If you’ve recently made the switch to drinking more water, you may be alarmed to find your body weight has increased slightly. The common response you’ll find to your query is that it’s simply water weight.
But for many, this answer is still very confusing.
What really is water weight? Does water always make you gain weight? Is it permanent?
If these are some of the questions you have, don’t panic. We’re about to take a look at what water weight really is and whether this type of weight gain is unhealthy or normal.
First of all, your body needs water
Before getting into what water weight is, it’s important to understand that approximately 60% of our body weight is water.
It is vital to help carry nutrients and oxygen and is involved in tons of processes throughout the body. We all know that without water, we wouldn’t be able to survive.
Water & Metabolism
Staying well-hydrated ensures your metabolism is functioning at a healthy rate. The metabolic process uses numerous chemical processes to work but being dehydrated causes these processes to slow down.
As a result, you will be left with a sluggish metabolism, which makes it harder to lose weight. Drinking a gallon of water a day is considered to be optimal for health, however, even making sure to consume 2 litres daily will yield significant improvements in weight loss.
Water Weight Gain
Once you begin drinking lots of water (from drinking hardly any) your body will need to get used to processing it. Your kidneys may not be used to dealing with that much water, and this causes extra water to be available in the body.
It hasn’t been processed and thus cannot be used for anything yet. This is what’s commonly known as water weight and causes that extra 2-5 pound weight gain on the scale.
Don’t Let Water Weight Scare You!
A lot of people instantly gain weight from upping their water intake. This is understandably quite shocking, and you may even feel like lowering your water intake.
However, as we mentioned above, drinking lots of water helps to keep your metabolic rate up which is fantastic for weight loss. Furthermore, consuming water throughout the day curbs hunger which makes sticking to diets a lot easier!
Another important fact to keep in mind is that this extra water weight you’re carrying tends to be used up within 24 hours. After this period, your weight will return to normal.
So, drinking water can make you gain weight. But it’s not the same kind of weight you gain the day after cheating on your diet and binge eating. Since your body uses water for so many processes, anything extra will swiftly be used up.
You can lose it just as fast as you gain it!