What counts as water?

herronisland

Do the three cups of coffee I drink every morning count as water? How about a can of sugar-free, diet ginger ale? (I’m trying to post this in the community but I’m only allowed to post in tech—weird!)

AnnPT77

Yes, the coffee counts. "They" used to say it didn't because it can be diuretic, but recent research suggests it stays in the body long enough to be hydrating. Yes, ginger ale counts (sugar or not). Also tea.

If we're talking about total hydration, the fluid content of soup, stews, sauces, veggies, and fruits will count, too.

You can add "water" to your MFP count in any way that it helps you to make sure you're adequately but not dangerously hydrated. (Yes, too much water can be unhealthful, at extremes - which are uncommon - even deadly.) If whatever it is has calories, be sure to log it in the regular part of your diary, too.

The important thing is to be adequately hydrated in total, from all fluids. If your urine is pale yellow, like straw color, that's ideal. Clear is likely over-hydrated. Dark/brownish is likely underhydrated. Bright but not dark yellow (like sort of pale fluorescent yellow) can be OK, happens when consuming more than we need of certain water-soluble vitamins. Weird colors (green, say) can happen in unusual conditions, and it may or may not be a bad sign depending on those conditions.

There's no well-defined minimum amount of water that everyone needs. Depends on body size, ambient heat and humidity levels, whether we're a sweaty or non-sweaty person genetically, exertion levels, and more.

If water/fluids help you feel full on lower calories, that can help weight loss. Otherwise, there's no weight loss magic to hydration.

tomcustombuilder

A lot depends on what you eat. Some foods, especially fruits and veggies are mostly water. If your pee is fairly clear you’re hydrated. Keeping track of your water intake is a waste of time IMO. It’ll never be accurate. It does have a tendency to blunt appetite so it can be used for Fatloss in that regard however it doesn’t directly cause Fatloss

penguinmama87

If you want to track hydration, then yes, it counts. But I don't bother tracking fluids on MFP unless they have calories.

AnnPT77

I'm seeing some "no need to track water" which strictly speaking is accurate. However, I tracked it for a long time because I had a tendency to under-consume fluids, and logging it here helped me stay more conscious of what I was doing and wanted to do. I stopped for a long time, but am thinking of starting again. YMMV, but one person's baby is another person's bathwater when it comes to things like this.

neanderthin

Yes. Cheers.