FatDog wrote: Well, you askedAll IMHO, I'm not an expert...
Q. What's the diff and why is water weight easier to lose or so it implies.
A. for "water weight" definition see Volek & Phinney quote above; other weight can be stuff in transit or, more importantly for weight managers fat or muscle (and all the other bits your body is made of, like bones, which tends not to change that much unless you're growing or shrinking)
Q. How do people know if their weight is water or real. The scales cant tell
A. If your weight shoots up (or down) by more than the difference in calorie consumption from your TDEE divided by 3500, then it's likely water - e.g. your TDEE is 1700, you've eaten 1800, your weight goes up by 1.2lbs => 1800-1700/3500 = 0.03lb, which is lots less than 1.2lbs, ergo you're looking at water weight...
Q. Can you tell by feeling your tummy?
A. Mine's often "squishier" when I'm carrying water weight
Q. Is this related to bowel movements?
A. That's "transit" material, and it can / will effect your weight, maybe up to a 1lb - but you know whether you've "been" or not and can, presumably make allowances?
Q. Is it affected by "time of the month"? Particularly for women though may equally apply to men.
A. Pretty certain it will be - water retention goes up, if I remember rightly
Q. Is this related to what you consumed or drank in last week?
A. Absolutely. Carbs and salt are the main culprits that spring to mind; I'm sure that there are others...
Q. Does exercise affect one or the other more?
A. Don't quite get the question - but exercise will effect water retention as it usually involves "damaging" your muscles => inflammatory process => ups water retention
Q. Should you not worry about water weight and worry about real weight?
A. Shouldn't "worry" about either
Q. Can you dismiss all sudden fluctuations in weight as water weight.
A. Probably, or transit
Q. And what leads to water weight and what leads to real weight
A. Lots of things - you've covered them above, TOM, food, transit, exercise etc; "real" weight changes are, crudely, usually down to increases / decreases in food (calorie intake), occasionally they're engendered by pathological conditions... e.g. continued significant weight loss / gain without a change in diet is probably a good reason to see one's doctor
Q. And is losing real weight done in a different way to water weight
A. To lose "real" weight you need a calorie deficit, do it right and it will be fat coming off not muscle; to lose water weight just pee a lot and don't drink anything to rehydrate - that's how the boxers do it (amongst other things) prior to a weigh-in
Thank you FatDog for your q & a's .. your clarifications are good @FatDog and i shall worry less
