Thread: Facial weight gain

Water Retention? Everyone is different.

You might be onto someting there actually...because it tends to be accentuated by eating foods high in sodium (which sucks cuz I have to or else I faint due to low blood pressure), and I go pee like a thousand times a day. I'm gonna cut back on the water and see how it goes for me.

Like Ian said could be water retention .. so either decrease the sodium a bit or INCREASE (don't decrease) your water intake. More water you drink the less you retain as your body doesn't feel the need to do so as it's got a continous supply.
Could also be carb related, they can make people retain water.
Also possibly some type of allergy reaction to a certain food??

The allergy thing is a thought too I'll try cutting out certain things for a little while.

But do I really have to drink more?? I mean I already pee a zillion times a day, and it's always bright clear, and in addition tot his, around 2-3 every morning I get up and piss like a racehorse. I was 99% asleep last night, so my memory is a little foggy,but I swear to god I remember it being like almost two minutes.

I know what you mean, I'm constantly in the bathroom all day. I use to always wake up in the middle of the night to pee too, just for some reason in the last couple of months that's stop. (thank god).

How much water are you currently drinking?
But generally the more water you drink, the less you'll retain. But you could experiment ..try decreasing your water for a few days and see what happens, if you find no difference or it gets worse try increasing your water for a few days and see if that helps.

But if it's allergy related you'll have to play detective and take one item of food out of your diet and a time... which is a hassle and can be very tedious.

If none of these help you could always try and talk to a doctor about it..

The food thing wouldn't be TOO bad I don't think, because I really don't eat a great variety of foods...I think the culprit may be oats, I usually eat them 3 to 5 times a day when on this diet, and usually not at all when I'm on vacation or back for spring break or things like that, while I still frequently eat things like eggs and chicken and veggies.

I'll try the water thing then cut out foods one at a time.

Question though: could I still be retaining water if I'm going to the bathroom so frequently?

Here are the staples in my diet:

Lettuce
Broccoli
Eggs
Chicken
Oats (TONS)
Water
Bananas/Apples
Skim milk
Peanut butter/almonds

The puffiness tends to set in rather quickly, and the only thing that I really cut out in excess when I don't consistently eat like this is the oats...so when I'm not on it, I don't eat them, when I am on it, I eat a ton and the puffiness comes fast. So it seems to me to be the most likely candidate. Seem logical? Has anyone else had problems with oats before?

And about how much water should I be drinking every day? I'm 6'5, 170ish pounds (yeah I know...that's why I'm trying to gain a little...but when I increase cals and eat like this I see good slow lean gains everywhere else except my face which balloons...so I just go back to normal) and a lean BF%, not sure exactly what (I can see my abs very well so I'm guessing around 7-8%).

Oats could very well be a possibility .. replacing it with another carbohydrate source and see what happens. It could also be the AMOUNT of carbs you eat in a day (Lots of carbs = water retention), so you may want to play around with that variable as well.
But if nothing works .. you may just have to deal with the puffy face while bulking and worry about fixing it once you start to cut. May just have to be something you have to suffer through ...

PS about the water, I would say 4-5L would be sufficient .. I hear ya though man about the pissing. Everyone is always making remarks to me about it, I feel like I'm always in a bathroom!