Water intake?

hillaryflicka92

I am trying to increase my water intake to half my body weight in ounces!
The last week I have been successful, but no exaggeration I have to pee every 30 minutes.
This is seriously starting to drive me crazy.
If I keep up with this water intake, how long should I expect before my body becomes adjusted?
At this point, my urine might as well just be water, there isn't any colour at all.
Is there such thing as TOO much water?

jemhh

Yes, there is such a thing as too much water.

Remember that we get water from beverages other than water and from food that we eat. You do not have to drink half of your body weight in ounces. Drink to your thirst.

CMNVA

Yes, there is such a thing as too much water. It is somewhat of a myth that you need a certain amount of water each day. I should look for the links to post that but you can check around on that. You should drink enough water so that you feel good. I used to comply with drinking water all day and I *never* adjusted. I finally got tired of peeing all day long and interrupting my work. I also would have to stop somewhere on a long walk.

Finally, I read a few articles and talked to my doctor and you don't have to do this. If you eat fruits, veggies and drink normally, you will get enough fluid. It never hurts to have an extra cup here and there but no need for force load the water.

Here's one link. There's lots more: http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/Gyn/ObgynClinic/8GlassesWaterMyth.pdf

sijomial

hillaryflicka92 wrote: »

I am trying to increase my water intake to half my body weight in ounces!

Why?
Seriously - why?

The last week I have been successful, but no exaggeration I have to pee every 30 minutes.

Sounds dreadful.

This is seriously starting to drive me crazy.

Agreed!

If I keep up with this water intake, how long should I expect before my body becomes adjusted?

Again - why?

At this point, my urine might as well just be water, there isn't any colour at all.
Is there such thing as TOO much water?

Yes absolutely. Apart from being pointless to over hydrate (as your urine colour is telling you) there's every chance you are flushing essential electrolytes out.

You have a thirst reflex (just like all animals....) and your urine colour gives you confirmation of your hydration levels.

This really does seem a futile thing to do.

hillaryflicka92

OMG thank you -
I need to stop taking advice from people I work with.

Is the 8 cups a day a good rule of thumb? or does it really depend on the individual?

sijomial

hillaryflicka92 wrote: »

OMG thank you -
I need to stop taking advice from people I work with.

Is the 8 cups a day a good rule of thumb? or does it really depend on the individual?

Any rule of thumb is pointless for an individual IMHO, depends what other fluids and foods they eat, what the temperature and humidity is, what activity or exercise they are doing, if they are predisposed to sweating heavily.....

ekim2016

it just seems like over flooding you body would cause the kidneys to over work too.. I would just go with natural thirst as a barometer. As it was mentioned we get fluids from our foods and beverages also. I am no doctor, just an opinion of course.

SCoil123

I track water intake and have found it has helped with bloating and made my skin clearer. The first 3-4 weeks though I was in the bathroom peeing every 30-40 min. Now its every 60-90 minutes. I drink around 90oz a day

NEOHgirl

Any non-alcoholic beverage can count towards your goal, so make sure you aren't drinking extra water on top of that if you are feeling uncomfortable - example if you goal is 80oz, and you drink 80oz of water on top of 20oz of coffee, that is probably too much. I'd slowly reduce the amount you are consuming back down, in stages, to find your own personal happy place with the hydration. For example, if you are currently trying to get a total of 80oz, maybe cut back to 75 or 72 oz for 5 days to see if you feel better. If you still feel like that is too much, go ahead & cut back down to 67 or 70 oz for the next 5 days, etc, until you reach a level that is both sustainable & makes you feel good.

NEOHgirl

As a side note, I am hovering around the 1oz for every 2 lbs of body weight, have for a while, and I feel great. I also am not running to the bathroom 20x per day, so my body must be OK with it.

Christine_72

I drink a lot of tea during the day, and in summer plenty of plain water along with it. I have done this for years and i still have to pee every 30-45 minutes, I've never acclimatised.
I've never followed some arbitrary rule of drinking exactly a certain amount of water everyday, I just drink when I'm thirsty. As long as your pee is a decent colour, not dark, then rest assured your probably adequately hydrated.

Icrizz

Honestly, it 100% depends on your body type. But, if you want a number to go off of doctor's usually recommend 6-8 glasses of water a day for the average person.

mgookin

I drink about 64 Oz during my work hours, then enjoy other beverages before and after such as tea, sparkling water, milk, occasionally diet soda, powerade, etc. I couldn't imagine drinking half my weight in water. I would need depends in order to get through the day lol!

GothamVeggie

Cut back to an amount that seems doable to you. I do think if you just go on thirst, you may not be drinking enough. (Certainly true for me.) However, you can overdo it. I decided to start out at a set number (in my case, 7 glasses) & then saw how I felt...& looked at the color of my pee. Over time, I found I tend to do well with between 7-9 glasses depending upon what else I'm doing & eating that day. Hot day & salty food = 9 glasses. Most days 7 or 8. But I also have quite a bit of weight to lose so my body needs a good amount of water.

hillaryflicka92

I have a lot of weight to lose, and I can't go by thirst - I would likely only drink a cup a day.
I will try to cut back some and see if I'm more comfortable.

ogtmama

hillaryflicka92 wrote: »

I have a lot of weight to lose, and I can't go by thirst - I would likely only drink a cup a day.
I will try to cut back some and see if I'm more comfortable.

I guess if you never feel thirsty, I'd go around 8 cups, but keep in mind this includes water in your food and all non-alcoholic drinks.

All the hoopla around drinking tons and tons of water all day, every day was a marketing tool for Nestle.

AnvilHead

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/821181/myths-and-facts-about-hydration-requirements