tea/coffee/diet pop same as water?

wildflower2176

i'm not a fan for water. i love tea (all types). should i try to get the 8 glasses of water too?

rainbowbow

all of them are 99% water.

Alatariel75

All liquids (and a substantial amount of foods) contribute to your hydration. Adding tea or flavouring to water doesn't change the fact that its water and (unlike many are apt to tell you), coffee and caffeinated soft drink do not have a sufficient diuretic effect to offset the hydration from water.

Long story short - it all counts.

Other point - not everyone needs 8 cups a day. Go by pee colour. If it's pale straw coloured and not overly yellow, you're hydrated.

AnvilHead

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

Ryansworld84

Drink water not just diet pop.

jenilla1

I count all of them. I don't drink sugar soda, though. That's a waste of calories that I could be eating instead.

VintageFeline

Ryansworld84 wrote: »

I cannot ever accept the people who say they NEVER drink water and only diet pop. I drink diet pop but not in the amounts some people here do

I just cannot wrap my head around all the crap in it and what stuff we don't know about right now. For me my MO is more chemicals might be bad so dont over do it.

I can see this topic usually sparks a lot of debate, and rude responses on these forums.

Name the chemicals and their effects. Aspartame doesn't count, it's been studied to death and shows no adverse effects, long or short term.

As for me. I don't drink water, or at least rarely do. I use what we call in the UK squash, basically a sugar free water flavourer. And coffee. And then the water in my food. Pee is a colour it should be to indicate adequate hydration. Good enough.

stanmann571

Unless you're prone to kidney/bladder stones, which can be aggravated by some of the minerals in tea or colas.

Yes, they're exactly the same.

Wheelhouse15

stanmann571 wrote: »

Unless you're prone to kidney/bladder stones, which can be aggravated by some of the minerals in tea or colas.

Yes, they're exactly the same.

True, tea with milk is a known combination for stone formation.

4legsRbetterthan2

Dear Posters,

I would like to remind you to use the help boards to answer the questions presented in to OP. If you find you need to debate something more intricately please start a new topic in the debate section.

Many of the replies here have been moved to this new debate thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634141/tea-coffe-diet-pop-vs-water-debate

Thanks for your cooperation,
4legs
MFP moderator

MegaMooseEsq

wildflower2176 wrote: »

i'm not a fan for water. i love tea (all types). should i try to get the 8 glasses of water too?

I don't mind water if it's chilled, but I also drink a lot of tea. I do try and keep an eye on how much caffeine I'm drinking and switch to herbal in the afternoon, but that's about other health stuff, not weight loss or hydration. Pull quote from a useful summary:

You don't need to rely only on what you drink to meet your fluid needs. What you eat also provides a significant portion. For example, many fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and spinach, are almost 100 percent water by weight.

In addition, beverages such as milk, juice and herbal teas are composed mostly of water. Even caffeinated drinks — such as coffee and soda — can contribute to your daily water intake. But water is your best bet because it's calorie-free, inexpensive and readily available.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

lemurcat12

wildflower2176 wrote: »

i'm not a fan for water. i love tea (all types). should i try to get the 8 glasses of water too?

Simple answer: no, go ahead and count your tea.

Ryansworld84 wrote: »

Drink water not just diet pop.

More complicated answer, partially in reference to the above:

OP's question was whether he or she could count some other beverages toward the water goal. OP did not say that he or she would not drink any water (or only diet pop). In fact, OP did not mention diet pop, but tea. (OP, please correct me if I am wrong!)

I personally find plain water more enjoyable at times (certainly during a workout), but I doubt that drinking only infused water (water with fruit in it) or tea (water flavored with tea leaves or other plants, since herbal teas are called tea) and then consumed either hot or cold, is somehow going to be less desirable than drinking water.

OP, personally, I see no reason to count how much I drink, and if you think it's important to reach a specific amount of cups of water, the answer is no, you don't. I drink to thirst and my pee is the right color (good way to check hydration level).

If for some reason I had trouble consuming sufficient water for hydration (which I find extremely surprising in a human, so you probably don't really have to worry about it), then I might set goals to encourage myself or plan to have a drink whenever I ate something and exercised and so on. Water is probably better when exercising (at least it tastes better to me), but otherwise it probably doesn't matter if you get adequate hydration whether it comes from water or tea. Most of the tea I drink has some caffeine, so that would be one reason for me to not get hydration solely from it (or from coffee or diet soda -- my vice is mostly black coffee, which I adore, but to set to rest Ryanworld's fears, obviously I do not drink only coffee).

If you want to drink more water (and not as much tea) -- again, because of caffeine this might be a good idea, depending on the tea -- and don't enjoy water, one thought is to try infused waters (add whole pieces of fruit or mint leaves or other herbs to flavor it). As a tea lover, you might like that. And no, it does not spoil the water somehow, the water is still there (as in other beverages). ;-)

Carlos_421

It all counts. After all, soda is 99% water. Tea is water with tannins from the tea leaves added (so like 99.9% water).
Also, diet soda actually hydrates you better than plain water.