The Great Misunderstanding: Fluid Retention Doesn’t Cause Weight Gain, It Causes Weight Loss

📅 Author: Awaking Project

🧬 Active Phase: When the Body Enters Survival Mode

In the active phase (AP) of a conflict involving abandonment, uprooting, existential collapse, hospitalization, feeling out of place or like a fish out of water, the body activates a very ancient biological program: the Kidney Collecting Tubules (KCT) begin to retain water. This has nothing to do with gaining weight, as is often believed, but with survival.

The body is not making a mistake. On the contrary, it’s doing the smartest thing it can: it conserves water, as if it were in a desert. To move more lightly, it loses muscle mass and protein. A clear example is what happens after receiving a cancer diagnosis or a terminal medical prognosis: many people experience a rapid and significant weight loss accompanied by fluid retention. The same occurs after extremely dramatic events that shake our existence. This is biological proof of this program in action. Furthermore, during this active phase, blood tests often show elevated levels of urea and creatinine, clearly indicating that the KCTs are active and the body is trying to survive by retaining fluids. In such cases, it is of utmost importance to help the person reconnect and re-root as soon as possible, so they can release the excess water and avoid having this burden harm other parts of the body or cause additional pain or discomfort. This is why during this phase, a person often loses weight, even if they appear swollen.

You can also notice fluid retention by the appearance of puffy bags under the eyes, swelling in the ankles, wrists, abdomen, or any area where edema is present. The brain uses these spaces to store what it considers vital water.

🌊 An Ancestral Biological Wisdom Still Alive

The KCTs belong to endodermal tissue and are managed by the brainstem, the oldest and wisest part of our brain. They activate when we experience what German New Medicine (GNM) refers to as a “conflict of existence or uprooting”:

Feeling out of place
Being uprooted from one’s place (home, job, etc.)
Being hospitalized, alone, or directionless

Imagine a fish out of water, stranded on the sand. The body reacts the same way: it retains water until it can return to its “sea of peace.”

🛉 Examples We’ve All Experienced

Moving to a place where you don’t feel safe or comfortable 🏠
Losing a job, home, or receiving a serious medical diagnosis 🚫
Traveling to unknown places without security or food 🌍

In all these situations, if you don’t quickly feel “at home,” the KCTs activate. And you’re not sick: you’re surviving.

It is very important not to confuse fluid retention with obesity. These are entirely different biological programs. Obesity originates from the so-called “silhouette conflict,” where in the active phase, adipose tissue necrosis occurs, and during the repair phase, fat regenerates. Additionally, another conflict may be involved—feeling unable to ward off an external threat—which activates the pituitary gland to increase body size and thus intimidate the perceived aggressor. If you want to learn more about this, you can read the full article at: https://awakingproject.com/us/obesity/ . This is not related to the KCT program, but a person can collapse emotionally from seeing themselves as overweight, which in turn activates fluid retention. Everything worsens and the situation becomes more complex. The person no longer understands what’s happening and collapses even more.

🌳 Like a Transplanted Plant…

Our nervous system is like a set of roots. When a plant is transplanted:

It can adapt quickly and flourish like never before
It can remain stagnant because the soil is too harsh
It can wither if it fails to root

The same happens to us. If we are moved to a new environment and can’t establish roots, the body activates its plan B: store water, lose weight, and endure.

🎮 Risks If the Conflict Is Not Resolved

When we are in the healing phase of another conflict but the KCTs remain active, excess water leads to large and painful edemas. This can prevent proper wound healing or the completion of regenerative processes.

This is known as the “KCT Syndrome”, and manifests as:

Ascites
Joint swelling
Difficulty breathing
Fluid retention throughout the body

📢 The Good News: It Can Be Resolved

This program turns off once you feel back in your place. This may mean:

Finding a new space where you feel safe and supported
Being surrounded by people who make you feel protected 💖
Reconnecting with yourself and your inner peace ✨

When this happens, the body releases the stored water and returns to its natural balance. We’ve seen, for instance, hospitalized people diagnosed with “kidney failure” who had generalized swelling. After suggesting they return home and recover their safe environment, many began eliminating up to 2 liters of urine that very night—a clear sign the biological conflict was being resolved.

🫃 Remember: Your Body Doesn’t Want to Harm You, It Wants to Save You

This program is a treasure of biology. It protects us, gives us time, and offers us chances. Understanding this is an act of love toward ourselves. And the more we know, the less we fear.

📅 To learn how to identify and resolve these programs with awareness:

⬆️ Join the training at awakingproject.com
✨ Start the free course, no prior experience needed
💬 Join the community at awakingproject.com/foros and share your journey

Your body speaks with wisdom! Listen to it with love 🌿