Heavy legs, ankles or a swollen face, even edema? Water retention is not inevitable, solutions do exist out there!

Water retention affects a large part of the population. It is a phenomenon that is often associated with poor venous return, and is often accentuated by certain pathologies, treatments or physiological states, such as hormone treatment, corticosteroid therapy, or even pregnancy. It can also be caused by standing for too long, or excessive consumption of salt e.g. cold meats, cheese, bread, preserves and smoked products. If you have a tendency to retain water, avoid an overconsumption of salt by eliminating these very salty foods from your daily diet. Note: wholemeal bread contains less salt than white bread!

Rather than taking dietary supplements with artificial ingredients, it is better to choose refreshments that naturally help drainage in order to get rid of excess water through urine. Green tea and red vine, dandelion or horsetail herbal teas are very effective in stimulating diuresis. So, don’t stop hydrating yourself; water retention does not mean that you drink too much, on the contrary, aim for 1.5 litres a day!

Try to practice a physical activity on a daily basis. Why not aquatic sports? Swimming, for example, is very effective thanks to the movements of water which improve blood circulation and venous return considerably. Finally, eating a balanced diet also helps limit water retention; good quality proteins and good vegetable fats and both natural draining foods.

If your water retention is very high and/or you suffer from an edema, consider going to a doctor who will prescribe strong massages and/or prescription-only diuretics. And, as we have just seen, if it is a lighter case, a healthy lifestyle can reduce daily symptoms to make life easier, especially in hot weather!

Our Bikini program is designed to improve your diet and lifestyle with menus put together by one of our qualified, personal coaches. During its course, she will follow you with regular telephone consultations and give you bespoke advice on how to lose weight and lessen water retention. All you have to do is to is follow the recipes found on our blog. With everything being personalised, you won’t have to worry about depriving yourself of anything!