I have a question please

amyjstaiewolfe

Can I count the water for my coffee as water intake for the day, or just plain water?

Thanks

janejellyroll

You can count anything you'd like as water. All the liquids you ingest (including those in food) impact your overall hydration (except for alcohol).

Maxxitt

Yes, you can count coffee. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19774754

quiksylver296

Yes. And soda, and juice, and tea, and....

grinning_chick

There is no consensus. Some do, some do not because of the diuretic effect of the caffeine in coffee. If you drink liquids to the color (concentration) of urine you desire as a reflection of hydration status, you don't have to worry where those liquids are coming from.


One example of the urine color vs. hydration level charts you can find online: https://dripdrop.com/blogs/news/chart-dehydrated

amyjstaiewolfe

Thank goodness. Thank you so much. I read somewhere that you need half your body weight in ounces. That would mean I need 127.5 oz. Making me so sick to my stomach and without counting other liquids the highest I have gotten is 80 oz.

janejellyroll

amyjstaiewolfe wrote: »

Thank goodness. Thank you so much. I read somewhere that you need half your body weight in ounces. That would mean I need 127.5 oz. Making me so sick to my stomach and without counting other liquids the highest I have gotten is 80 oz.

Unless you have a medical condition that you haven't shared yet, drinking to thirst is usually sufficient. There's no need to force liquid down. The hydration chart @grinning_chick posted above may be a good place to start -- see where you fall there and then make any adjustments you think may be necessary.

amyjstaiewolfe

I don't have any medical conditions that would me to take in extra fluid. Thank you so much. I am starting out with a goal of 1/2 a pound a week for a goal, so I don't get discouraged. That is proving to be difficult for me to eat that much because I don't eat much usually.

amyjstaiewolfe

Thank you for your help everyone. Please feel free to send me a friend request. I could use all the support I can get. Thank You

TavistockToad

amyjstaiewolfe wrote: »

I don't have any medical conditions that would me to take in extra fluid. Thank you so much. I am starting out with a goal of 1/2 a pound a week for a goal, so I don't get discouraged. That is proving to be difficult for me to eat that much because I don't eat much usually.

You didn't get to be over 200lbs by not eating much...

amyjstaiewolfe

thank you everyone for the help

janejellyroll

amyjstaiewolfe wrote: »

I don't have any medical conditions that would me to take in extra fluid. Thank you so much. I am starting out with a goal of 1/2 a pound a week for a goal, so I don't get discouraged. That is proving to be difficult for me to eat that much because I don't eat much usually.

If you're in a spot where you have weight to lose (and that's why many of us, including me, came here in the first place), you shouldn't have any issues eating to your goal. Have you eliminated a lot of higher calorie foods from your diet? That's why some people think they have problems eating enough at first.

amyjstaiewolfe

My dr. had me do a food journal. My calorie intake was around considerably below 1000 calories a day. About 600 actually. I am very seldom hungry.

janejellyroll

amyjstaiewolfe wrote: »

My dr. had me do a food journal. My calorie intake was around considerably below 1000 calories a day. About 600 actually. I am very seldom hungry.

Assuming that your logging is accurate (and for many of us, accurate logging is a challenge at first), an average intake of 600 calories a day and a need to lose weight should have prompted your doctor to do some investigation. Without underlying medical issues, that just doesn't make sense.

TavistockToad

amyjstaiewolfe wrote: »

My dr. had me do a food journal. My calorie intake was around considerably below 1000 calories a day. About 600 actually. I am very seldom hungry.

Do you weigh everything you eat with scales?

amyjstaiewolfe

they have run several tests over the years and all is good so they say. I am 4' 11" tall and weigh 255

Christine_72

amyjstaiewolfe wrote: »

My dr. had me do a food journal. My calorie intake was around considerably below 1000 calories a day. About 600 actually. I am very seldom hungry.

So you've gone to the opposite extreme of eating way too much, to way too little.

amyjstaiewolfe

yes and I have been like this for several years.

Spliner1969

FYI Caffeine is a diuretic, so it'll cause you to dehydrate. So although coffee contains water, there's a reason it'll also cause you many trips to the bathroom. Using it as your only source or major source of water intake isn't recommended (at least by me anyway lol). My mother in law drinks nothing but coffee and soda. All caffeinated. She is dehydrated most of the time even though she's never not drinking one or the other. She refuses to drink plain water or anything decaffeinated lol. Food for thought. Coffee counts, but caffeine will cause you to lose hydration.

amyjstaiewolfe

I only drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning and I gave up diet soda 2 years ago.

TonyB0588

amyjstaiewolfe wrote: »

they have run several tests over the years and all is good so they say. I am 4' 11" tall and weigh 255

Congratulations on starting your MFP weight loss plan. At that height, your recommended ideal weight is more than 100 lbs down from where you are now, therefore you could aim for 1lb per week rather than 1/2 lb. Are you hoping that your water consumption level would be the major component of your plan? Maybe you need to include regular exercise along with your drinking and calorie counting.