From Whoosh to Un-Whoosh: What Electrolytes and Water Retention Taught Me

orenkaid

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I'm on 8 peptides, taking 10 supplements, and running Testosterone alongside Primobolan. Protein intake is on point, and I'm as consistent as it gets. The scale was dropping half a pound per day, muscle was coming on, and I felt strong, energized, completely dialed in. That day's weigh-in: 195lbs.

Then came one particular day... Father's Day, when he announced he wanted sushi... So off we went, and that meal marked the first rice and heavy sodium I'd had in roughly 2 months. I didn't eat a lot and stayed in a deficit, so no big deal — except I was incredibly thirsty. I drank about 4 bottles of water and felt enormously bloated.

The following morning, I stepped on the scale... 211lbs!??

Turns out my body had no idea what white carbs or a big salt load meant, so it responded by holding onto every bit of water in my system [[Q1]]. Since Father's Day it hasn't let up. Day by day I keep adding more water weight. I'm weighing closer to 220 now. I'm still training, getting 15k steps, and staying in a calorie deficit. I feel like an enormous water balloon on the verge of bursting. Strangely, though, it makes gym pumps far more satisfying and effortless. I'm just waiting for that mythical whoosh effect to arrive and flush all the water out. The scale is a lie. Despite the bloat, I feel leaner. I just hope I pee it all out before someone decides to jab me with a large needle or toss me at some passing college girl in a white T-shirt.

Has anyone else experienced this?
 
Hahahahhahahaaaa coming from Vegas, the nun's butt reference landed perfectly for me

Holding onto 10 pounds of water is nothing for me....once it feels like that, the diet changes...lots of liquids, smoothies and soups....green tea is my goat, and it tends to whoosh the extra water off inside a day. I lean on fasting protocols too when things get really bad.

Hopefully a couple of these tricks do something for you — good luck, and let us know how it goes
 
Stace_wow said:

Hahahahhahahaaaa coming from Vegas, the nun's butt reference landed perfectly for me

Holding onto 10 pounds of water is nothing for me....once it feels like that, the diet changes...lots of liquids, smoothies and soups....green tea is my goat, and it tends to whoosh the extra water off inside a day. I lean on fasting protocols too when things get really bad.

Hopefully a couple of these tricks do something for you — good luck, and let us know how it goes
I'll give the soups and green tea a shot. When it comes to tea, I'm quite particular, and lately white tea has been my go-to. I'll make the change and see what happens.
 
For edema patients, one approach I have watched help is juicing a whole 4lb watermelon, then having the juice at 1 liter each day. Watermelon has a diuretic property that is odd and largely unrecognized. Something to keep in mind down the road.
 
Cut down on sodium, follow the proper steps, and the weight will shed without issue. Eliminate those peptides that cause water retention.
 
Peps-Enthusiast said:

Cut down on sodium, follow the proper steps, and the weight will shed without issue. Eliminate those peptides that cause water retention.
Peptides that hold water? My stack includes Reta, MOTSC, 5 Amino 1MQ, NAD+, Glutathione, SS31, KLOW, Thymalin, Semax, hCG, and hGH. With hGH I get it, but it's the one I refuse to drop—aside from Reta, it matters most to me. As for the rest, I don't see them playing a role. My guess was the steroids I'm on, along with the salt and carbs my body isn't accustomed to.

Testosterone and primobolan are pretty recent additions, so I figure my hormones are still settling in and adding some extra turbulence.
 
orenkaid said:

I'm on 8 peptides, taking 10 supplements, and running Testosterone alongside Primobolan. Protein intake is on point, and I'm as consistent as it gets. The scale was dropping half a pound per day, muscle was coming on, and I felt strong, energized, completely dialed in. That day's weigh-in: 195lbs.

Then came one particular day... Father's Day, when he announced he wanted sushi... So off we went, and that meal marked the first rice and heavy sodium I'd had in roughly 2 months. I didn't eat a lot and stayed in a deficit, so no big deal — except I was incredibly thirsty. I drank about 4 bottles of water and felt enormously bloated.

The following morning, I stepped on the scale... 211lbs!??

Turns out my body had no idea what white carbs or a big salt load meant, so it responded by holding onto every bit of water in my system [[Q1]]. Since Father's Day it hasn't let up. Day by day I keep adding more water weight. I'm weighing closer to 220 now. I'm still training, getting 15k steps, and staying in a calorie deficit. I feel like an enormous water balloon on the verge of bursting. Strangely, though, it makes gym pumps far more satisfying and effortless. I'm just waiting for that mythical whoosh effect to arrive and flush all the water out. The scale is a lie. Despite the bloat, I feel leaner. I just hope I pee it all out before someone decides to jab me with a large needle or toss me at some passing college girl in a white T-shirt.

Has anyone else experienced this?
Try 200mg/week of Mast — it'll flush out water. Don't take my word for it, though. Just a thought.
 
Such1943 said:

orenkaid said:

I'm on 8 peptides, taking 10 supplements, and running Testosterone alongside Primobolan. Protein intake is on point, and I'm as consistent as it gets. The scale was dropping half a pound per day, muscle was coming on, and I felt strong, energized, completely dialed in. That day's weigh-in: 195lbs.

Then came one particular day... Father's Day, when he announced he wanted sushi... So off we went, and that meal marked the first rice and heavy sodium I'd had in roughly 2 months. I didn't eat a lot and stayed in a deficit, so no big deal — except I was incredibly thirsty. I drank about 4 bottles of water and felt enormously bloated.

The following morning, I stepped on the scale... 211lbs!??

Turns out my body had no idea what white carbs or a big salt load meant, so it responded by holding onto every bit of water in my system [[Q1]]. Since Father's Day it hasn't let up. Day by day I keep adding more water weight. I'm weighing closer to 220 now. I'm still training, getting 15k steps, and staying in a calorie deficit. I feel like an enormous water balloon on the verge of bursting. Strangely, though, it makes gym pumps far more satisfying and effortless. I'm just waiting for that mythical whoosh effect to arrive and flush all the water out. The scale is a lie. Despite the bloat, I feel leaner. I just hope I pee it all out before someone decides to jab me with a large needle or toss me at some passing college girl in a white T-shirt.

Has anyone else experienced this?
Try 200mg/week of Mast — it'll flush out water. Don't take my word for it, though. Just a thought.
There's a bit of it sitting in my cabinet, so I could try a very small dose and watch whether it makes any difference. Appreciate you putting the idea out there.
 
Lopros said:

Dandelion Leaf tea. It helps me well when I need to flush out water.
Took @Stace_wow 's advice and brewed some green tea. Dandelion — I'm not certain I've got any around. 🙁
 
Since I follow a low-carb plan while eating in a deficit, a carb-heavy free meal reliably sets this off for me. When carbs aren't a normal part of what you eat, they cause water retention. Mentally, this was rough for me earlier on, since back then it could snowball into me abandoning my diet altogether. That changed once I started tirzepatide in March; a couple of months in, that anxiety finally stopped showing up 😅 These days it doesn't bother me, because I know a few days back on my usual diet will return everything to normal.
 
Angelique said:

Since I follow a low-carb plan while eating in a deficit, a carb-heavy free meal reliably sets this off for me. When carbs aren't a normal part of what you eat, they cause water retention. Mentally, this was rough for me earlier on, since back then it could snowball into me abandoning my diet altogether. That changed once I started tirzepatide in March; a couple of months in, that anxiety finally stopped showing up 😅 These days it doesn't bother me, because I know a few days back on my usual diet will return everything to normal.
Yeah, the diet itself wasn't my concern here—what caught me off guard was just how sudden this whole thing came on. Do you all figure I'm torching extra calories right now because I'm hauling around that extra weight? Sort of like wearing a weighted vest that covers my whole body?
 
Since I started (attempting to) eat healthier, this has happened to me multiple times. Simply make sure you're drinking plenty of water. Your system will clear things out on its own. I picked up this advice from someone here on GLP1Chat.
 
jpru2001 said:

After eating something loaded with salt, the scale jumped up — but seriously, 16 pounds?!
That day, and every day after, I consumed a huge amount of water. To be honest, over the past week my urination has been infrequent. Whenever I take a drink, I find myself thinking about whether it will increase the number.
 
orenkaid said:

Angelique said:

Since I follow a low-carb plan while eating in a deficit, a carb-heavy free meal reliably sets this off for me. When carbs aren't a normal part of what you eat, they cause water retention. Mentally, this was rough for me earlier on, since back then it could snowball into me abandoning my diet altogether. That changed once I started tirzepatide in March; a couple of months in, that anxiety finally stopped showing up 😅 These days it doesn't bother me, because I know a few days back on my usual diet will return everything to normal.
Yeah, the diet itself wasn't my concern here—what caught me off guard was just how sudden this whole thing came on. Do you all figure I'm torching extra calories right now because I'm hauling around that extra weight? Sort of like wearing a weighted vest that covers my whole body?
Honestly, the upsides never crossed my mind haha
 
To begin with, the sheer number of things you're taking means I can't be 100% sure what's going on with you. For me, electrolytes became necessary. My sodium came back low on BT because I was chugging a huge amount of water, assuming it would speed up fat loss—it didn't. All the beneficial stuff was going down the drain every time I urinated. Usually I'll have a Gatorade Free containing 250mg sodium, or I'll pour half a Liquid IV packet into 2 empty Gatorade bottles. Each Liquid IV packet contains 500mg. On the bright side, you're at least taking the prize for consuming the most products.
 
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