This should be a much bigger discussion as many people struggle with weight, and water retention is the biggest part in that.

I have retained water since I was 21, that I know for sure, before that I was skinny.  
What makes water retention?
What is the body trying to do be not pushing fluids out?  
What foods might be as good as water pills?
Does eating at different times of day /
What different food make a difference?

I have not seen any diminishing of swollen people even if they drink endless water.  What if any progress has Medicine made about this?

Even Dr. James D. does he have on opinion on that?

I would just love to know.

I understand that Lasix are not good for the kidneys....... over the counter not much works, are there real herbs that do less damage than Lasix?

    

Carbs hold onto water.  Read Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, he explains the science quite well.

Eat vegetables and your beneficial proteins to get rid of the bloat.  

I also want to know! For me, I eat lots of veggies and very little grain/starchy food. My issue is during the luteal phase of my cycle. I get so bloated and could easily gain up to 10lbs! All of that is water retention as I lose it after the period. Granted, I do have big fibroids that are gathering all this water. But I wonder if this could be helped at all.

Get the size of your bladder checked first. bladder retention or dysfuntional bladder is I suspect a bigger problem than people realise but I suspect that people drinking too much water is a big part of that.

this problem is often incorrectly blamed on prostate issues for men but actually is a widespread issue for both men and women (who don't have prostate

more Understandable when every time I write about people drinking too much water the amount of people saying that is wrong and everyone needs to drink MORE is astounding

With respect, people drinking and recommending people drink several litres of water is mind boggling to me. when a one litre is plenty for most.

adn even the merck manual recommends only 3 glasses (for the average person(

peace and love.

I eat veggies, meat and eggs, no starches, so that is not it all the time.. BUT no doubt when I did indulge in grains, I put it on by the pound even faster, look moon faced and feel it.

When I am really 100% compliant, then I stay the same weight or it creeps up slowy, but fingers tell the facts.  Wen fingers look long I have no extra fluids, when they look pudgy, I am loaded... pillows on my hand on the outside are signs in my mind that the heart is suffering. Only hormonal balances could avoid all this..

http://www.cnsforum.com/imagebank/item/HPA_NORM_DPN_3/default.aspx

I just looked at this and found the picture interesting..

Cortex, = Brain on top..
Hyppocampus +amigdala as neurotransmitters = what I see triggers the brain.

Hypothalamus = connected, strengthened twice equal to my nose activating the brain twice and stronly = neuropeptides are activated.

Pituitary= interestingly if a food is making me sensitive/stressed I feel it right away on my chin.
Adrenal cortex is stimulated by cortisol = adrenal burnout, effectively shown in my chin. I get hives that need to be cleaned out of my circulation..

I know I am just playing around, not all in life is about me.. but I can see me in this..

So what hormones to take? how and when?

its just fun to 'suppose'..

A tip to drink  far from the meals  helps you digest better and bloat less imho !
Dr D says this  for As especially, lacking stomac acid and digestives enzymes like pepsine.
Green tea is perfect for bloating and water retention.
Water retention is mostly because of toxins and avoids

In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), beans help with this. I get 1/2 cup, 6x week on SWAMI but eat that amount every day.

As far as liquid consumption goes, we do get some in our veggies and fruits.  

Protein releases it.

The lymphatic system - which consists of a network of vessels throughout the body, drains this fluid from tissues and empties it back into the bloodstream. However, if too much fluid is released in the first place the lymphatic system can be overwhelmed - it is unable to return fluid fast enough, and it accumulates (fluid retention). Sometimes, if the lymphatic system is congested, there may be something wrong with the rate at which fluid is returned back into the bloodstream - fluid will remain in the tissues, causing swelling in various parts of the body, including the abdomen, ankles, legs and feet.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187978.php

The heart pumps and circulates blood....The lymphatic system has no pump....only movement helps circulate lymphatic fluid...You MUST exercise.  It's why I rebound every day....

http://www.naturalnews.com/031199_rebounding_lymphatic_system.html

I was about to post the same thing regarding the need for excercise, Chloe.

I find that yoga (especially the gentle twisting excercises) really help to get rid of water retention.
I can see the difference in my fingers and ankles after my daily yoga session.

intracellular inflammatory action caused by wrong lectins, and more, depending on personal health issues, variables, like age and so on are sufficient reasons for retention


hytrax aids a lot!

Quoted from 2degreespisces

I was about to post the same thing regarding the need for exercise, Chloe.

So was I!! and

Quoted from Maria Giovanna

Water retention is mostly because of toxins and avoids

It is the body's way of diluting & flushing them out of the way, but we have to do our bit too, (moving more & really trying to avoid the toxins in the first place) or the system gets halted & the fluid stays there...

I would not make it without my exercise. I love it.

Still need to get more meat... not sure why I am scared! I havent had any in one month and I think that may be why I gained weight?

I do eat fish though?

Thoughts?

I only seem to manage to lose weight when I eat beef... Beef has high levels of CLA & the amino acid glutamine that help shed weight, especially when combined with B6 & B3...
Glutamine levels in the body are used up quickly when you are under physical stress such as high-intensity exercise... So that, as well as not eating enough protein, can cause the body to be able to make more fast enough to keep up with what it needs, resulting in a risk of glutamine deficiency...

Here's a useful article... Benefits of Amino Acid L-glutamine
The average amount of Glutamine ingested daily in a health diet is from 5,000-8,000 mg. Those foods with the highest content are pork, poultry, eggs, & dairy proteins ...
http://www.thewayup.com/newsletters/041501.htm - Cached

Just read that glutamine HELPS MAINTAIN ACID/ALKALINE BALANCE
    
"This is done by the production & metabolism of Glutamine in the kidneys. The more severe the acidosis is as in uncontrolled diabetes, starvation, kidneys disorders, decreased oxygen in the body, fluid & electrolyte loss , the greater the rate of Glutamine metabolism in the kidneys. When controlling acidosis the kidneys consume enormous amounts of Glutamine & deplete muscle & other stores . In acidotic conditions there is low Glutamine, low alanine & an increased production of ammonia."

I have started to notice people becoming aware of the problems caused by drinking too much water.

here is a comment from a chap which I agree with.

Years ago, I have found an easy way to cause urinary tract infection, kidney disease, and urethritis just by following some of the worse advice from doctors, which was to drink plenty of water. I never in my entire life have had urinary tract infection, but a doctor told me that I should drink plenty of water as a preventive! That started me on a long course of some of the worse urinary pain in my life and it took me over a month to find what was causing the problem. (How stupid of me!)

It was NOT drinking plenty of water that causes this sickness, it was that whenever I drink a lot of water, the body loses valuable salts that is necessary to KILL the bacteria. The single most important antibiotics along the urinary tract has got to be the sea salt. Drinking plenty of water (which reduces valuable salts) was also an easy way to get HAYFEVER, sneezing, stuffy and runny noses, too. Which is another bad advice I follow from doctors, which was to drink plenty of fluids whenever one has a cold and that prevented me from answering emails for the past couple of days. Again, I took the sea salt and it went away in minutes.

PC very interesting..

I need to find dandelions again, organic ones. That juice was by far the best to clean out and nourish... I lost all dark circles under my eyes in about 2 month of drinking half a glass juice every day..  

The idea of drinking sea salt for sinus is most interesting.. I will tell someone to try it.