Just Throw It Out

Just Throw It Out

My client, Shweta Rathra, had been enjoying her kids’ vacations to the hilt. Almost the whole of May was a series of foreign trips with only five workout sessions in between.

Now, holidays also mean diets going haywire. 
The result - a frantic call the minute she touched Mumbai last week - "I have gained lots of weight. I've bloated and am feeling very heavy. I want to start my workouts from tomorrow. Please help me lose weight!"

Want My Body Back

To make matters worse, she had a close family wedding exactly a week from then! “I want to get back my pre-holiday body. I want to look good at the wedding," she continued.

Now that was a really short time period to get back in shape. But to give her her due, she has always been on the slimmer side although with extra body fat around her waist (read that as a tyre).

Water Retention

A quick visual assessment the next day and I concluded that she had water retention. This was the main reason for the bloated look and heaviness. She admitted that she hadn't been drinking enough water. Eating restaurant food for almost a month combined with insufficient water intake and lack of exercise were the culprits.

Drink..Drink..Drink

During the workout session, she found it difficult raise her legs. The first thing I asked her to do was consume a lot of liquid throughout the day. Next, was a strict diet regimen for a week which she agreed to wholeheartedly. I gave her a series of one-day diets like Fruit and Milk, Soup and Paneer, Sprouts and Curd, Oats, and Watermelon Diet. These were combined with rigorous workout schedules for a week.

Feeling Lighter

After a couple of days she started feeling lighter. The swelling on her face, hands and legs had subsided. She was also enjoying her diet. She never felt hungry and was energetic throughout the day. Not only did she work out with me, there were days when she did half hour of cardio on her own in the evening. Today, exactly a week later, she has gone back to her pre-holiday weight.  

So what exactly is this water retention? It’s a state when your body conserves water if you do not drink enough or if you consume a lot of salt and sugar. This includes chips, sauces, chutneys, sweets sugary and sports drinks, to name a few.

Beat It

Beat water retention by consuming lots of fluid throughout the day. This could be in the form of plain water, nimbu pani, chaas, dilute green tea, coconut water or barley water. Even ginger-tulsi water helps a great deal. For those who hate drinking too much water, adding 30 ml of unsweetened fruit juice to a litre of water and sipping it throughout the day helps. Also, load up on veggies and fruits and exercise the water away.

Medical Issues

Of course, there are other more serious issues like heart or kidney problems, protein deficiency that can cause water retention. These are best diagnosed and treated by a medical practitioner.