"It jsut water weight........"

adipose tissue does have a higher percentage of water than muscle but weight loss is weight loss

It's been many years since I took nutrition and chemistry... but from what I can remember, the body burns carbs, then proteins for fuel and water is a byproduct of that metabolism. The body will hold onto fat stores longer (protective mechanism to guard against starvation). So the initial loss isn't fat loss. Low carb diets force the body to burn more fat for fuel and put it into a state of ketosis.

I think.

LOL

Good question, Tweety.

Yes, you will lose fat, but when reducing carbohydrates in the diet, the body starts breaking down the stored carbohydrate reserves, or glycogen, to use as energy. Then, the body reacts to excrete water, often in large amounts, during the breakdown of carbs. This is especially true with those on high protein-low carb diets.

I think it's also because so many people tend to drink alot of water when they're dieting...and low carb diets (which are popular) tend to be big on fresh foods...thus low on sodium. So...for MANY people...the initial loss...that can be high by numbers...really is a fluid loss. I think it's just become commonplace for people to think EVERYONE looses fluids first. It really depends on the diet though.

Exactly, Siri.

Up until I started getting kidney stones, I was a big fan of the Atkins diet, which remains the only diet I've ever been able to stick with longer than a few weeks. There's just something about never being hungry that I really liked......~sigh~.........

Anyway, I'd go on this diet and unfailingly drop 10 pounds or even more in the first week, and as much as 25 pounds in the first month. I also had to pee like the proverbial racehorse during the early weeks, resulting in the disappearance of the edema my body likes to carry around for some reason. In fact, just last week I started a new effort to curb my carb consumption---in the fall and winter, I tend to crave carbs like crazy, and since I'm less active in the cooler months, I figured I'd better get things under control so I don't gain weight this year.

I lost around 40 pounds last winter, and I REALLY don't want to regain them......I'm still dangerously overweight as it is, and I've been eating like a horse all summer because I've been so physically active. (I wish I'd figured out how to do this 150 pounds ago......now I stay in the same 5-pound area with little effort.) So I started restricting my carbs to around 100 g/day or less, and voila!---my edema is totally gone. And yes, I've been spending a lot of time in the bathroom.

Water weight? Yeah, probably.........but as someone already stated, weight loss is weight loss, and I'll take it!

As I understand the physiological response, Tweety; you will not have the same effect like you would if you were seriously cutting out carbs.

Tweety, a gallon of water weighs 2.2 pounds. Any 'water' you lose by restricting fluid intake is at best temporary, since most cannot restrict their fluid intake long term. The fifteen pounds you need to lose, can be lost be restricting the number of calories you eat. Or if you want, severely restricting the number of grams of carbohydrates you eat each day, like to 32 gms per day. Of course once you resume eating your normal intake of calories or carbohydrates, you will regain unless you increase your level of activity. Isn't life fun?

Woody