http://www.mmajacked.com/blogs/blogp...f-d1b3002fe4f1
Make Water and SodiumYour Friend
After reading the above headline, there's probably a little Gary Coleman voicein your head saying "whatchu talkin’ ‘bout Dr Clay?” Well, Arnold, let me explain.
There's a *** of a hormone that causes us to retainwater and sodium - it's called aldosterone. The primary job of aldosterone is to regulate sodium and water balance, even if our intake of the two is a bit sporadic.
When you're consistently consuming lots of water and sodium, aldosterone levels will decrease. This causes your body (specifically your kidneys) to freely let go off or excrete water and sodium, thus preventing excessive accumulation of the two.
On the other hand, when you fail to drink enough water or eat enough sodium, aldosterone levels will rise. This, in turn, signals your kidneys to retain more water and sodium as opposed to excreting it in the urine.
The point is, if you're trying to drop weight to make a lighter weight class, you want aldosterone levels to be as low as possible. Otherwise you'll be retaining water like a PMS’ing woman!
Luckily for you, there is an easy and natural way to lower aldosterone... consume lots of water and sodium.
Since it takes aldosterone about 72 hours to fully adjust to changes in water and sodium, begin consuming extra water and sodium at least 4 full days prior to weighing in. In my experience, longer is better.