How Much Weight Can You Lose With Water Pills?

Are you feeling bloated or puffy or swollen or super uncomfortable after that vacation you just had? And you want to go for an immediate weight loss by reaching for the OTC water pills or diuretics for getting some quick results? 

Then you would like to know something about weight loss and water pills. 

Let Us First Understand What Water Pills Are?

Water pills, also known as diuretics, are the pressure imparted on your kidneys to flush out the excess water and salt through your urine. There are three kinds of diuretics: thiazide, loop-acting, and potassium-sparing diuretics that work differently. They seem and sound to be harmless as one may feel that they are helping towards urinating a bit more. 

But here is something that provides enlightenment towards water pills and the weight loss through them. 

Breaking news! Losing water weight using water pills is not the same thing as losing bodyweight. When a person weighs himself on a weighing scale, many things are taken into accounts, such as body fat, fluids, bone, and muscle. People are looking out to lose weight to treat high blood pressure or diabetes or cholesterol, or other health issues which are not going to be treated using water pills. Also, water pills lose fluids from the body, and that is not actual weight loss as that is a temporary effect cost by them, making them not a good option for permanent weight loss. 

So, what is the water weight that one loses before using actual fat of the body? 

A person loses a water weight of up to two cups or one pound before actually shedding fat from the body. Losing of water weight may show a huge change on the weighing scale. But to lose actual body fat, a 3500 calorie deficit has to be created to show some change on the weighing scale. 

Consuming a water pill for weight loss is not completely safe. When a water pill is consumed, it causes a person to urinate the fluid out of their body. That fluid is not just water but also contains important electrolytes like sodium and potassium. The replacement of these electrolytes is challenging and can send the whole body system into a roller coaster ride. So, one is not losing the bodyweight but losing all the important nutrients from the body, which are difficult to recover. 

Water pills can very well interact with other medications, especially those treating heart issues. Water pills can affect the blood chemistry as they flush out the other medicines with more urination, causing the level of medicine to drop, affecting the disease that is being treated through the other medicine. Thus, using water pills for weight loss can have harmful and dangerous side effects. 

One more issue revolving around water pills is that over-the-counter water pills are different from those of the prescribed water pills. OTC water pills are usually caffeine and herbal remedies causing the body to become weak due to over urination. These unregulated OTC water pills can also interact with other medicines causing harmful side effects. 

For a healthy weight loss, take the guidance of a doctor or a dietitian and focus on eating well and exercising. Losing water weight may be good on weighing scales but is not good for a person’s overall health.