Carb Water Retention, Sub 10% Body Fat

[Mossy]

Does anyone have any idea why I seem to get inflamed skin and water retention from carbohydrates?

I was doing some research for my father's edema some time back and I stumbled upon a couple things. My dad is too stubborn to try anything, so I don't know if these will work long term, but maybe they'll have some value for you:

A post from user @Bad Linhat : "solved my water retention upping my potassium intake."

Also, urea is used to help water retention. I did try urea myself, as a guinea pig for my dad, and I do feel it worked for water reduction—it was clearly visible (a leaner face). You can search this forum or elsewhere, and you'll find urea being used for this purpose (edema/water retention).

 

[shanny]

I will repeat it in the morning underarm, as I measured orally last time..

Orally is usually very accurate. That's a very low temp for a young guy like yourself. It seems as though you are still digging yourself out of the hole of the low-carb days. How long were you low carb?

 

[mantq]

Orally is usually very accurate. That's a very low temp for a young guy like yourself. It seems as though you are still digging yourself out of the hole of the low-carb days. How long were you low carb?

Did it again this morning:

Upon waking (left armpit): 95;
Immediately again a minute later (left side of mouth): 96.8
And immediately again (right side of mouth): 97.16

Not sure what that means, but yeah..

I did extreme low carb on a huge deficit (as I normally have a crazy appetite and can eat a lot) back in 2021 spring, after there I had a few deficits lasting a week or two but not longer, as well as huge feasts too.. The past week, I'm trying to eat more calories.. Overall my health is good, I do have blue (dark) eye circles, which annoy me a lot but I seem to have those all my life (they have been darker the past months for some reason)..

 

[Bad Linhat]

I was doing some research for my father's edema some time back and I stumbled upon a couple things. My dad is too stubborn to try anything, so I don't know if these will work long term, but maybe they'll have some value for you:

A post from user @Bad Linhat : "solved my water retention upping my potassium intake."

Also, urea is used to help water retention. I did try urea myself, as a guinea pig for my dad, and I do feel it worked for water reduction—it was clearly visible (a leaner face). You can search this forum or elsewhere, and you'll find urea being used for this purpose (edema/water retention).

I can confirm that that still work for me.
In the beginning i supplement potassium (as potassium carbonate) in small quantity every meal.
Beware that an excess of potassium can stop your heart: use only small quantity.
Now I don't supplement any more, I only consume foods rich in potassium every day like potatoes, fruit and milk and I salt to taste my food.

 

[shanny]

Did it again this morning:

Upon waking (left armpit): 95;
Immediately again a minute later (left side of mouth): 96.8
And immediately again (right side of mouth): 97.16

Not sure what that means, but yeah..

I did extreme low carb on a huge deficit (as I normally have a crazy appetite and can eat a lot) back in 2021 spring, after there I had a few deficits lasting a week or two but not longer, as well as huge feasts too.. The past week, I'm trying to eat more calories.. Overall my health is good, I do have blue (dark) eye circles, which annoy me a lot but I seem to have those all my life (they have been darker the past months for some reason)..

You are young, so you are catching this early and will recover quickly.

I would say from your post above that you are not getting enough fat. @CLASH has had a lot of threads where he talks about the importance of sat fat, especially for males. If you have time, I would go back and look at some of those. Especially being as lean as you are, you are going to burn some serious fat at rest and will need those fats for hormone production and thyroid function to get those temps up to over 98.

I am a female, but came from low-carb/paleo prior to find Dr Peat's work and I had the same issue with the puffy face, and for me it was fruit and juice. When my temps were low like yours, I did not tolerate a lot of liquids or fruit/fructose (especially juices). Instead, I used a lot of butter and cream cheese, full fat coconut milk and cream for cooking. I used well cooked jasmine white rice in coconut milk, potatoes (mashed with cream and butter), white flour with no added iron for pancakes and lots of cornbread (made with butter and milk). I used these things for carb and fat sources alongside good meat, egg and cheese for protein. To this day I tolerate rice and potatoes better than fruit or juice. I can have a few swigs of fresh squeezed orange juice or a few dried dates, but other than that, my digestion, water retention and energy levels are better sustained with white starches.

The dark circles probably correlate with the puffy face. In Chinese medicine they relate dark circles to reduced kidney function, but I think this has more to do with lympathic drainage overburdening the kidneys, and this is true below

One temporary fix is to use Gua Sha to get the water out 1 or two times a day and send it down the lymph. But it is a lot of work - 15-20 mins a day and even though it does lower the water in the face considerably if hormones are off the "glow" that comes with low E and low P is kind of missing. Anti E/P with Gua Sha makes the face 10/10.

I would either do some Gua Sha to move the fluid, or do some work to release tension in your neck if that's a problem because this too will affect lymphatic drainage. If you need ideas just DM me. Good luck!

 

[Mossy]

I can confirm that that still work for me.
In the beginning i supplement potassium (as potassium carbonate) in small quantity every meal.
Beware that an excess of potassium can stop your heart: use only small quantity.
Now I don't supplement any more, I only consume foods rich in potassium every day like potatoes, fruit and milk and I salt to taste my food.

Yes, that was the first thought that came into my mind about supplementing with it.

Good to hear it's still working for you.

 

[youngsinatra]

No need to go that high on the side of carbohydrates. If I remember correctly Ray originally wrote that 200-250g of carbohydrates a day are enough for a person fuel their liver, thyroid and lower cortisol.

Rather balance the blood sugar with sufficient fat and animal protein, so the body has a sustained supply of it for many hours. I think it’s more about the sustained blood glucose rather than the total daily quantity of carbohydrates
A macro ratio of 25/25/50 of 33/33/33 as fat/protein/carbohydrates have been said to be good for that. (Haidut also talked about this)

Hans talks about this in his free Ebook. (www.men-elite.com)

 

[Mossy]

No need to go that high on the side of carbohydrates. If I remember correctly Ray originally wrote that 200-250g of carbohydrates a day are enough for a person fuel their liver, thyroid and lower cortisol.

Rather balance the blood sugar with sufficient fat and animal protein, so the body has a sustained supply of it for many hours. I think it’s more about the sustained blood glucose rather than the total daily quantity of carbohydrates
A macro ratio of 25/25/50 of 33/33/33 as fat/protein/carbohydrates have been said to be good for that. (Haidut also talked about this)

Hans talks about this in his free Ebook. (www.men-elite.com)

Not to derail from the water retention topic, but do you have success with those ratios? I ask because I've always attempted to follow Danny Roddy's suggestion on carbs, which from my understanding is Peaty:

• Meat protein-to-carbs: 1:1-2 /gram.
• Dairy protein-to-carbs: 1:3-4 /gram.

Due to my dairy consumption alone, I wouldn't be able to meet the ratios you mention. EDIT: Well, maybe I could do the 25/25/50; so, maybe it's a non issue after all.

 

[youngsinatra]

Not to derail from the water retention topic, but do you have success with those ratios? I ask because I've always attempted to follow Danny Roddy's suggestion on carbs, which from my understanding is Peaty:

• Meat protein-to-carbs: 1:1-2 /gram.
• Dairy protein-to-carbs: 1:3-4 /gram.

Due to my dairy consumption alone, I wouldn't be able to meet the ratios you mention. EDIT: Well, maybe I could do the 25/25/50; so, maybe it's a non issue after all.

I dropped my carbohydrate consumption nearly in half in the last weeks and upped my dietary fat and so far I felt less hungry, more energetic and leveled out and also more clear headed since.

I also increased my thyroid dose recently so that could be factor. But I also tried my past macro split (low fat high carb medium protein) in the last 3 days and felt way more sluggish again, so I am definitely going back to balanced macros again.

Haidut recommended 33/33/33 in one of his latest interviews with Dr. Mercola. Hans recommends 10-40% of total calories as carbohydrates.

 

[shanny]

33/33/33 as fat/protein/carbohydrates have been said to be good for that.

This. If someone is young, already lean and/or in good general health, this makes total sense. I agree with you 100%. Enough carbs to maintain blood glucose for executive functioning, enough fat for hormonal production and lean tissue at rest, and protein for liver health and tissue repair. I also think this is a great starting point for someone trying to re-establish a baseline after dieting. Tweaking these ratios for an athlete or active person may be different, but I think people should get healthy first and this is a great starting point.

 

[Mossy]

I dropped my carbohydrate consumption nearly in half in the last weeks and upped my dietary fat and so far I felt less hungry, more energetic and leveled out and also more clear headed since.

I also increased my thyroid dose recently so that could be factor. But I also tried my past macro split (low fat high carb medium protein) in the last 3 days and felt way more sluggish again, so I am definitely going back to balanced macros again.

Haidut recommended 33/33/33 in one of his latest interviews with Dr. Mercola. Hans recommends 10-40% of total calories as carbohydrates.

Appreciate the detail. I'll have to test some of these and see how I feel.