If you’re wondering how you can lose water weight after surgery, the answer may surprise you. In many cases, the solution is to drink more water. Although it sounds counterintuitive, consuming water can actually reduce edema after surgery. Consuming fewer carbohydrates and reducing your salt intake can help too. It’s also a good idea to exercise to lose post-surgery water weight.
What Is The Cause Of Weight Gain After Surgery?
It is very common for patients to gain weight following any type of surgery. This is called edema or water retention. Edema is fluid that accumulates between the body’s tissues as a result of plasma protein redistribution. It is the body’s own normal response to trauma. Hormones also have a role to play in post-surgery water retention. The stress of surgery can cause hormonal imbalances, and increased levels of ADH disturb kidney function, causing edema.
Also Read: What Not to Do After Liposuction
What Should I Know About Edema?
Edema is the official term for water retention. It looks like puffiness and bloating and usually appears in the arms, legs, and abdomen. An adult’s total body weight composes of 50-60% water. Any water on top of that amount is water weight. It can cause your weight to fluctuate by 2-4lbs in a day. Edema, therefore, can cause weight gain after your surgical procedure. In fact, some patients see a weight gain of as much as 10 pounds due to edema after surgery.
Fortunately, edema isn’t usually a cause for medical concern following a surgical procedure. Nevertheless, it can be uncomfortable and annoying. Water weight naturally reduces over time, but it typically takes a couple of weeks to go completely. You can, however, speed up this process by taking certain steps.
Does Diet Affect Water Weight?
Although water weight isn’t due to overeating, your diet still has a role to play. Too much salt in the diet causes water retention. It occurs because the body has to balance its water-to-sodium ratio. In order to achieve this balance, it will retain water if you eat too much sodium. As a result, you’ll experience greater water retention. Processed foods contain a lot of sodium, so you should avoid eating them after surgery. You should, instead, eat more whole foods, fruits, and vegetables.
Carbohydrates can also cause water retention. The body stores energy that isn’t used immediately from carbs as glycogen molecules. Each gram has 3g of water attached to it. Therefore, if you eat a lot of carbohydrates after surgery, you’ll gain water weight.
Conversely, reducing your carb intake can help reduce edema post-surgery. Reduce the amount of pasta, rice, and bread you consume to minimize water retention.
Can Drinking More Water Help?
It sounds counterintuitive to consume more water if you have water retention. Yet, in fact, drinking more water is the best way to reduce water weight. The reason for this is that dehydration makes the body retain water. If you don’t drink enough water, your body will hold onto the water already in your system. That will then present as edema. Drinking more water also boosts kidney function, so it flushes excess water out of the body. For these reasons, you should aim to consume six to eight glasses of water every day.
Will Working Out Help Me Drop Water Weight?
You may think exercise is the best way to lose weight due to excess fat. But they don’t think it can help if the excess weight is to due water. Yet, working out also has a role to play in dropping water weight. Exercising gets rid of water weight through sweat. It also boosts circulation, which reduces the build-up of fluids in the body and burns glycogen energy stores. It’s essential, though, to replace fluid lost through sweat after working out. So, drinking more water after exercise is important.
Can Medication Help Me Reduce Water Weight?
In some cases, diuretic pills may help to reduce water weight. But these should only be prescribed by a doctor. They’re probably not necessary after surgery, and most doctors will not prescribe them unless you’re experiencing a significant issue.
What Should I Do After Surgery To Minimize Water Weight?
If you want to minimize your water weight after surgery, there are several steps that you should take. These include:
• Taking more gentle exercise to boost blood circulation.
• Eating healthy by eating more vegetables, fruits, and whole foods.
• Consuming plenty of water – around ½ a gallon per day, which is about six to eight glasses of water
• Reducing your salt intake by avoiding adding salt to meals and not eating processed foods.
• Wearing your compression garments as prescribed by your surgeon.
If you’re ready to have cosmetic surgery, you may have concerns about water weight gain afterward. An experienced surgeon will offer you reassurance and will tell you how to lose water weight after surgery. The team at ArtLipo are experts in the plastic surgery field and can give you all the information you need.