How to lose water weight... Safely!

If you are retaining too much in the way of fluids, you maybe wondering how to lose water weight safely.

Common symptoms include swelling of the hands, wrists, feet and face.

When considering how to lose water weight, one of the best ways, perhaps ironically is to actually drink more water.

When your body is dehydrated, it does absolutely everything in its power to hold onto all the water it currently has.

If you do not like water on its own, try adding a slice of lemon. This can help in two ways. Lemon makes the drink taste nicer and also has natural diuretic properties.

Diuretics

Diuretics are medications that encourage the body to get rid of water and salt.

They have many uses and are commonly used to treat certain medical conditions including edema and high blood pressure.

Many people do use diuretic medications to assist with weight loss. Diuretics only help eliminate excess fluid in the body, they are not proven to help reduce body fat.

The overuse of diuretic medications for weight loss purposes or otherwise can have predictable and quite ugly side effects. Firstly, dehydration starts and later there is a risk of potassium deficiency which can become serious.

The best thing you can do is to seek professional advice from your doctor. He or she will be in the best position to advise if diuretics are a suitable option for you personally.

Natural Diuretics

I don't know about you, but I really don't like the idea of taking prescription medications. In many instances there are natural alternatives which are often equally as effective and do not have the risk of causing potentially distressing side effects.

This is certainly the cause when it comes to losing water weight. There are indeed many foods that have strong diuretic properties. Some of the best foods include:

  • Artichoke
  • Lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Brussel Sprouts
  • Oats
  • Cucumber
  • Carrots
  • Cabbage
  • Asparagus
  • Beets

    • There are also many herbs that have diuretic properties:

  • Dandelion
  • Ginger
  • Fennel
  • Linden
  • Buchu

    • Sodium and water retention

    Our most common source of sodium is usually in the form of table salt. The sodium in salt encourages your body to hold onto water instead of excreting it.

    For this reason, it's important not to eat too much salt. Salt has also been linked with high blood pressure, so there is another reason to cut down if you are eating too much.

    Exercise

    Excessive water retention is very common in people who do not exercise. If you are physically able, exercising is an excellent way to help lose that water weight. For more information on exercise be sure to check my exercise page.

    Medications

    There are literally hundreds of medications that mention “fluid retention” as a possible side effect, infact too many to list.

    If you feel there is a chance your medication either prescription or over the counter is causing fluid retention, look at the leaflet that comes with your medication and speak with your doctor about it.

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