Water intake question

Should I listen to someone who isn't a dietician but is telling me to drink 2L of water a day? Or listen to the dietician who's telling me to drink 2.5L of water a day?

Thanks.

Replies

  • standout00
    standout00 Posts: 150 Member
    harper16 wrote: »
    As long as your pee is pale yellow you are properly hydrated. Not sure how an extra .5 really makes a big difference.

    Most of the time I drink 3L of water sometimes it goes over 3L even when I don't exercise.
  • standout00
    standout00 Posts: 150 Member
    The house that I live in has a special insert in the toilet so I can't really see what colour my pee is...
  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    standout00 wrote: »
    harper16 wrote: »
    As long as your pee is pale yellow you are properly hydrated. Not sure how an extra .5 really makes a big difference.

    Most of the time I drink 3L of water sometimes it goes over 3L even when I don't exercise.

    I wouldn't decrease your water intake.
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    Sounds like you are drinking enough in any event, if you are in the habit of drink 3L. I wouldn't worry about it, unless you are particularly worries about your hydration for some reason.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    standout00 wrote: »
    The house that I live in has a special insert in the toilet so I can't really see what colour my pee is...

    Do you have some reason to be concerned about either being dehydrated or being overhydrated?
  • standout00
    standout00 Posts: 150 Member
    harper16 wrote: »
    standout00 wrote: »
    harper16 wrote: »
    As long as your pee is pale yellow you are properly hydrated. Not sure how an extra .5 really makes a big difference.

    Most of the time I drink 3L of water sometimes it goes over 3L even when I don't exercise.

    I wouldn't decrease your water intake.

    Why? Do you reckon that much water is adequate for my weight?
  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited July 2020
    standout00 wrote: »
    harper16 wrote: »
    standout00 wrote: »
    harper16 wrote: »
    As long as your pee is pale yellow you are properly hydrated. Not sure how an extra .5 really makes a big difference.

    Most of the time I drink 3L of water sometimes it goes over 3L even when I don't exercise.

    I wouldn't decrease your water intake.

    Why? Do you reckon that much water is adequate for my weight?

    I don't have a medical degree in anything. Just if you feel hydrated during the day you're most likely drinking enough water. Do you think there's something wrong with how much water you're drinking?

    Adding you never said how much you weighed, so how would I know that.
  • Hanibanani2020
    Hanibanani2020 Posts: 523 Member
    I drink 3L a day and am a short, active female. Every time I think of drinking I drink. Everyone is an individual but a good way to measure is to look at your pee and make sure it stays in the light yellow verging on clear range.
  • standout00
    standout00 Posts: 150 Member
    harper16 wrote: »
    standout00 wrote: »
    harper16 wrote: »
    standout00 wrote: »
    harper16 wrote: »
    As long as your pee is pale yellow you are properly hydrated. Not sure how an extra .5 really makes a big difference.

    Most of the time I drink 3L of water sometimes it goes over 3L even when I don't exercise.

    I wouldn't decrease your water intake.

    Why? Do you reckon that much water is adequate for my weight?

    I don't have a medical degree in anything. Just if you feel hydrated during the day you're most likely drinking enough water. Do you think there's something wrong with how much water you're drinking?

    Adding you never said how much you weighed, so how would I know that.

    No. Personally I prefer drinking 3L or over 3L of water a day. I weigh 221.2 lbs
  • standout00
    standout00 Posts: 150 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    standout00 wrote: »
    The house that I live in has a special insert in the toilet so I can't really see what colour my pee is...

    Do you have some reason to be concerned about either being dehydrated or being overhydrated?

    In a day I might drink 2 cups of coffee and 3 or sometimes 4 cups of tea. I generally like to see the colour of my pee so that I can tell if I'm dehydrated or not.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    edited July 2020
    There used to be a widely shared recommendation to drink 8 glasses of water per day. This figure had no real scientific basis. So now the standard is to judge by urine color (which indicates urine concentration).

    In fact, you can be well-hydrated without drinking any water if your food intake has enough water but that would mean eating a whole lot of water-heavy items like cucumbers. So, 2 or 2.5 or 3 liters of water a day? Sure, if that works for you.

    You can get your water content from other liquids as well but you need to consider what their calorie and nutrient values are. For example, you could get all your daily water from coffee but it might be too much caffeine for you, milk has quite a few calories, alcohol has other "unwanted side effects," etc.

    Drink what you prefer. I like seltzer with a squit of lemon or lime juice. I hardly ever drink plain water but I stay hydrated (and help keep SodaStream in business by cycling through CO2 canisters).
  • standout00
    standout00 Posts: 150 Member
    There used to be a widely shared recommendation to drink 8 glasses of water per day. This figure had no real scientific basis. So now the standard is to judge by urine color (which indicates urine concentration).

    In fact, you can be well-hydrated without drinking any water if your food intake has enough water but that would mean eating a whole lot of water-heavy items like cucumbers. So, 2 or 2.5 or 3 liters of water a day? Sure, if that works for you.

    You can get your water content from other liquids as well but you need to consider what their calorie and nutrient values are. For example, you could get all your daily water from coffee but it might be too much caffeine for you, milk has quite a few calories, alcohol has other "unwanted side effects," etc.

    Drink what you prefer. I like seltzer with a squit of lemon or lime juice. I hardly ever drink plain water but I stay hydrated (and help keep SodaStream in business by cycling through CO2 canisters).

    I like drinking plain water and that's not a problem for me. However, I didn't know that drinking 8 glasses of water a day had no real scientific basis! Thanks for that.