Carbohydrate storage increases water retention in the body. For every gram of stored carbohydrate, 3 to 4 grams of water are also stored. Thus, higher-carbohydrate diets can lead to increased fluid storage, while lower carbohydrate diets can lead to decreased fluid storage.
Conversely, higher protein intakes tend to stimulate additional fluid losses because the body must increase its removal of urinary urea.
This is caused by the decrease in stored carbohydrates and increased urinary urea production.
It’s no wonder that when someone goes on the Atkins Diet (high protein, low carbohydrate), they immediately lose weight and get really excited. In reality, they are just losing water weight. It is also the reason why the weight always comes back as soon as the body adjusts to the imbalance.
When you examine your macronutrient balance (you can use your MyFitnessPal app for this), if the carbohydrate balance is above 60%, then you can consider bringing this down a bit. As you decrease the amount of carbohydrates in your diet, consider increasing the dietary protein allocation. Lower carbs offset by higher protein can reduce fluid storage and water weight.
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