DRINKING water only- thoughts, results, recommendations

abanay1984

Hi everyone! I would like to lose about 35-40 pounds. I gained weight fairly quickly and have been trying to get it off for some time. Recently I had knee surgery that threw another monkey wrench into my plans. Now I am at my wits end. It seems that not only my leg but my entire body has atrophied and I’m determined to begin making healthier choices.

Anyway, here I am. I decided to do a DRINK water only diet, not to be confused with a water only diet. I am just replacing all liquids with water and attempting a healthier diet using the myfitnesspal tool. Not only am I only drinking water but my goal is to drink the “recommended amount” of water each day which oddly enough, is challenging. I started on June 1st and am only on day 2. So far, the only thing I have noticed is that I pee A LOT and have slept like a baby the past 2 nights. Has anyone ever attempted anything similar? What were the results?

I will add that I live in the city and drink on the weekends. SO many calories consumed by alcohol which is one of the main reasons why I wanted to do this. I feel like it is going to be challenging since so many social activities are surrounded by “grabbing a drink.” Especially this time of year. Let me know thoughts/recommendations/opinions. I’d love to hear anything anyone can add.

DemoraFairy

When I started dieting I started drinking only water because I didn't want to drink my calories. 3 years later I still pretty much drink only water. I didn't have a problem with asking for water when going out for drinks since I never drunk alcohol anyway so I was used to the weird looks lol. I occasionally will have a Diet Coke or orange juice if I feel like it, but this really is very occasionally. I also go to the toilet a lot, at least once an hour (while at work at least, which is when I drink the most water).

I can't say I've noticed many other differences, other than spending less money on orange juice.

zyxst

Thanks for clarifying this isn't about only consuming water instead of food.

I drink water mostly, sometimes a glass of milk. When I went off soda pop, water was the only thing I could drink that was free and I could drink as much as I wanted without (much) consequence. I guess I pee a lot. I'm used to it so it doesn't seem like I'm peeing all that often. I have no advice about the booze because I'm not much of a drinker.

Sabine_Stroehm

I see no problem with drinking water as your only liquids. I flavor mine with a de-caf tea bag, sometimes ginger, sometimes passion.

blossomingbutterfly

Lucky for me that I don't drink alcohol so that wasn't a problem for me. I swapped juice for water and I love it. I crave water now and it's good. Yeah, you pee a lot more, but your body will adapt slowly. I'd say if you're used to only say 5 cups a day, increase slowly. I wouldn't suggest going all out 8+ cups. It's hard to keep that up. I found adding in an extra cup slowly over time worked best for me. I'm up to usually 12-14 cups a day now easy. Good luck.

ylvak94

I drink mostly water and tea, the occasional soda and milk, and my skin has cleared up a lot. I feel hydrated and I get less cravings when I drink 8-15 cups of water a day and I have more energy.

cmoorofum

I have been drinking water only for a long time now..well except my 8.0 redbull in the morning. It really works lost alot of weight just by stopping sodas. Now if I can only stop the redbull

Hornsby

I haven't done it and probably couldn't as I don't like plain water very much. Plus...beer.

Drinking water definitely can't hurt, but not sure what it will help either. Just make sure you stay hydrated.

malibu927

If that's what works for you, go for it. The only things I drink nowadays are water and diet soda (which I try to limit to a can a day).

snickerscharlie

I'd rather eat my calories than drink them, so aside from my morning coffee (which is *not* negotiable!) I only drink water during the rest of the day. I'm surprised how quickly I got used to it. I did have to take a calcium supplement, though, since I'm older and used to drink a lot of milk.

jaga13

Most of my life I've been drinking only water (except occassionally coffee, which I now drink black, and the odd glass of wine at an event, but pretty rate these days). Since I've always been a mostly-water drinker, I can't compare to anything else, so it's never done anything for my weight. But I assume if you were drinking a lot of calories, and now cutting those out and are SURE you aren't replacing them with something else, then yes you'll lose weight.

At once point I was drinking my weight in ounces of water. Not on purpose. I'm just a really thirsty person all the time. I end up peeing about every hour.

alantaylor1985

I drink mainly water, but I also drink a little green tea once or twice a day. Some sugar free cordial if i'm craving a sweet drink which is maybe once a week or so.

Lounmoun

I drink water or unsweetened tea usually. It saves calories for food, saves money and I prefer it. I've been drinking mostly water or tea for years so I don't notice any differences.
I have a pitcher of water I keep in the refrigerator at home as I like my water cold. I usually have to refill it at least once a day.
I don't bother with how much water I drink. I drink water with every meal and whenever I am thirsty. I seem to be decently hydrated.
For hot tea, I like peppermint or cinnamon apple spice.

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LolaKarwowski

I only drink water now. It's very easy to get rid of other drinks as I hate alcohol, beer, coffee, cokes, etc. The only thing I really loved was sweet tea but once I realized how much sugar each sweet tea drink had I never thought about them again.

athlete03

I don't drink alcohol and while I liked soda, it wasn't difficult cutting it out of my diet. If you work out on a regular basis, drinking enough water is fairly easy as the loss of water and exhaustion makes your body crave it. To make sure I'm getting enough in, it helps to always carry a water bottle on the go and keep refilling it. If you're peeing too often, you can cut it back slightly because you only need enough to stay hydrated. Just listen to your body and not the "recommended amount" which is different for everyone.

Honestly, cutting anything out of your diet often leads to cravings and inability to stick with it for the long term. If you enjoy milk, drink milk (Almond Milk is a good substitute that is lower in calories). For alcohol, you don't need to cut it out if you don't want, just limit it. Going out? No more than 1 drink is an example.

Good luck!

mbaker566

you can grab a drink, it will just be water

I'm a no water sorta girl so I commend you on this effort to drink the recommended amount of water in the form of water.

jrline

Coffee in the morning, 2-3 gallons of water per day, and then an adult beverage at night has worked great for me

abigail659

I do the water only thing... it's been a couple of months now. Initially, I had to refuse and fight everything (morning coffee and soda's at dinner), but eventually it became a habit. Now, if I attempt to drink anything other than water, I think it taste gross and feel sick. I do drink milk every now and then, but no juice, coffee, sodas or tea. (Although, recently when craving a soda, I drink one sip and I am surprised at how much self control I have to just drink a sip or two and not the whole can).
Yes, you will have to go to the restroom alot initially, but I feel like after a while you bladdar adjusts a little bit. This sounds gross, but for me it's a sense of accomplishment when I have clear fluid leaving my body.... so much better than what comes out when your liquid diet is full of junk.
Good Luck!

beemerphile1

Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is the liquid you need. It can be consumed in lieu of all other liquids.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

BFDeal wrote: »

I love how the idea of drinking only water is somehow controversial or needs to be ran by the collective for approval. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's necessary at all to drink only water or implying that other drinks are unhealthy, etc. Simply that it's funny that it's so ingrained in our minds that things like milk, soda, coffee, tea, juices, etc are de facto requirements in our lives.

Why is it bad that people enjoy things like milk, soda, coffee, etc.? How is it surprising that people want to know whether they HAVE to cut out these enjoyable things from their diet to be healthy/lose weight?

OP - if you want to drink water only, then go for it! Just know that you don't have to, if you enjoy other things.

I don't really like to drink my calories, so I drink mostly water. However, I do drink about 4 cups of coffee a day (with skim milk and Equal, so calories are minimal), the occasional diet soda (maybe one a day if I'm on a kick or have them in the house, but usually just when I'm out to eat), and unsweetened tea. I drink beer on the weekends, but I log it and keep it within my daily calorie goal.

WranglerMichelle

I think you'll like the way you feel! Water is so essential for all of your body's functions, and it will work so much better when it's well-hydrated. I second working your way up slowly. I started out at 4 cups, and now I'm drinking somewhere in the range of 3 liters to a gallon every day, mostly based on my activity level for the day. My body craves it and I feel like garbage if I don't get enough! It also helps keep water retention down, which is a big plus, since water weight is singularly the most frustrating thing about weight loss. I'll still drink tea with a little bit of honey in it almost every day, though. And peeing a lot isn't necessarily a bad thing. Gives me a good reason to get away from my desk and stretch my legs more throughout the day.

I still work in a treat occasionally. I don't particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol, but my husband and I still pretend with sparkling juice. And I really don't care if that makes me sound like an 8-year-old! But anyways, I'll work a serving of that into my calories/macros, or I'll get something sweet from Starbucks. Whatever I do, I always make sure I have enough room in my macros for it.

Maybe tell your friends you're trying to replace all fluids with water, and suggest social activities that don't revolve around getting a drink? And also, one thing that helped me get my water intake up was to drink from a container that had a straw. Not sure why this helped - maybe drinking from a straw is just so much easier than constantly taking a cap off and putting it back on - but it made a big difference.

FitForL1fe

I often prefer not to waste calories on drinks

I do love to drink, but when I'm keeping the calories tight then that's the first thing to go

enterdanger

I drink 2 cups of coffee each morning and I do like my ocassional beer and wine but keep that to like one a day and mostly only on weekends. I drink about 120 oz of water a day. At first I hated it and was always looking for "flavors" to add to my water. Now it's just what I drink. I've been doing this for a year and I feel really good and my skin has never looked better.

davert123

We made it for 2.5 million years on just water so you should be ok :-)

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PhysicsOnIce

There is nothing wrong in only drinking water. I drink mostly water , along side my morning coffee or tea and the occasional half glass of wine on holidays.

I'm the person who whenever my group of friends and I go out always orders water, most of the time sparkling water with lemon. Don't be surprise when your friends start to tease about it or will start to push you a bit to have drink. Considering that the standard American beers have between 80-200 calories per beer... I live in Belgium where the beer is basically a half loaf of liquid bread, you can guess the calorie count on some of those beers......

Also, it is completely natural that you have to pee a lot, the more water you drink the easier it is for your body to get rid of excess toxins. Peeing is simply your bodies way of getting rid of those toxins.

Good Luck.

Lounmoun

davert123 wrote: »

We made it for 2.5 million years on just water so you should be ok :-)

Just drinking water is fine but as a species we have not made it on just water for quite a long time.
Homo sapiens have been around about 200,000 years and have been drinking beer, wine, chocolate, coffee and tea for thousands of years. Historically, there have been times and places where people did not drink water much at all.
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1003_051003_six_drinks.html
localhistories.org/drink.html

kshama2001

I never developed a taste for milk, juice or soda. I'm primarily a black and green tea drinker. (Weak; lightly sweetened or sweetened with stevia. Almost flavored water.)

I was drinking hot chocolate last winter but when I recommitted to losing weight, that went out the window without conscious thought. Sure, there's room in the calorie budget, but I have other plans for those carbs and calories.

DevilsFan1

There is no "recommended" amount of water to drink per day. Drink when you get thirsty. There are no demonstrated health benefits to drinking eight glasses of water per day.