Water intake in 2 hour period?

JamiesMummyxx
JamiesMummyxx Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So we should drink 2L of water or such every day...Does it 'need' to be spread out to keep us hydrated properly? If I drink my 2L of water between 8-10 in the morning or 3-5 in the afternoon is it different to one glass of water every hour for 8 hours?
Does it effect the body differently?

Genuine question that I'm curious about!

Thanks

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    You should drink enough water to sate your thirst.

    That may be 2 liters, it may not. Your thirst will vary by your lifestyle and the water content in all the other things that you consume that day.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    I've never seen a figure for minimum water consumption that was actually based in fact. Here they're always going on about "8 glasses" (which is about 2 litres) but everyone just says it because everyone else is saying it. There was never a study or anything. Read this -www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

    How much water you need depends on the weather, what you're doing, what you ate and lots of other factors. Don't try and find a mathematical formula for it - if you're thirsty, drink. If, like me, you have the bad habit of ignoring thirst, try and kick it.

    And check the colour of your pee. It should be clear or straw coloured. If it's dark yellow or orange, you need to drink a bit more. It's a tiny bit gross, but it's a good check for hydration.
  • louisepaul16
    louisepaul16 Posts: 261 Member
    If you drink it all in one go, your body will take what it needs to hydrate you adequately, and then expel the rest through peeing. Then you will slowly get more and more dehydrated throughout the day. What do you drink the rest of the day?

    I don't really think about my water intake. I know I drink a lot from having previously tracked it, but I normally I will have a glass every 1.5-2 hours or so.
  • JamiesMummyxx
    JamiesMummyxx Posts: 9 Member
    I like water, but I don't drink as much as I should as often as I should. I have 2/3 cups of coffee in the morning before work, a diet sprite and 500ml of water at lunch, and maybe an orange juice or something after work. (or alcohol which defeats the question) I do 12 hour shifts in a boiling hot residential home and so will have 2/3 small plastic cups of water inbetween when I get a couple minutes.

    I don't drink enough and now warmer weather is here (England) I keep getting dizzy spells + headaches. But I don't get enough time to drink as much as I probably should. Hence the question! If I drank a litre or 2 in our quiet period at work would it keep me going. But it would make sense that it would only use what the body needed and expel the rest. So maybe I'll drop the sprite and orange in favor of water.

    Thanks for the replies.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Can't you carry a water bottle on your rounds?
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    JamiesMummyxx wrote: »
    I like water, but I don't drink as much as I should as often as I should. I have 2/3 cups of coffee in the morning before work, a diet sprite and 500ml of water at lunch, and maybe an orange juice or something after work. (or alcohol which defeats the question) I do 12 hour shifts in a boiling hot residential home and so will have 2/3 small plastic cups of water inbetween when I get a couple minutes.

    I don't drink enough and now warmer weather is here (England) I keep getting dizzy spells + headaches. But I don't get enough time to drink as much as I probably should. Hence the question! If I drank a litre or 2 in our quiet period at work would it keep me going. But it would make sense that it would only use what the body needed and expel the rest. So maybe I'll drop the sprite and orange in favor of water.

    Thanks for the replies.

    It doesn't have to be actual water. You can count everything you drink (except alcohol) including the orange juice and sprite you drink. Milk can be more hydrating than water if you're hot and sweating, as milk releases very slowly into the small intestine, so it is absorbed much more gradually into the bloodstream, helping the body retain fluid for longer. It also has a high number of electrolytes, including sodium and potassium, which are lost from the body when sweating.
  • xWondertje
    xWondertje Posts: 65 Member
    fr33sia12 wrote: »
    It doesn't have to be actual water. You can count everything you drink (except alcohol) including the orange juice and sprite you drink. Milk can be more hydrating than water if you're hot and sweating, as milk releases very slowly into the small intestine, so it is absorbed much more gradually into the bloodstream, helping the body retain fluid for longer. It also has a high number of electrolytes, including sodium and potassium, which are lost from the body when sweating.

    It also includes food that you eat. Almost every single food item contains a certain amount of water. If you eat an orange or apple for example, they contain quite a bit of water.

    There is actually an increased number, especially young girls, who come into doctor's offices with symptoms caused by drinking too much water. Such as salt imbalances and a disturbed body signal for thirst.

    The body has a perfectly developed system for drinking water: it tells you when it needs it by being thirsty. Don't ruin the system and the signals, by forcing yourself to drink water when the body doesn't need it. It might (or will) disrupt your body's system and can lead to problems in the future.

    TL;DR - Drink when thirsty, not when you're not. Simple.

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