eat "those" foods...I've learned to be ok with it now, as I know the big drop is coming in a day or so, but it is still wild to me how 1/4 cup of flour (just for instance) can absorb THAT much water!!!

I drink plenty of water, however, I will experiment with drinking even more on days I eat any kind of flours...maybe that's they key!

Thanks TooSweet!

[shawn116]

Oh I know the scale can wreck havoc on the mind...think you're doing good, hop on the scale, and then break down in tears and eat a chocolate pie...kidding of course!

I can relate!  Ha! 

I like the fact that you get a bigger drop in the end.     That's worth getting excited about 

[Doug Varrieur]

Hi Roslyn, why not simply avoid those foods entirely?

[Roslyn]

Avoiding all flours, including soy flour, almond flour, and flax, would limit my options quite a bit wouldn't you think? I could definitely eat mean and green (veggies, meats, cheeses), just would have to sacrifice "replacement" foods....BORING!!! 

I have been playing around trying to correlate the triggers, like a science experiment. It's definitely sodium related, so maybe the whole thing just boils down to hydration, as TooSweet mentioned. I am currently targeting half my body weight in ounces of plain water each day.

[MarkMoxom]

Hi Roslyn,

The effect that you are talking about is not uncommon partly because as TooSweet has said, these types of food ingredients will tend to hold on to liquid more than more natural foods and they will also tend to slow down the transit time of the food passing through your body. So over that period there is more food going in than is coming out.

Another reason is that body requires more resources as it were to digest these types of food that are difficult for it to digest. That may also mean that you're drinking a little bit more than you have noticed and as the body is using that liquid to deal with the slight poisoning effect of carbohydrates that you've eaten, it will obviously hold on to that liquid until those processes have finished.

Frankly I'm going to agree with Doug here, why don't you just avoid them? Because you'll find that as you get more in to and knowledgeable about a low carb way of eating, it frankly doesn't limit the choices that you have to any great extent. In fact, with a bit of research you'll find that being encouraged to look for other type of food will broaden your gastronomic horizons immensely and that will be well worth the effort.

Mark

[Roslyn]

Thank you for the great explanation and info Mark!

[umpa]

Mark is wicked cool