Health – Ups and downs

Last week, one of my regular clients got a huge shock when she saw the number on the scales was up by 2kg from just two days earlier. She had been following her food plan and making great choices throughout the week. I knew what the probable culprit was, so immediately asked her, “what did you eat for dinner last night?”

Rapid increases in weight are a sign that your body is holding onto fluid due to some kind of inflammatory response. As frustrating as it is, it does provide a valuable insight into what is going on in your body.

Here are some of the common causes of fluid retention and simple strategies to help resolve them:

• Salty food: The delicate balance between sodium and water in our bodies is very important. When sodium levels rise above the norm, our bodies hold onto fluid to help maintain balance and flush out the excess sodium.

The solution? If you know you are going to have a salty meal, drink more fluids during the day to increase your water levels and help your body recalibrate faster after the meal.

• Hormones: This is a big one for my clients, especially those going through peri-menopause. Oestrogen acts as a fluid retaining hormone and progesterone is a natural diuretic. When these two are out of balance and progesterone levels drop, it can lead to bloating and fluid retention. While we can’t directly control our hormones, understanding this ebb and flow can help us navigate through this stage with a bit more grace. 

• Not drinking enough water: Our bodies are approximately 70 percent water and maintaining optimal fluid levels is crucial. When we don’t drink enough water, our bodies are more likely to hold onto fluid. I’ve seen clients achieve amazing changes in their health just by drinking more water each day. What’s the ideal amount? Generally speaking, 6-8 glasses per day is a good guideline. 

• High intensity exercise: Exercise is fantastic for overall health, but it can be stressful to the body. If you do high intensity exercise and your body is in pain afterwards, this may be the reason the scales have jumped up. The inflammation will ease in the long term as your body adjusts, but just be aware that exercise may push the scales upwards in the short term.

With my client, it turned out she had eaten Thai takeaways the night before and consumed a lot more sodium than usual. I suggested she drink more water and choose lower-sodium foods. When I touched base with her a few days later, everything was back to normal.

Our body is an amazing machine, and we must trust that it knows what it’s doing when it comes to fluid balancing. Frustration will be minimised when you are aware of what’s causing those highs on the scales, and trust that what goes up, will come down.