water retention ....advice

[Marc_83]

IMO what helps me is drinking a lot of water, cutting out some sodium out of my diet (I'm crazy on the hot sauce) and hitting the sauna.

[gbrice75]

IMO what helps me is drinking a lot of water, cutting out some sodium out of my diet (I'm crazy on the hot sauce) and hitting the sauna.

^^ this.

How do you know it's water retention? What do you cut down to in terms of bodyfat percentage before adding carbs/calories back in to gain mass?

IF water retention really is a problem (and it's usually only a noticeable problem for people who are relatively lean [ ~10% ]), you can look into taking a diuretic supplement. But as stated above, drinking more water, being mindful of foods high in sodium, etc. are practices you can apply daily. I wouldn't recommend a diuretic on a daily basis... but if you're going on vacation or something like that, it can help.