Natural Diuretics

[Talo]

Nettle Leaf (Utrica dioica
Vitamin C
Vitamin B6
Uva-Ursi
Caffeine
Fennel
Silica
Buchu Leaf
Potassium
Lemon or lime (non caloric juices) can be added to the water to create a mild diuretic effect

Caffeine is a powerful diuretic – but be aware that its use is banned in some sporting events at a certain level.
For an over the counter complex that contains several of the above diuretics– one of the best on the market is “Dry Shred” by Troponin Nutrition that contains a blend of several of the above.

As far as food goes, trying loading your plate up with the following foods in the days prior to competition to give a little ‘boost’.

Diuretic Foods

Asparagus Mineral content and active amino acid - asparagine
Parsley Essential oils within the plant
Watermelon Mineral content within watermelon
Watercress Mineral content within watercress
Artichoke Mineral content within artichoke


I have never taken a natural diuretic before and the one that I have taken I can't remember what it was called ( my trainer gave it to us and this is going back 5 years ) .

Anyone here ( I’m sure there is ) use any of these , or anything else with great success ?

I'm not doing it for cosmetics , just to help me make weight.

[O-Train]

I've used dandelion root before, it worked well.

[baza]

When I read the thread title dandelion root came to my mind too.

[Andre Gregoire]

How to lose 30lbs in 24hrs. Use at your own risk

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/01/18/how-to-cut-weight/

[Felinecougar]

I've used dandelion root before, it worked well.

Me too...so does Dandeloin salads.

[Andre Gregoire]

I have used a natural dandelion, uva ursi formula from the drugstore and it worked fine along with cutting drinking water and sodium 16-20hrs before weigh in.

I also like to cut curbs out about 48hrs before weigh in this gets me really dry but I don't know how much time you have to rehydrate/carbup before your competition so if you don't have much time cutting carbs might hurt your performance.

[steve_d]

I'm not familiar with rehydrating for a competition :)

EDIT: I forgot this wasn't bodybuilding directed. Yeah, it doesn't take long for powerlifting. I cut abotu 16 pounds for powerlifting once in 24 hours. it was a way different experience than cutting water for bodybuilding. IT WAS NOT FUN. My brother does it all the time, and its one of those things in life that your brain is forced to forget how bad it was otherwise you'd have nightmares forever.


Was 6 hours on a bike in 6 sweaters and a snowsuit. this getting me still 3 pounds off. going to bed with a heart rate of 160 all night and unable to think clearly. at 1 point i felt almost good enough to get on the bike again, and by the time I got to the door 10 feet away, I had to sit down.

finally morning comes after sleeping 10 minutes and I sweat the last bit out. Just making weigh in. everyone looking at me like they are scared for me. Weigh in just on the mark, leave the room, drink 5 litres of chicken noodle soup, and feel like a million bucks and have an awesome meet with lifts starting 1 hour after weigh in. No one recognized me at 12 pound up after weigh in.

[countrychic]

silica?

[Delt King]

Medieval torture program described there. Surprised it doesn't effect performance significantly.


I'm not familiar with rehydrating for a competition :)

EDIT: I forgot this wasn't bodybuilding directed. Yeah, it doesn't take long for powerlifting. I cut abotu 16 pounds for powerlifting once in 24 hours. it was a way different experience than cutting water for bodybuilding. IT WAS NOT FUN. My brother does it all the time, and its one of those things in life that your brain is forced to forget how bad it was otherwise you'd have nightmares forever.


Was 6 hours on a bike in 6 sweaters and a snowsuit. this getting me still 3 pounds off. going to bed with a heart rate of 160 all night and unable to think clearly. at 1 point i felt almost good enough to get on the bike again, and by the time I got to the door 10 feet away, I had to sit down.

finally morning comes after sleeping 10 minutes and I sweat the last bit out. Just making weigh in. everyone looking at me like they are scared for me. Weigh in just on the mark, leave the room, drink 5 litres of chicken noodle soup, and feel like a million bucks and have an awesome meet with lifts starting 1 hour after weigh in. No one recognized me at 12 pound up after weigh in.

[steve_d]

I had just as high / higher lifts than leading up to the meet. I am sure without the torture I would have had perhaps slightly better lifts.

There's alot of research done to suggest that being dehydrated doesn't effect performance - at least short term performance such as sprints, powerlifting, or in 1 thing I saw, obstacle course times. And that's where you STAY dehydrated. Ie, lifting without my chicken noodle soup.

Had I not drank or ate before my lifts, I would have been weaker, but I think only because I wouldn't have fit in my suits / shirts the same.

[Andre Gregoire]

No kidding after trying Steve's weight loss routine I don't think I could Squat 135lbs...lol

[steve_d]

No kidding after trying Steve's weight loss routine I don't think I could Squat 135lbs...lol

trust me, it's not routine! but I did what needed to be done. The crappy thing about this all, was that I was going down to 165 in order to make weight to qualify for nationals that year. when I was at 168 or so, someone asked me why the hell i was doing all this. So I said, need to qualify for nationals, etc.

I was then told that meet was NOT a qualifier. Needless to say, I was pissed. But still went through with it, I came that far, so may as well push through as a learning experience.

[Andre Gregoire]

I'd like to do a powerlifting meet one day just for the experience but I will show up off-season, fat and happy and I won't cut water, it will be a fun day much different then a bodybuilding show.

[steve_d]

Personally, I don't lift so well when I am ripped and unhappy. I just cut the water for my wilks total to go up. my total might go down 10kg, but when you're way lighter, it more than makes up the difference. Then again, I can't squat or deadlift, or bench right now for that matter...All this powerlifting talk for me is purely reminiscing. Ah well...maybe one day.

[Talo]

Thanks for the info and conversation.

I know I'm in for a he'll night. Last time I did it I was at 235 and got to 216 . This time I'm a few pounds heavier but still only need the 20lbs.

Something else that's different is I will be flying to the states for this one and I'm not sure if and how the flight will effect my water drop. I weigh in Saturday around 4pm so I'm hoping to land and be in my room by 3pm Friday.

Last time I never used diuretics , but this time I was thinking about picking something up for a just in case situation. I guess I will grab some dandelion from the drug store.

I've also found a great way to put the weight back on - which is also going to be hell with all the force feeding / drinking.

[steve_d]

yikes, 20 pounds of water is a lot! although are we talking 20 from mornign weight? the amount I can lose depends alot on how much glycogen I am holding...if I am lean, that means not so much, and I can only drop about 10 pounds from morning weight. If you've lost 19 pounds before in a matter of a day or so, you certainly don't need advice from us on how to lose water! you've got it down to a science

[Talo]

Basically just super hydrate then deplete and hit the steam room ( bathroom ) .

I don't normally eat that many carbs , so I'm cutting them out now almost 100% and walking 30 min a day. If I bring my weight back to the 235 mark then 15lbs is what it will be .

From what I've read if I do decide to take a diuretic then I should start about 1 week out ? This is the part I'm not familiar with.

[steve_d]

Basically just super hydrate then deplete and hit the steam room ( bathroom ) .

I don't normally eat that many carbs , so I'm cutting them out now almost 100% and walking 30 min a day. If I bring my weight back to the 235 mark then 15lbs is what it will be .

From what I've read if I do decide to take a diuretic then I should start about 1 week out ? This is the part I'm not familiar with.

i found dandelion on its own made me shit out stuff that I likely never would have gotten rid of otherwise. I used it for about 4 days.

The other big one is dropping sodium and carbs to zero while keeping water high, you don't need to cut sodium for long. but it will help another couple pounds at least even before getting to the steam room. Caffeine is another good one. other than that, it becomes hard for herbal things to have any effect beyond what sodium/carbs/water manipulation does.

[Talo]

Thanks alot, Steve. Your word is gold :)

[tiramisu]

Hot baths :)

[Talo]

The other big one is dropping sodium and carbs to zero while keeping water high, you don't need to cut sodium for long.

Do you think 4L-6L per day is good for now . Then step it up to 8L about 4 days before , then 10, 12 then cut is off ?

[steve_d]

Do you think 4L-6L per day is good for now . Then step it up to 8L about 4 days before , then 10, 12 then cut is off ?

sounds pretty good to me. You might cut it off thursday night if you weigh in saturday morning. Depends what you weigh I suppose and how much sweating you're willing to do.

[Talo]

Our weigh ins are from 4-6pm Sat night. So it's less than a 24hr weigh in.

Fly out Friday morning.