# Water retention with carbs.



## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

I have without a doubt have water retention issues with carbs, ive tried to get along with it but its not happening. Im now concerned im burning up protein instead of it going to my muscles, i have about 25 grams of fish oils a day and about 250 grams protein a day from food and shakes. I jus need an alternative to carbs to so i can grow but not but fat on, its asking a lot but thats me situation.


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## sizar (Nov 13, 2008)

are you cutting or trying to grow ? you can't grow on keto .. simple . or low carb diet. you need carb for energy and protein for muscle building. you cut out carb your body will steal protein from your diet and your muscle for energy.


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

sizar said:


> are you cutting or trying to grow ? you can't grow on keto .. simple . or low carb diet. you need carb for energy and protein for muscle building. you cut out carb your body will steal protein from your diet and your muscle for energy.


this is not exactly true mate...i have had plenty of guys who have grown in the off season with very low cabr diets wheather you can or cannot depends on alot of factors the biggest being the metabolism....

to the OP are your problems with carbs water retention or fat gain??

if it is the first then try using different carb sources.....if it is the second issue then i ask how do you know it is the carbs that are making you hold fat?

can you post uop a normal days diet along with stats?


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

defo water retention is the problem, for my carbs i had been using ultra fine oats as i thought a low GI would help. Reccently i have been insanely hungry devoring every morsel of meat i can find,yet within an hour a so im hungry again lol


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

ok il put my diet up il get slated i know but i need help lol.

Morning 0700-6 scrambled eggs

0900- 30g shake protein

1200-400g chicken and steamed mixed veg

1400 -30g shake

1500- workout

1600-1630 PWO 30grams protein 10g protein 30g UFOats + 1tsp honey

1700- 400g meat meal of summit either chicken/fish/red meat

1900- tin of tuna

2200- 30g protein shake + 500ml semi skimmed milk + 1 actimel

drinking roughly 3-4 litres a day in total of water

I would eat more real foods but my work doesnt allow eating in the workplace so shakes are the way forward really.


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

where are the fats?

ok so you suffer from water retention from carbs what you need to do is use different carb sources to see which is best......

Sweet spuds/Basmati Rice are both excellant sources the key is also to no have large portions so say for meal 3 you add 150g of sweet spud to that meal reduce the chicken down to 250g (uncooked weight) and add a Tbsp of Olive oil.....

also drop the semi-skimmed milk if you are that prone to WR from carbs 25g of simple carbs at 10.00pm at night will not do you any good at all.....

PWO have a shake like Extremes Build and Recover......

you mention weights like 400g of chicken or meat is this uncooked weight? if it is that is far to much for your size to be able to assimulate in one sitting......

if you are going to go low on the carbs then you have to have decent fats with every meal something you are not doing mate.....


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

sizar said:


> are you cutting or trying to grow ? you can't grow on keto .. simple . or low carb diet. you need carb for energy and protein for muscle building. you cut out carb your body will steal protein from your diet and your muscle for energy.


Utter nonsense pal. any1 can grow in a calorie surplus simple as.

pscarbs advice is spot on as usual


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## Andrikos (Sep 10, 2008)

Are you sure it 's water and not fat?


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

Its far from ideal though for growth going keto. Just because something is possible doesn't make it a good idea does it - that's hardly logical.

What exactly is the water retention problem? It's possibly not carb related in the first place. Horomones and mineral levels will have far greater influence over water retention.

And what he said above ^^^^ people seem to confuse water and flab


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

martin brown said:


> Its far from ideal though for growth going keto. Just because something is possible doesn't make it a good idea does it - that's hardly logical.
> 
> What exactly is the water retention problem? It's possibly not carb related in the first place. Horomones and mineral levels will have far greater influence over water retention.
> 
> And what he said above ^^^^ people seem to confuse water and flab


far from ideal but definatly possible Martin and some guys make lean gains using low to zero carb diets......Dave Palumbo has had some good results using these types of methods......

given that for every 1g of carbs eaten the body stores 2.7g of water holding water is a problem for some......

either way given the numbers above the only reason i could see you holding to much is if you are eating to many Carbs not that your eating Carbs at all......


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

Pscarb said:


> far from ideal but definatly possible Martin and some guys make lean gains using low to zero carb diets......Dave Palumbo has had some good results using these types of methods......
> 
> given that for every 1g of carbs eaten the body stores 2.7g of water holding water is a problem for some......
> 
> either way given the numbers above the only reason i could see you holding to much is if you are eating to many Carbs not that your eating Carbs at all......


I'm not really arguing  Just I don't think that for gaining weight it is a good idea to swap all carbs for fats. And I question the cause of the proposed problem too, if it is a problem at all.

When I over drink water (deliberatley pre comp) I always find my muscles shrink and I look smaller (excess sub-q retention possibly). Now I couldn't say for sure why but excess water and insufficient carb intake smooths people out - making them look more watery (or less hard and muscular). At a guess it could be due to loss of minerals and lack of intake of salts as most people who go low carb cut out their main salt sources.

Although I could just be waffling...


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## Gza1 (Aug 6, 2007)

dunno wether its me or not but there doesnt actually look that many carbs in that diet, i only see carbs from mixed veg and oats pwo, i had the similar prob, i switched to brown rice and sweet spuds, made alot of diff to me


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

martin brown said:


> I'm not really arguing  Just I don't think that for gaining weight it is a good idea to swap all carbs for fats. And I question the cause of the proposed problem too, if it is a problem at all.
> 
> When I over drink water (deliberatley pre comp) I always find my muscles shrink and I look smaller (excess sub-q retention possibly). Now I couldn't say for sure why but excess water and insufficient carb intake smooths people out - making them look more watery (or less hard and muscular). At a guess it could be due to loss of minerals and lack of intake of salts as most people who go low carb cut out their main salt sources.
> 
> Although I could just be waffling...


not arguing either Martin.....lol just a difference of opinion mate...

you are semi correct about the water.....if you take either water or carbs individually but not the other you will look flat this gives the appearance of being flat/fat and smoothed out.....BUT you can fill out on fats it is all down to how you program the body over time....

i will agree carbs are the preffered way to go but for some not the only one


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

I don't know as much about the manipulating macros in diets as you guys above, but have done a three month low carb experiment not intended to cut but to see if I could grow on it - eg calories were aimed at slight excess. In three months I did add lean mass but really not much at all... around 2lbs. That's around half what I gain on a moderate carb diet with similar activity level and calorie intake for an equal time period.


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## dingosteve (Apr 26, 2009)

cheers for help guys, i gotta get outta the frame of mind of trying to grow on minimal food intake. Gonna sort my diet out!


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