We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!
Question about coffee
dandelily
Posts: 11 Member
I know I drink way too much coffee and not enough water. I was wondering though, how much of a diuretic is coffee? Can any of it count as water or would it be like "negative water?" Also curious about this for green/black tea and other beverages.
0
Replies
-
I'm not sure how much it counts for but I always roll my eyes when people say these things don't give you any water at all (i.e. "negative water") because I used to drink nothing but Diet Coke or Pepsi Max all day every day and never died of dehydration.0
-
It only has a small diuretic effect -- it doesn't dehydrate you. I count it as .5 cups of water and make sure I drink a bottle/mug of water with every cup, mainly to slow me down as I love coffee way too much too. Tea I think is usually even less of an issue, since less caffeine (although still some and it varies depending on the tea).0
-
I've never had issues with coffee being a diuretic. I drink a minimum of 24oz per day. For no other reason than the fact that it isn't straight water, I only count it as 12oz towards my water intake, same with diet soda, tea, etc. The only thing that I count ounce for ounce as water is water. Keeps my honest
0 -
0
-
This content has been removed.
-
I was wondering though, how much of a diuretic is coffee?
About 12.6Can any of it count as water or would it be like "negative water?"
Seriously???
My advice, drink a full 1 liter of water in the morning BEFORE you have any coffee or food. That helps with appetite and metabolism, while also pre-hydrating you for the day. 1 liter first thing in the morning, 1 liter by lunch, 1 liter after lunch, then some more water before bed. Coffee is fine, as long as you separately have enough water a day.
Wait, what?? 12.6 what?
OP, unless you're going totally overboard, you're probably fine. You will, however, find people who literally drink gallons of water a day, and recommend it. Your urine is your best guide.
And what's "pre-hydrating" anyway??0 -
I was wondering though, how much of a diuretic is coffee?
About 12.6Can any of it count as water or would it be like "negative water?"
Seriously???
My advice, drink a full 1 liter of water in the morning BEFORE you have any coffee or food. That helps with appetite and metabolism, while also pre-hydrating you for the day. 1 liter first thing in the morning, 1 liter by lunch, 1 liter after lunch, then some more water before bed. Coffee is fine, as long as you separately have enough water a day.
Seriously???
OP, you can log your coffee as water. The diuretic effect is negligible, as per the above link. You need 64 ounces of water per day, from *all* sources, to include the water found in your food, to be properly hydrated. You do not need to "pre-hydrate" for increased metabolism (that's not a real thing), nor do you need to drink 4 liters (one gallon) of water a day. Your urine is a very good indicator of your hydration level, and if it's running clear or slightly yellow, you're getting enough fluids.0 -
Thanks for your replies! Yeah, I didn't really believe it was like "negative water" but had to be sure.
Lemurcat and Michelle, hello fellow coffee-lovers! Those are good ideas. I'll give it a go.0 -
-
If things like tea and coffee didn't count as water, I'd be dead. Most of my liquid intake is from green tea, as I drink a lot of it at work. I rarely drink water.
I personally don't count coffee as water only because I drink small strong European style coffees, but most American style coffee, tea, even soup, fruit, salad, etc - everything with water in it - hydrates your body.
You can drink three litres of water per day if you want to (or if you live in a hot dry climate), but it's by no means necessary.0 -
If I drank a liter of water first thing in the am, I walls just throw it back up again.0
-
I only count water towards my water intake, but you do get some hydration from other liquids, and you also get a lot from food. That's why you don't have to actually drink any water and can still be well hydrated.
I'd just follow how you feel. I like drinking a lot of water and always have, but sometimes I think people overinflate the benefits of it. I drink to feel hydrated, not because I think the more water the better necessarily.0 -
How much coffee?
Track your calcium. Caffeine can slow down calcium absorption.
Perhaps add a bit of low fat milk to your coffee?
Osteoporosis is a horrific disease to live with.
If you don't take a women's multivitamin, consider it.0 -
This content has been removed.
-
This content has been removed.
-
@nosaijao I have heard this advise many, many times. Drink water before coffee.
Many mix water it with lemon juice.
To fully hydrate a thirsty body upon waking.
Few people in this world could be as strong as you are. Few.0 -
This content has been removed.
-
"Negative water" !?0
-
I'm sure it counts as some water but I've read it moves through the body too quickly to really absorb the water. Same thing as if you drink water too quickly.0
-
I rarely drink plain water. I just don't like it. All of my hydration comes from food, coffee, diet soda, and mostly Crystal Light. As long as your pee is in the hydrated range, you are good to go. All this hoopla about drinking water when you get up and boosting your metabolism is just that, hoopla.0
-
Swimming takes more water out of me than coffee does
0 -
Coffee has water in it, but it is coffee. Coffee is coffee, straight water is water. I've heard people make the same argument about soda, because surely it has water in it. You wouldn't subsist your water intake with soda simply because it has water in it would you?
Coffee is essentially flavored water. Your premise is correct - your body does need water, but your logic in excluding coffee (or soda, or any other beverage) as a source is flawed:
http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2012/09/plain-water-get-your-8-glasses-a-day/
http://patient.info/blogs/sarah-says/2014/05/do-we-need-eight-glasses-of-water-a-day
http://newsatjama.jama.com/2014/01/09/coffee-hydrates-as-well-as-water-study-says/
Your body is perfectly capable of separating the two and getting the hydration it needs from the water that you flavored by running it over coffee beans (or from any other liquid you consume). Which, I guess answers your next question: Yes, if I drink sodas that also counts as water. (I rarely drink sodas, but virtually all of my water does come from coffee.)
0 -
This content has been removed.
-
Coffee has water in it, but it is coffee. Coffee is coffee, straight water is water. I've heard people make the same argument about soda, because surely it has water in it. You wouldn't subsist your water intake with soda simply because it has water in it would you?
Coffee is essentially flavored water. Your premise is correct - your body does need water, but your logic in excluding coffee (or soda, or any other beverage) as a source is flawed:
http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2012/09/plain-water-get-your-8-glasses-a-day/
http://patient.info/blogs/sarah-says/2014/05/do-we-need-eight-glasses-of-water-a-day
http://newsatjama.jama.com/2014/01/09/coffee-hydrates-as-well-as-water-study-says/
Your body is perfectly capable of separating the two and getting the hydration it needs from the water that you flavored by running it over coffee beans (or from any other liquid you consume). Which, I guess answers your next question: Yes, if I drink sodas that also counts as water. (I rarely drink sodas, but virtually all of my water does come from coffee.)
+1000
No one is arguing that we shouldn't hydrate ourselves. What we're arguing is that coffee hydrates just as well as water, and to the OP's point, should not be treated as 'negative water' or anything like that.0 -
So long as you feel okay, and you are properly hydrated, I say, if it's working, keep doing what you're doing. I have to drink at least 12-16 oz of water before my morning coffee just to keep myself properly hydrated. I don't log my water intake, but I know when I haven't had enough to drink. Personally, if I don't drink somewhere around a gallon of water per day (sometimes more on days I have a good run), I feel downright awful if not that day, definitely the following morning. I guess I just dehydrate quickly. Every body is different.0
-
JanetYellen wrote: »@nosaijao I have heard this advise many, many times. Drink water before coffee.
Many mix water it with lemon juice.
To fully hydrate a thirsty body upon waking.
Few people in this world could be as strong as you are. Few.
It's just normal for me, once you adapt to a lifestyle change it becomes a norm, rather than some temporary diet you're fighting through. Permanent habit means it's what I expect to do for the rest of my life. Many people treat these habits like a temp diet, and therefore feel healthy habits aren't normal unless you're on a diet.
For instance, people I work with bring donuts in to work all the time. It's normal to them, but it's odd to me. It's junk food, nearly every day. When I turn it down, I'm looked at as being odd. But it is not a normal habit anyone should do, it's cray cray.
I don't think drinking 4 litres a day is a normal habit most people need to do either.
If you want to, sure.
But not a habit most people want or need to do either temporarily or permanently.
0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.5K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 176.1K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.7K Fitness and Exercise
- 442 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 16 News and Announcements
- 926 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions