HOW TO LOSE EXCESS WATER WEIGHT

Although it may sound counter-intuitive, one of the best things you can do if you are trying to lose water weight is drink water. When you are even mildly dehydrated, your body will respond by retaining more of it. Artificial diuretics like coffee and cranberry juice can make the problem worse if you are not drinking enough pure water. (If you do not like the taste (or lack of taste) of plain water, try adding some unsweetened lemon juice to it, or drink iced or hot herbal tea.)

When you leave the house, make sure to always bring sufficient water with you – fill up a couple of bottles and put them in your bag, and keep extra bottles in the car in case you forget. Vending machines, at work or elsewhere, may not have water on the menu, and sodas, diet or otherwise, are not a good substitute.

In addition, keep tabs on your intake of salt – if you are eating too much of it, your body can respond by storing excess water to maintain a healthy water/salt balance in your system. If you add salt to your food, cut back, and make sure to take a look at the salt content in packaged foods by watching food labels. Many drinks and soups contain a large amount of salt.

While many people tend to take in too much salt, another problem can be consuming too little potassium – many adults do not get enough of it in their regular diets, and so it may pay to increase your potassium intake by eating a banana, drinking some coconut water, or putting a few slices of tomato on a sandwich. If you have a low potassium level, your body will retain water, just as it will if your sodium level is too high.

If monitoring your sodium and potassium intake does not seem to have much of an effect, your water retention may be a side effect of medication. Talk to your physician or look at the information on your prescription labels to see if water retention is a common side effect of anything you are taking.

Another factor in losing water weight is regular exercis, since you lose water through sweating during a workout. Just make sure to drink plenty of water afterward to replace any excess fluid loss that could make you dehydrated.

If none of these strategies work, it is possible that your body may be retaining water due to a medical condition – make an appointment with your physician just in case – but in most cases, simply watching your salt and potassium, exercising regularly, and drinking plenty of pure water throughout the day is enough to solve the problem.