Smart scales

[kjaylah]

I have smart scales that I am using to help me keep track of my weight.

I am a big water drinker. I drink a lot of fluid every day, around 3.5-4litres.

However, the scales show that my water weight is ‘low’ - 41.3%

I understand when you keep hydrated you’re body doesn’t hold on to water.

..but one thing that frustrates me is the nurses forever telling me to ‘drink more’ when they try and take my blood and can’t get anything from me. I should have well hydrated veins 😂

Does anyone know what the ideal water percentage is and what to do if I’m drinking well but body water is low?

[Arthrath 7lbs]

I cant give you medical advice so i would urge you to go back to your health professional, however i do know that to be hydrated is more than drinking water.

Water consumption should be spread out rather than drunk in large quantities, otherwise it just passes through your body and is excreted as urine or sweat (do you sweat a lot?).

Have you reduced or cut out salt?

For your body to use and hold on to the water you do need to have a complex balance of salts and minerals, think of being given electrolytes when you are seriously dehydrated.

People are usually not drinking enough water when they are dehydrated and that should always be the first thing you do, next call is salts then organ function.

Talk to your health worker again.

[kjaylah in reply to Arthrath]

I’ve been incorporating electrolytes a couple of times a week into my routine, I use high5 zero, my latest blood test showed that my blood electrolytes were in a good/healthy range.

My urine is always a pale straw colour, and I drink consistently throughout the day.

I don’t work out hard, so only lose a little water though sweat, and I drink water whilst I exercise (at the gym etc)

[2718281]

As Arthrath says, if you are concerned you should seek medical advice. However, if your only concern is what the smart scale says, keep in mind a couple of things:

First smart scales are smart, but not perfect. They assess the amount of water based on the response of your body to small electrical currents, but the measurement is not perfect so there is a certain uncertainty.

Second, according to the information in my scale, a "normal" body water percentage is around 50% (although it tells me I'm in the "good range" from 35%). But the % of water in your body will depend on the type of tissue your body is made of. Fat has a low content in water (~10%) while muscle has a higher content (~75%). So the amount of water in your body depends a lot on your body composition, if you have more fat tissue than what is considered "normal", your water percentage will also be lower than that "normal"

[kjaylah in reply to 2718281]

Ah this makes a lot of sense! Thank you!

I am carrying a lot of extra fat, so that would explain perhaps the composition of why my water percentage is low.

Thank you for your explanation it’s very helpful thank you

I was just linking 2 things together thinking that perhaps I’m not retaining water properly if my nurse keeps telling me about hydrating my veins and then the smart scale saying that I’m low- I’m not that concerned as I know I keep myself hydrated, I don’t have any symptoms day to day of low hydration- so I must just have crappy veins

[2718281 in reply to kjaylah]

They always struggle to find my veins, and I drink a lot of water too Maybe there is a reason why we are not retaining, or not in the right place,!

[Lytham 3 stone]

Hi, would you like to join us on the weigh in? Here's the link, I hope to see you there! x

healthunlocked.com/weight-l...