What counts as “water”?

stanmann571

If you're going by the fairly arbitrary 1/2-2/3 oz of water for every lb of body weight, then yes, count colas, sparkling, coffee, tea, the blood of your enemies(J/K). Seriously, unless it's primarily alcoholic, it probably contributes to hydration, and regarding the alleged diuretic effect of caffeine, in suspension it increases diuresis by about 10% over a non caffeinated beverage of the same volume. And that only in non-acclimated subjects

stanmann571

Christine_72 wrote: »

What about the diuretic effect of tea for someone who drinks 4-5L of tea a day, regular Lipton black tea. That's how much i drink every day, and i still need to drink regular plain water to help with water retention in my legs. If i don't also drink a couple Litres of water alongside then i get indents in my calves/ankles, just all round water retention, plus i have trouble going to the loo if i dont get enough regular water.

I get that adding a tea bag to water doesn't magically cancel out that water, could this possibly be the case for the average person who drinks 1-2 cups a day, not someone like me who drinks tea all day long?

You're describing the exact opposite of a diuretic effect. It's probably caused by the tannins, not the caffeine.

ghudson92

I think generally all forms of water (tea, coffee, cucumbers, fizzy drinks) can be counted, and you should certainly count them if you find drinking plain water a challenge. I personally don't log anything that's not plain water as water, I log it as a snack as it usually has some calories. This works for me as I have an actual problem with how much water I drink, I must drink about 1.5 litres a day for no reason other than I love it (have been tested by my gp for diabetes etc, no results I am just a water junkie). I would just go with your instincts and make sure your pee is a good colour

kazminchu

I don't log my water, but I would count Pepsi Max and black/green tea towards it. If I had to drink 8 glasses of pure water on top of the Pepsi I drink I'm pretty sure I'd have an electrolyte imbalance or something. As it is, I drink about 5-6 glasses/3 pints of water a day, plus Pepsi Max, and my pee is literally clear from about 12pm onwards.

lolly2414

I count only water as water. I log any other beverages, but if I drink something like 100% fruit juice I do mentally count that toward my water total for the day. I don't count alcohol or soda, and I'm not a coffee drinker.

mulecanter

I know for a fact that milkshakes do not count as water.

stanmann571

mulecanter wrote: »

I know for a fact that milkshakes do not count as water.

My milkshake

absolutely does

JBApplebee

Anything that contains dihydrogen monoxide will count as water

cwolfman13

witchaywoman81 wrote: »

sympha01 wrote: »

There is not problem AT ALL w racking up video game points. I absolutely manage my health on a points system.

My point is that if you want a high score (good health) why the eff would you do it on an arbitrary "hard mode"? Why rule out ways of earning points just because they're too easy to earn?

If a liquid quenches your thirst, it's hydrating. Don't score yourself down for enjoying the liquid, unless you like making it hard just to make it hard because your priorities are weird.

Good thought, but I have found that if I don’t track my water, I don’t drink enough. I have a lot going on and it’s so easy to ignore thirst signals or even mistake them for hunger signals. So I was trying to get a sense of whether people count things other than pure water as water. Just trying to get perspective.

I'm not a lot of help I guess as I never really tracked my beverages unless it had calories. I always have a refillable water bottle with me pretty much at all times no matter what I'm doing. I live in the desert at over a mile high and I'm pretty active, so hydration needs to be on point. My urine is almost always pale yellow which means I'm properly hydrated...but I have zero clue as to how much water and/or other beverages I drink in a day.

ghostband

Conventional wisdom I think is still drinking more water is probably better for you, but since everyone's different that 8 cup mark can be really skewed depending on your size, activity, how hot it is in your area and all that fun stuff.

I count straight water, or if I fizz it up in the soda stream or add lemon juice or something, as water. Partly because everything else is tracked elsewhere, and mostly because I notice a pretty sizable difference in the way I feel based on my water intake. For me, I usually feel my best around like 11 or 12 cups, maybe more if I workout that day.