I sometimes seem to gain about 10 pounds during the day. Is it water retention?

    Q: I weigh myself both in the morning and again at night. In the morning I'm around 193 pounds, but in the evening, my weight sometimes hikes up to 204 pounds. I use the same scale and weigh in the nude, so I feel like my readings are accurate. My friend says that I have a water-retention problem. What can I do to treat this?

    A: It's normal for body weight to fluctuate widely throughout the day. It's likely that your weight in the morning, and especially after you've used the bathroom, is at its lowest since you have probably not consumed any food or water for the past 12 or so hours.

    How much and what kind of food and fluids you've consumed, as well as how much and how often you've evacuated, and even how much you have sweated all play a role in the pounds that register on the scale at any given point during the day.

    Be careful not to mistake the increased scale weight as a conclusive sign that you are gaining or losing weight because going by pounds alone can often be misleading. While most people cite one number as their current body weight, it may be more realistic to cite a range, since the number does fluctuate daily. Most weight-loss programs advise to weigh at the same time of the day to try to minimize this variation. But still, if you were to weigh yourself every two or three hours you are likely get a whole range of weights, and here's why:

    You can even sit in a sauna and sweat off five pounds, but that doesn't mean that you've lost five pounds of body fat. In fact, you'll gain that 'weight' right back after you replenish the fluids you sweated out. Water is retained and lost throughout the day and while it may be contributing to your varying readings, these fluctuations are most likely normal, and not necessarily the problem that your friend suggests. (If you have signs of bloating, check with your physician, however.)

    If you eat a meal that consists of lots of plant foods like beans, grains, veggies and fruit, the food might weigh quite a lot because of all the fiber and water in it. On the other hand, you could eat the exact same amount of calories in the form of processed high-carb or high-fat foods and since this food is very condensed (much of the fiber and water is processed out of it), it's very light. If you ate the more healthful food you might take in a couple of pounds of actual food that would actually make you seem heavier if you weighed yourself after eating it. The processed item such as a fluffy, light croissant may not register as much extra scale weight at all even though it's very high in calories.

    So does the heavier-weighing food make you fatter? Not at all. Here's why: The body gains weight from accumulating more stored body fat by eating more calories than are expended over time. (You can also gain more weight for other reasons such as increased muscle, but you would need to be doing progressive, heavy resistance training and eating more calories over time.)

    When you eat a large meal, and if it's an unprocessed, plant-based meal, it's likely to be lower in calories, even if it has greater volume. Check out this comparison from the book Picture Perfect Weight Loss (Grand Central Publishing, 2003) by chiropractor Howard Shapiro. One small muffin is around 720 calories, and a huge platter consisting of an entire pineapple (that weighs several pounds), half a melon, half a papaya, plus two pears, some grapes, kiwi and two small whole-wheat rolls are also 720 calories. Not only would it would be nearly impossible to eat the healthful meal at once (who can eat an entire pineapple without feeling stuffed?), if you managed to even eat half of this, you would have ingested a pound or two of food, compared to a few ounces by eating the muffin.

    So after eating this plant-based meal, you would temporarily weigh more while the food is going through your digestive system. That doesn't mean you are heavier, though, because it's the caloric load that ultimately leads to excess body fat. In reality you might only be able to eat about 400 or 500 calories worth of this healthful meal, even though you ate much more in terms of volume of food. Most of the fiber and water in the plant-based meal is calorie-free and would be excreted out, NOT turned into extra body fat.

    Another example in the book compares two 400-calorie options: a high-fat choice such as three small ribs or one egg roll, or a large meal consisting of brown rice, vegetable soup, a fortune cookie and Chinese-style broccoli and shrimp.

    Chances are that you'd not feel full eating only one egg roll or a few ribs. One could easily eat double, triple (or more!) than the 400-calorie serving shown to make a meal. So you could easily take in 800 to 1,600 calories at one sitting choosing the high-fat options. In comparison, it might be difficult to eat the entire healthful meal shown. But even if you did, it would consist of only 400 calories. So you'd feel satiated, but you still be dieting because you are controlling your caloric intake with these plant-based foods that are high in both fiber and water.

    The major point to keep in mind is that, while weight is important, it is not a total reflection of your body composition such as the amount of body fat and/or muscle that you have. When losing large amounts of weight, the scale is a useful tool to gauge the change. But avoid getting too nit-picky with daily readings, and look for trends over time. If you have access, try getting your body composition measured, either through a DEXA scan at your doctor's office, or by using body fat calipers by an experienced trainer at your gym. An underwater weighing tank in the exercise physiology department at a local university is another option (some gyms occasionally offer measurements taken in portable tanks). It's also important if you are losing weight to make sure to include some resistance training in your routine so that you can minimize the amount of muscle loss that inevitably accompanies weight loss.

    在白天，有时我似乎增加了10磅的体重。是不是因为含有更多的水?

    Q:我在早上和晚上各称一次体重。在早上，我大约193磅，但在晚上，我的体重有时会上升到204磅。我使用相同的磅秤，同样是裸体称，所以我觉得读数应该是准确的。我的朋友说我有保水的问题。我应该怎样做？

    A:体重在一天中有波动是正常的。早上尤其是刚洗完澡后，体重是最低的，因为你可能已经12个小时没有进食或喝水。

    进食的数量和种类，进食消耗的多少与频度，甚至出汗的多少，这些都决定了你在白天的体重。

    不要因磅秤上体重的变化作为增加或减少体重的结论，因为几磅重的变化会误导人。人们经常举出一个数字作为其体重，可能举出一个范围更实际一些，因为体重的浮动。大多数减肥计划建议每天的同一时间称量体重，以求减弱这种变化。但是，就算是你每两、三个小时称一次，得到的也是一系列重量，原因如下：

    你可以坐在桑拿房里蒸掉5磅，但这并不是说你减掉了5磅脂肪。实际上，你会重新补充这些体重。在一天中，水会保持或流失，同时你的体重会发生变化，这些浮动是正常的，并不像你朋友建议的那样是问题。（如果，你有腹胀的迹象，请找医生检查一下。）

    如果你所吃的一餐中包含大量的植物类食品，比如豆类、谷类、蔬菜类及水果类，因含有较多的纤维和水，食物总量较重。另一方面，你可以吃具有相同热量的，以高碳水化合物或高脂肪形式存在的食物，因为它们是浓缩的（大部分的纤维和水被处理掉），所以非常轻。如果你吃了更健康的食物，有可能会吃掉两磅，这会使你更重。处理过的食物，例如蓬松，轻牛角面包重量并不大，虽然它们含有较高的热量。

    所以，是重量大的食物使你变胖？根本不是。以下是原因：体重的增加是人体摄入的能量超过消耗，剩余的能量以脂肪的形式储存起来。（你也可以因其他原因获得更多的重量，如增加肌肉，但是你得积极一些，沉重的训练及多吃。）

    当你吃一顿未经处理的、以植物为基础的大餐，虽然重量很大，所含卡路里比较少。拿这个和Picture Perfect Weight Loss 对比一下。一个小松饼大约含有720卡路里，一个由整个菠萝（有几磅重），半个甜瓜，半个木瓜，再加两个梨，一些葡萄，猕猴桃和两个小全麦卷组成的拼盘，含有的能量也是720卡路里。一次吃下如上的健康饮食是几乎不可能的（谁可以吃掉整个菠萝而不觉得饱？），如果能成功地吃下一半，你可能吃掉了一两磅的食物，相比较而言，只会有几盎司的松饼。

    在吃完这顿以植物为主的饭后,你的体重会因食物正在通过消化系统而加重.虽然这并不是意味着你真的变重了,但能量最终会增加脂肪含量.在现实中,你只能吃下400或500的卡路里,即使你吃下更大数量的食物.大多数植物饮食中的纤维和水不含卡路里,它们将会被排除体内,不会转变成脂肪.

    书中的另一个例子比较了两个400卡路里的选择:高脂肪的选择,如三个小排骨或一个蛋卷,或一顿大餐,包括糙米,蔬菜汤,幸运饼干和中国风格的花椰菜及虾.

    事情可能会这样,你只吃一个蛋卷或几个排骨不充足.人们很容易就吃下400卡路里的双倍,三倍(或更多!).所以你可以容易地在800至1600卡路里中选择高脂肪.相比之下,可能很难吃下整个健康餐.即使你做得到,它只含有400 卡路里.你会感到吃饱的,你仍然在节食,因为你进食含较多纤维和水的植物性膳食,控制了能量的摄取.

    你要谨记,尽管称体重很重要,但它无法完全反映身体的组成,如身体脂肪和/或肌肉含量.当失去大量重量时,磅秤是一个有用的工具来判断变化.但是避免过分讲究读数并寻找趋势.如果有机会,尝试身体成分测试,要么在医生的办公室通过扫描仪,要么在健身房由有经验的教练使用脂肪卡钳.当地大学生理学系的水下称量桶是另一种方法(有些体育馆偶尔也会提供便携式罐体).还有一点也很重要,如果你正在减肥,你要做一些训练,尽量减少肌肉的损失.