Water how much is too much?

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bigorange70
bigorange70 Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know the saying of you can never get enough water. Is this really true?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    You can get too much water. There have been situations (people forced to drink water, people trying to win contests) where people have died from over-hydration. However, if you drink when you're thirsty and don't force yourself to consume excess water, you should be fine.
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
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    Jennifer Strange drank too much water. Don't be like her.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    You can get too much water. There have been situations (people forced to drink water, people trying to win contests) where people have died from over-hydration. However, if you drink when you're thirsty and don't force yourself to consume excess water, you should be fine.
    This. Drinking too much water will mess up the body's electrolyte balance, and yes, that can cause death.

    Personally, I check my hydration when I use the bathroom. I never go by "drink xxxx amount of water per day". If my urine is darker than straw color, then I need to hydrate more. Aim for straw color-cleariish color and you'll be fine. It shouldn't be clear all the time (over hydrated) or yellow-orange (under hydrated). And make sure your sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium levels are in check, too. It's all about balance.

  • miss_aims
    miss_aims Posts: 64 Member
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    Over hydration will crash your sodium which can cause muscle weakness/tremors and seizures. Your kidneys can't keep up, so your body hangs onto the water. On a cellular level, the water from your blood can then move into your cells, which will make them swell, and this can mean bad news as well. Swelling in the brain, seizures, coma, these aren't unheard of effects of over-hydration. Drink when you're thirsty, keep an eye on your pee, and don't chug an incredible amount of water in a short amount of time. Also, if you're trying to up your daily water intake, don't just start lugging around a gallon of water and finish it off in one day. Go gradually.
  • vegasleo79
    vegasleo79 Posts: 63 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I was suddenly drinking about 275-325 ounces a day and did not feel good. Sorry for tmi, but my urine smelled strongly of ammonia. I went to the doctor and everything was fine (no uti, even culture sent out came back ok), but I still had symptoms. I was also dizzy and nauseous. I finally decided to try cutting back on water and voila! It solved all the problems. I think it threw off my electrolytes, etc... I now try to stick to the recommended 64 ounces a day, unless I have a heavy workout and/or it's a hot day.
  • vegasleo79
    vegasleo79 Posts: 63 Member
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    And, yes, I agree that your urine should not be clear, just light yellow/clearish is the goal. Mine was clear and that is often a sign of overhydration.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
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    I tend to feel my very best with about 100 oz of water. It's more than the daily recommendation but I do feel better versus drinking 64, that's not enough for me personally. Days I don't drink 100 at least I find myself with headaches.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
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    When you drink so much, you aren't able to hold your in your bladder for a two hour movie. There was a time I drank 18oz of water every hour because I misread something and assumed I "had" to.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
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    Several gallons would likely be too much. I stick to 1gal/day.
  • ashleyjongepier
    ashleyjongepier Posts: 130 Member
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    Just look at your pee, light color and your good, strong color or smell and you need more, no color you need less.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,994 Member
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    You can definitely over hydrate. I never track my water for that reason. I drink when I'm thirsty and as long as my urine is light yellow I feel like I'm good to go. Water isn't the only thing that hydrates you either. Fruits, soups and other drinks can hydrate you as well. I think the whole "you need to drink 8 glasses of water per day" thing is about as relevant as being told to clean your plate because there are starving children in the world. It is old fashioned and not really true.
  • bigorange70
    bigorange70 Posts: 60 Member
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    I guess I asked this question because I drink diet cokes. I know I hear they are bad but I love them and I can't stop. Anyway, I drank water this past week and watched what I eat which I do every week but this week I lost 2.5 lbs compared to the previous weeks where I would lose maybe a pound or less. Just wanted some info on if you thought this could be related. Oh by the way I hate water. HA HA
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
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    bigorange70 wrote: »
    I guess I asked this question because I drink diet cokes. I know I hear they are bad but I love them and I can't stop. Anyway, I drank water this past week and watched what I eat which I do every week but this week I lost 2.5 lbs compared to the previous weeks where I would lose maybe a pound or less. Just wanted some info on if you thought this could be related. Oh by the way I hate water. HA HA

    Well diet coke has almost no calories, so I don't think changing that specifically increased your deficit. But if you are chronically dehydrated, your body does retain as much water as it can, so in drinking more water you probably inadvertently told your body to stop hanging onto it so there's some of your loss.

    Use the urine-color method. Drinking x amount of water per day is a well-intentioned but not entirely accurate piece of advise from doctors and health professionals trying desperately to get the population healthier. It's not bad, but it's not individual and doesn't account for the water you intake consuming things that are not 100% pure water. The urine color estimation is ideal for knowing how well you, the individual, are hydrated, and you simply make adjustments to your intake on days when you are sweating more or just more active in general.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
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    nosajjao wrote: »
    What a rhetorical question to ask, solved by a simple google search rather than positing for MFP theories. That said, RD's suggest you should divide your weight in pounds by 2, then drink that number in ounces every day. I am 212 lbs, so I drink 106 ounces a day (about 3 liters).

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  • bigorange70
    bigorange70 Posts: 60 Member
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    I know this is why I don't post a lot on here. Can't ask a simple question without the crazy comments you get about being dumb and google it. I know how to google. Just making conversation with people who have maybe experienced the same thing. Thanks for the smart comment though. I needed some smarts in my life apparently.

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