I have a list on things/situations/places my body doesn’t enjoy and hence delivers the worst water retention for me every time. On this list you find the regular PMS, sudden change in salt consumption, calorie deprivation, being in Las Vegas etc. Now, I have one more thing I can add to it and in after thought, of course this was a no brainer, but I didn’t realize… Here’s the funny story…:

Saturday I was ripped and lean. So happy. Had great workouts and everything was fun. I bought an electrolyte pre-during-post workout drink and I didn’t pay attention to its ingredients. Like normal Pauline style I doubled the dose and consumed before morning workout, after workout and did it twice since I train twice. I also liked it so much I used it in the morning with my AST sports science BCAAs too.

On Sunday I woke up 2 lbs heavier than my preferred weight. And that was cool since I was ripped the day before. But on monday, I was even more bloated. Still, my experience said “don’t panic, it will go away tomorrow, it never lasts three days”. On Tuesday I woke up STILL bloated and now it started to get to me. Why didn’t I shed the water?….. It was NOT PMS time!

Tuesday night I had an amazing chest and triceps workout. I was so impressed! I did 1 more reps on ALL sets and I felt like my usual heaviest sets were peanuts. I was psyched! So, I went to bed tuesday night, worried that I had not been given any feedback from my body that the bloat was going to go away… I knew when I hit the sack that I’d be bloated another morning….. And of course I was right, as always. I was up another pound. So 5 lbs OVER my normal “feel good weight”. I usually don’t feel swollen in my ankles and stiff in my calves but this time I did and it was abnormal. Usually my bloat is all on abs and some blurring on definition allover my body.

So damn pissed. I went to the gym to do intense cardio. Body was really powerful. No lactic acid even though I kept at it in the zones where I usually get it. What was going on…… THEN, I finally realized what must have happened. I put one and one together: water gain over subsequent days, increased strength, increased performance. IT WAS THAT DAMN PRODUCT!!!!! I called the store from the cardio machine, asking what day I had purchased it and it made complete sense to when I had started using it and when I saw the effects! It had sodium bicarbonate in it as one of the key ingredients. And now I also understood why I was so incredibly thirsty the past few days!

So, I think this time it was me who didn’t pay attention. My body IS a true sports car with very fine engines and one little thing that it is not used to and it FLIPS on me. Now, if I am right about this I’ll be down those 5 lbs tomorrow morning. Cannot wait….

So, you who asked me if I believe in baking soda’s performance enhancing effects, I can tell you I DO and KNOW it works lol…… Damn, that strength was awesome…. But the bloat, NO WAY!