Trouble with Water

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Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    These topics always make me laugh. People didn't carry around bottles of water with them constantly 24/7 a few decades ago (back before the bottled water industry exploded.) They weren't dehydrated back then. Simple fact is, Americans today drink FAR MORE water than Americans did in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. It is quite frankly ridiculous the weird, insane recommendations people toss out on this site. If ANY of these things were true, how the hell did humanity survive this long without dying out of dehydration?

    It's simple. Drink when you are thirsty, stop when you aren't. Drink whatever liquid beverage you desire, keeping an eye on calories and macro ratios. That's it. Water has no crazy magical properties, because guess what, EVERYTHING you drink that's non-alcoholic is 99% water anyway.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    I wouldn't stress the water thing too much like tigersword said. You only need to drink enough liquid that your body feels hydrated. For some that is 32oz, for some it's 96oz or more. But you can add flavor to waters, you can drink unsweetened ice tea (with lemon) or stuff like Ice Waters (ice is the brand, it's sparkling water and delicious). Heck, i still drink diet Mt. Dew daily without it affecting my weight loss.
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
    just drink it. You are in a country with fresh, drinkable tap water - be grateful, drink a lot of it, and see your body thank you for it.

    /endbeinga*****
  • tiffaniedemayo
    tiffaniedemayo Posts: 38 Member
    I hate plain old water, always have. My doctor said i need to drink more water, among other things... I've tried many different flavored waters, but can't tolerate the artificial sweeteners, now i'm trying 0 calories Sobe Lifewater. Can that count at my daily water intake?
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I hate plain old water, always have. My doctor said i need to drink more water, among other things... I've tried many different flavored waters, but can't tolerate the artificial sweeteners, now i'm trying 0 calories Sobe Lifewater. Can that count at my daily water intake?

    No, only pure spring water retrieved from high in the Himalayas counts toward your water intake!

    Of course it's water. You don't have to drink pure water to be hydrated. As was pointed out before you can drink whatever you want, whenever you want, in whatever quantity you want. I grew up in the 60's & 70's and no one ever carried around bottles of water and somehow we all survived, and without being fat either!
  • chellycakes
    chellycakes Posts: 347 Member
    Try crystal light.. Also think about this. How many calories are in each sweet tea? Or coke? I know I would much rather splurge on a cupcake or pizza or something rather than have a sweet tea! But it's up to you!! Do you make the tea yourself? Cut back the sugar or use Splenda! Good luck!!
  • MG_Fit
    MG_Fit Posts: 1,143 Member
    OP, if you replaced what you're currently drinking with water, you will start losing weight. There is so much sugar in sweet tea it's ridiculous and coke ... well it's coke.

    Sure hydration comes in many forms. If I didn't care, I'd drink beer and whiskey all day. Fortunately for me I don't like throwing away the work that I put in at the gym.

    I was an avid pop drinker. When I started to diet and didn't like the cals I switched to diet. Last year I gave it up cold turkey because I couldn't deal with the ingredients (mentally) anymore. Granted you may not like water, but it's better for you, there's no doubt about that. I'm not saying don't treat yourself to things you enjoy, just limit it.
  • dellaquilaa
    dellaquilaa Posts: 230 Member
    I just found that, by cutting out the sweetened drinks, I could eat a TON more everday. And food is worth more to me than sweet tea or pop :)

    I also kicked the diet soda habit just by researching the effects of artificial sweeteners (and I mean, in nursing and medical databases - not just googling). It's scary stuff, I won't touch it anymore. It was very, very difficult to stop, though - I had constant migraines, dizziness, all that. But I just kept telling myself that that wouldn't go on forever<3
  • NewDad24
    NewDad24 Posts: 45
    @dellaquilaa: There are effects of artificial sweeteners reported in medical databases that are not available to the general public? Please enlighten us, and don't just scare us.

    Sucralose is what an alcohol molecule weakly bonded to a benzene molecule? If that weak bond is broken (just takes some heat), you have one bad grain alcohol molecule and one seriously bad carcinogen. The more you heat your diet soda, the worse it gets. The biggest problem is that there is no handling instructions for diet soda or other Sucralose products. I have seen huge piles of soda, outside, directly on the blacktop, in the sun, near reflective window glass, in mid-summer, at an Arizona Valley petrol station for some promotional fill-up and get free soda. As a kid, I would slowly cook food on the blacktop with a foil reflector. Reach down and touch a can of that soda, it is way too hot to hold. Those cans at the bottom were there until the end of the month-long promotion.

    To the OP, if you are craving sugar, then there is an underlying cause. You can use willpower to avoid sugar which is better than just continuing to indulge. But, if you address the underlying cause for you cravings, that would be the best.

    My wife is pregnant and she has all kinds of cravings. Those cravings need to be satisfied for good health. Sometimes the solution to the cravings is not what first comes to mind. Craving sugar is craving carbohydrates and all the nutrition that would normally come from those carbohydrates if the other nutrition had not been stripped out.
  • Raddichio
    Raddichio Posts: 162 Member
    I actually enjoy drinking water (tap water, not bottled)---often my drink of choice. I don't know whether drinking a set amount of water is crucial to weight loss or not. However, I do know that we need to be well hydrated for good health---how much that equals in each individual, I don't know. Certainly, every beverage, as well as foods high in water content, help with hydration.

    I'm not sure, though, that everyone can rely on whether they are thirsty to determine that they are sufficiently hydrated. There are just too many variables. I care for my elderly parents, and my mother doesn't tend to drink much because she is rarely thirsty. I wouldn't dream of insisting she drink 8 glasses of water daily, but I do try to get her to drink a couple glasses of water or beverage of her choice each day. By sipping on it through the day, she has been able to drink that much wtihout any problem. Otherwise, she does become dehydrated. Even when she has been dehydrated, she hasn't been particularly thirsty. Some children need to be encouraged to drink small amounts through the day, or they become dehydrated. OTOH, DH rarely drinks anything through the day other than coffee, and he is extremely healthy.

    I don't keep track of how much water I've consumed anymore. I generally have at least 8 glasses a day, but if I don't drink that much some days, I don't worry about it.
  • tiffaniedemayo
    tiffaniedemayo Posts: 38 Member
    This lady is loving Sobe Life water, and so happy i can count it as water. Love the fact that it's sweetened with stevia, as that is the only sweetener i can tolerate. I was in the E.R twice for dehydration, and both times was told only water can keep your body properly hydrated, so glad they where wrong, and i can count my green, and white tea's, and my Sobe as water! :happy:

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