I’m not concerned because I’m not on keto to lose weight. I’m just trying to feel better. I am however curious as to how and why this might happen.
I typically drink a lot of water, about 9 liters a day, and on my fast my water intake didn’t go up. I didn’t take any vitamins during the fast but did have 1 teaspoon of pink salt each day.
Anybody have any info on why one might gain weight while not eating?
IMO (I’m not a doctor, etc) you’re hyper-hydrated and retaining a considerable amount of it. 9l of water a day seems like an excessive amount, water fast or not. And I’ll add this: 9l may very well be DANGEROUS, and affecting your kidneys (encouraging bloating and retention). Unless the water is isotonic (aka: “sodium balanced to the same salinity as your blood”) you may very well be slowing your renal system down and into a condition called “hyponatremia”+ (a condition that occurs when the concentration of sodium in your blood is abnormally low due to dilution) making it unable to process out that much fluid.
Why are you drinking that much water? The average fluid intake for a healthy adult is somewhere between 2.5-4l a day…
+1 - echoing the advice above. I’m a big fan of getting enough water, but at my biggest I was only consuming about 6 litres of water a day. 9? You’re almost certainly depleting your cells of their micro-nutrients.
1 tsp salt = 2326mg Sodium
On a keto diet, it’s very difficult to have too much sodium. 1 teaspoon, especially with those levels of water intake, isn’t nearly enough to help your cells retain their nutrients.
Now, that being said, you also need to be careful about ingesting too much Potassium at once - I know a lot of people here are fans of the “lite salt” - me, I think people should be limiting their intake in single servings to those found in electrolyte drinks.
I’m sure this is what others are saying, but the simple answer is too much water / not enough salt. You should consider your intake of potassium and magnesium as well as sodium. Two tweaks come to mind: If you’re just drinking 2 gallons + of water because you think it’s healthy, stop - and drink something like keto-ade that balances electrolytes and water. If you’re drinking 2+ gallons of water because you’re sweating like crazy, drink keto-ade and add extra sodium to make up for the extra loss of salts in sweat.
I dated a woman one time who needed an app on her phone to remind her when to drink a glass of water. I thought that was insane. I guess it never occurred to me that there were people on the complete opposite end of the spectrum - I can’t even imagine 9 liters a day! Definitely, for your own health, slow down. You should really only drink to thirst. The whole 8 8oz glasses of water a day thing was debunked years ago. Your body knows how much it needs.
it’s just my opinion, but I think no one should ever know how much water they’re drinking - that is, it should be so natural that you don’t consciously keep track.
Good luck!
I have always drank that much water. I’m very active and I sweat a lot. I only drink when I’m thirsty, I don’t force myself to drink and I don’t drink water to combat hunger, just to combat thirst.
Actually, this question is timely for me, maybe for different reasons.
I have wondered whether factors not so much related to intake affect how much water a person retains.
Both my wife and myself have noticed an increase in water retention over the past week or two. It just so happens that we’ve been doing a lot more physical outside type stuff over the past couple of weeks, too. Not just light duty stuff, the kinds of things that are hours and hours, buckets of sweat, that kind of thing.
Does the body have a kind of protective mechanism that attempts to hang on to extra fluids when you have pushed yourself to a place where you’ve used a lot more of them than you usually do?
Also, does the weather matter? Seriously, the past few weeks here have been sweltering, with heat in the 90’s and humidity getting pretty far up there, too. It’s not been weather for weenies out there, at least not when expecting to actually work in the hot sun.
Neither of us has noticed anything radical. It’s maybe a 3 pound jump overall. And we’re both kinda thinking it’s probably normal considering our activities and the environment we’re spending out time in. But we don’t know. Thought I might throw out the thoughts considering this thread may be relevant to our situation, too.
I really don’t want to walk around thirsty all day because I’m not drinking a lot of water so I guess I need to up my salt when fasting. How much salt do you guys think I should be getting for my water consumption?
One of the other reasons why you’re constantly thirsty ma be the lack of electrolytes in plain water. It’s been known for decades that while water may be the minimum needed for hydration, more effective and lasting hydration is had by drinking something near-isotonic, with electrolytes. Keto-Ade is easy to make, tastes good, is portable, and very good for your system. I’d go with that.
I was thirsty before I read this post, now I’m not.
@corduroyew - I believe you didn’t “gain” 6 pounds. I speculate your water retention was low at the beginning of the fast, high at the end. Most people’s weight fluctuates within a 4 pound window. Given how much water you drink, I’d guess you have a bigger window. Also, I’d guess you have a large frame - how tall are you?
Yes, the weather and exertion makes a big difference.
Remember: exercize cranks up your endocrine system, so hormones are in play from this angle, male or female.
Dr. Phinney’s suggestion is that 4000-6000 mg of sodium is a good starting point, and then that people who are doing keto or sweating a lot may need to up that. - I have no info re potassium or magnesium other than the standard RDA, and I know it’s possible to overdose on those, so I won’t comment other than RDA is 4700 mg for potassium and magnesium 350-420 mg
I’m 5’11 with a slender build. My jobs are luthier (guitar builder) and chef so I’m on my feet all day and spend about 8 to 10hrs a day using hand planes to thickness wood which is really physically demanding. I believe my feelings of being thirsty are do to my daily activities more than my size.
Thanks, Dom. The article was pointed more towards women than men but it’s definitely relevant! And I kinda of understand what they were saying.
The summary at the end kinda of assured me that we’re OK. Basically, it said to just continue to eat and drink healthfully and the water levels will take care of themselves… which is kinda what we were doing anyway. 
Shows you what I know. I know a couple who was constantly thirsty, drinking water throughout the day for months, thought it was a good thing but feeling more and more crappy. Turned out, they were drinking purified water with very low mineral content. When they switched back to hard tap water, their consumption fell by 2/3 and they instantly felt better.
Exactly. When I drink filtered water (we have a fridge filter thingy) I always add in a pinch of salt and a tiny splash of ACV. Otherwise, I just feel bloated, and quickly thirsty again…
Did you look and/or feel puffy from possible water retention by the end of your fast?
Being thirsty all of the time can be a symptom of hormonal disregulation. It might be beneficial to look into your thyroid health and other hormone levels.
@Daves_Not_Here: It is tap water I’m drinking.
@pamplemousse: No puttyness. I have recently had my thyroid function tested and I fall in the middle of the normal range. I haven’t had my other hormones tested. I do see my Dr regularly so I’ll ask him about it on my next visit.
In the meantime I think I’ll start taking more electrolytes.
