There are a few things that can cause our bodies to hold onto excess water. Hormones are usually the main culprit, but other things include too much salt in the diet, long haul flights and not drinking enough water.

As mentioned above - Hormones play a big part. This is because different hormones (estrogen and progesterone) spike and drop during different stages of your menstrual cycle causing hormone imbalances. This hormonal imbalance can cause you to hold more water, making you feel bloated and sluggish. My go-to options to help with this are - drinking clippers dandelion tea or taking FSC Waterfalls Supplements for the week before and during your period AND most importantly drinking lots of water!

Too much salt in the diet can also cause you to hold onto excess water, you could hold up to between 1 & 1.5 litres of extra water if your diet is too high in salt. Always check the salt content on the back of packets and don't add extra salt when cooking food, rather season to taste once cooked. If you are going to use salt try use Himalayan rock salt, it contains over 80 trace minerals and less sodium per serving than table salt.

My ankles and feet swell up every time I do a long haul flight, I have tried everything to prevent this, walking around and making sure I keep the circulation in my calves and feet, drinking loads of water, wearing flight socks. But I have found over the years that exercising a few hours after I land is one of the most effective ways of getting my ankles and feet back to a normal size. Exercising increases blood flow around your body and this helps boost your circulation.

Finally not drinking enough water will cause you to hold onto the little water you have drunk. Out of all the causes of water retention this one we have complete control over. It’s down to you to make sure that you drink enough each day. Having a bottle of water on your desk, numbering water bottles, practicing good habits of drinking a large glass of water first thing in the morning. Simple habits like these to increase your water intake will help with your body’s fluid balance.

Holding excess water can cause your weight to go up on the scale and make you feel bloated. This is one of the main reasons I don't recommend weighing yourself more than once a week as water weight can cause the number on the scale fluctuate each day. This can be very disheartening. By keeping our bodies hydrated all the time you will find that you will hold onto less water which means more muscle definition, and most importantly everything on the inside will be functioning optimally.