Water Retention is Often Mistaken As Body Fat When Slimming Down

Water Retention Might Be Stopping You From Looking Defined

What you think is a bit of fat could very well be water. If you are at a low body fat level and your body is really lean on certain body parts and not as lean looking in other places, you will want to read this! The fact is that your body tends to hold water under your skin unless you take certain precautions. This is called subcutaneous water and it is your enemy if you want to look ripped!

What Causes Water to Get Stored Under The Skin?

Your body stores water just like it stores fat. It is obviously an important part of staying alive as is body fat. Subcutaneous water is what we want to minimize and is caused by a couple of things. When you have too much sodium in your system, water binds to that sodium and causes this water retention. The more excess sodium in your system, the more likely it is that you will have this type of water layer under your skin.

Does Your Sweat Taste Salty?

In simple terms, subcutaneous water is cause by salt trapped under the skin. When you sweat, you excrete water along with the sodium under your skin. If you sweat and it has a salty taste to it, odds are that you have too much sodium trapped under your skin and you have a decent amount of water retention. The good news is that once you minimize this excess water, you will look much more defined.

How to Get Rid of This Excess Water

You would think that the best way to get rid of this problem would be to drink less water and eliminate sodium from your diet. This is not a good approach. You want to limit your sodium intake to a healthy level and you actually want to drink MORE water not less! This actually causes your body to release more water through urination, so a lot of that sodium gets washed away in the process. If you drink enough water, you will greatly reduce water retention. The nice thing is that your skin will look better as a result.

Sweating is a Great Technique to Rid The Body of Excess Sodium

If you want to minimize that excess water for an event like going to the beach the following day, here is a great strategy. Begin your morning by drinking a bunch of water. Keep drinking water throughout the day. In the afternoon go to the gym for a light workout, but be prepared to hit the cardio hard. Work up a sweat with intense cardio and make sure you sip on water throughout the cardio session. Keep sweating until your sweat no longer tastes salty. If it still tastes salty after your cardio session, hit a sauna and bring a bottle of water, or take breaks to drink water out of a fountain. Sweat until that sweat is just pure water. After your workout, minimize your sodium intake and keep drinking water until bed time. You will look amazing the following day...no water retention!

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