Effective Ways to Reduce Water Retention and Bloating

Water retention, also referred to as water weight, is a common cause of fluctuations in weight. Water weight can cause you to feel puffy and bloated, especially in the abdominal area. However, you can easily lose water weight by following a few simple guidelines. According to Medical News Today, water retention can occur due to an array of causes such as inactivity, menstrual cycle, malnutrition, allergies or as a side effect to certain medications, so it is important to pinpoint the cause before taking the steps to lose the weight.

Instructions

• 1

  Buy healthy foods. Focus on whole and organic foods such as yogurt, grains, vegetables and natural fruit juices that will help stimulate your lymphatic system and encourage the kidneys to remove excess water.

• 2

  Avoid salt. Don't add salt to your dishes and avoid consuming foods that are high in sodium, such as pickles, hot dogs and salted nuts. That's Fit, a nutrition website, recommends that you also pay close attention to the sodium content in any processed, packaged or frozen food, as it can be very high.

• 3

  Exercise at least 3 to 4 times per week. This will help relieve the extra build-up of fluid and salt in your tissues through increased perspiration. A sedentary lifestyle can be a contributing factor to increased water weight, so being active will help you to lose water weight and also act as an effective preventative measure.

• 4

  Stay hydrated by consuming at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day. Although it seems contradictory to drink water in order to lose water weight, according to Bodybuilding For You, the water will help flush out toxins and help your body to more efficiently burn fat and build muscle.

• 5

  Supplement your diet with herbal treatments, such as ginger or dandelion. According to HerbWisdom, these herbs have a mild diuretic effect on the system, which will help you combat water weight.