Estrogen bloat sometimes a myth
you hear it all the time and have been for years on forums and online.. estrogen causes bloat and water retention.
95% of the time when a guy gets water retention he thinks his estrogen is too high. this is not always the case.
surprise surprise -- STEROIDS themselves are what cause water retention and bloat. its not at all necessarily the estrogen that may come with some AAS use .
heres why. most AAS are retentive based. meaning they up regulate all sorts of things in the body to make the body hold onto more things , this is how they help grow muscle. your holding onto more protein, more nitrogen, more glucose, more minerals, more water, more blood etc.. this is great for building muscle but can 'bloat' you.
heres a more direct reason in regards to water retention.. your spilling over. how. well most steroids help up regulate glucose metabolism and super compensate your muscles ability to store glycogen. when glycogen is stored it carries with it 3x its weight in water and stores that water with it.
with the steroids your taking your muscles can finally be totally full of glycogen (natty lifters can't achieve this as well) ..
But you still have all that carbs and glucose coming in and a very ramped up glucose metabolism. theres no more storage in muscle tissue . so your body will actually begin storing glycogen under the skin and various other parts of the body. and remember , glycogen stores with it 3x its weight of water .
so now guess weight. you have water being stored under the skin and around organs and fats ,, and you get edema (water retention) and bloat .
You really think the estrogen is causing this ??!!! come on guys
how many fit sexy thin 25 year old girls look like a fat bloated geared up power lifter all puffed up .. and these girls have 3x the estrogen you do.
its not the estrogen . its the steroids themselves and their retentive nature and the spilling over effect that they can have on the body .
simply modify your diet , especially carbs, and or lower your dosages of AAS next time your "bloated" -- don't worry about your estrogen , its not as likely the cause.
side note - now I'm not saying that estrogen can't play a role . it does.. heck it also helps with up regulation of glucose metabolism. and some estrogen receptors in the lower back and thighs can hold water.
but for the most part its not estrogen.