MUST you lose water before you lose fat?

[SherylWilliams]

I seem to read a lot about water loss before fat loss, but most of the time it's in the context of restricting carbs; when doing so, your body loses water first. If your goal is fat loss, MUST the water go first BEFORE you lose fat?

For instance, I'm having some issues with water retention, and a few people here helped talk me off a ledge yesterday. I lost 8.5 pounds between September 10 and October 8, but then my weight has consistently gone up this past week, despite doing things the same.

For some reason my body is retaining water this week (I don't have a monthly; I have an IUD, so it's not that TOM). Is it possible, though, that one can lose fat even while retaining water, or does the water have to go before you lose fat? My tape measurements haven't changed for the better or worse, and my body fat monitor hasn't changed, either -- which causes me to wonder if my body is essentially staying the same.

I understand that the scale results can be skewed based on water retention, but is it that the results are HIDDEN or is it that fat loss can't actually HAPPEN? Can fat still loss occur in the presence of water? I guess my fear is that as long as I'm retaining this water, nothing can happen, and don't know if one has to come before the other.

[LaraT]

Originally Posted by SherylWilliams

I seem to read a lot about water loss before fat loss, but most of the time it's in the context of restricting carbs; when doing so, your body loses water first. If your goal is fat loss, MUST the water go first BEFORE you lose fat?

For instance, I'm having some issues with water retention, and a few people here helped talk me off a ledge yesterday. I lost 8.5 pounds between September 10 and October 8, but then my weight has consistently gone up this past week, despite doing things the same.

For some reason my body is retaining water this week (I don't have a monthly; I have an IUD, so it's not that TOM). Is it possible, though, that one can lose fat even while retaining water, or does the water have to go before you lose fat? My tape measurements haven't changed for the better or worse, and my body fat monitor hasn't changed, either -- which causes me to wonder if my body is essentially staying the same.

I understand that the scale results can be skewed based on water retention, but is it that the results are HIDDEN or is it that fat loss can't actually HAPPEN? Can fat still loss occur in the presence of water? I guess my fear is that as long as I'm retaining this water, nothing can happen, and don't know if one has to come before the other.

you can lose fat even while retaining water but the water "masks" it on the scale. This is often referred to as cloaking. The way to tell this is happening is the scale might not change but you lose inches/clothes are looser etc.

[Joe Cannon, MS, CSCS]

when people start cutting carbs (and calories) they tap into their glycogen (carbohydrate reserves). when carbs are used for energy, they release a lot of water (about 3 grams of water per gram of glycogen) so a first sign of weight loss for many is frequent trips to the bathroom. this is the "secret" behind the Atkins and South Beach diets. But sometimes people may gain weight when they start an exercise program. this is nothing to fear and is just the body's attempt to get used to being healthy. when a stress is placed on a body - like exercise - the body adapts and gets used to it. one of these adaptations is a temporary water storage. as the body better copes with exercise, everything normalizes and body weight will start to decrease again. its important to remember that its a temporary gain in water only - not fat. fat loss is occurring even if your retaining fluid for a short period of time.
Joe