Fiber and water retention


(German Ketonian) #1

Does fiber cause massive water retention? Yesterday, I didn’t horribly overeat (3,500 kcals; usually I do 2700 and don’t gain anything) TMAD, 1700 kcals each. Yesterday morning, my weight was 75.2kg, today it’s 76.9kg.

I know this isn’t due to fat gain but I am just curious as to why this is. The last couple of weeks, I mostly ate cheese, meat, olive oil, fish, butter, eggs, bacon, some nuts and a handful of salad and didn’t gain (in fact, lost weight). I usually drink a lot of water (around 5-6l a day) to fill me up.

The only thing I changed yesterday was: a lot of fiber! I ate 200g of sunflower seeds in the shell. And I wonder whether fiber causes you to retain water. I googled it, but it seems that most studies point in the opposite direction. I think, specifically in combination with a lot of fluid intake, all that fiber is sucking up moisture, expanding and causing the water not to be flushed out of the system.

This isn’t my first time noticing this. 2 weeks ago I ate 100g of flaxseeds with my salad and the same thing happened the next morning: 1,6kg weight gain, which took days to dial back and get out of my system.

Does anyone know more about this?


(German Ketonian) #2

Just found this

Most reports of weight gain from too much fiber are anecdotal, and there isn’t a lot of explanation as to why this occurs in some individuals. It may be due to the fiber soaking up water in the body and retaining it from being constipated. It is usually a temporary condition, but something that you should be aware of and a sign that you may be getting too much of a good thing.

https://healthwholeness.com/fiber/too-much-fiber