How do you know how much water to drink a day ?
lindseylou706
Posts: 3 Member
How do you calculate how much water you should drink a day ?
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Replies
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I don't calculate it. Just drink lots. First thing I every morning I have a large glass of water, then I always have water close by the rest of the day, and I drink a lot of it during a workout.
You need 2.7L (women) to 3.7L (men). Most people don't drink enough. It's not dangerous until 20L+.0 -
If your urine is pale yellow, kind of straw color, you're fine. It may be bright - almost fluorescent yellow - if you you're getting more than essential of certain water-soluble vitamins, but it should be pale/bright. It shouldn't be dark. Dark yellow or darker is too little hydration, clear is too much. All fluids count, not just water, including coffee, tea, soda/pop, fluids in fruits and veggies, the liquid part of soups, etc.
There's no standard volume requirement for water specifically, or even for total fluids. Someone who has a physical job outdoors in a hot, dry climate is likely to need much more hydration than someone who works quietly at a desk in a climate-controlled office, for example. On top of that, different individuals sweat more or less under the same conditions at the same amount of exertion.5 -
I drink a massive amount of water. I start off each morning with 6 cups of green tea and 4 cups of coffee. Then more water or green tea throughout the day.0
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I think people way overthink this. Drink when you're thirsty. Drink until you're not thirsty. I think people for some reason have a tendency to think our bodies are really dumb. The thirst mechanism has been refined over millions of years of evolution to keep living creatures from getting dehydrated.11
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Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
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westrich20940 wrote: »Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
I would posit misconstruing thirst for hunger is really uncommon. If it were that common, we'd have people dropping like flies from dehydration because they would just keep eating food and never drinking anything. But this doesn't happen, except in some instances with severe dementia. And I would posit this poster doesn't have severe dementia. People with ED'S are extremely likely to drink more water as a way to stave off hunger, rather than not enough. I've done it myself. Also, trying to figure out how much water you *should* drink would be more of an indication of orthorexia, if anything, in which case closely monitoring water intake would most likely be counterproductive.4 -
sollyn23l2 wrote: »westrich20940 wrote: »Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
I would posit misconstruing thirst for hunger is really uncommon. If it were that common, we'd have people dropping like flies from dehydration because they would just keep eating food and never drinking anything. But this doesn't happen, except in some instances with severe dementia. And I would posit this poster doesn't have severe dementia. People with ED'S are extremely likely to drink more water as a way to stave off hunger, rather than not enough. I've done it myself. Also, trying to figure out how much water you *should* drink would be more of an indication of orthorexia, if anything, in which case closely monitoring water intake would most likely be counterproductive.
I disagree. I always feel hungry in the AM, and then I start drinking tea, and it goes away for a few hours. I've read a number of people here talking about feeling hungry after a workout, and learning they were actually thirsty. That's how I figured out I was thirsty after I swim, not hungry.
The consequences don't need to be nearly as severe as "people dropping like flies from dehydration" - they could just be people eating a little more than they should because they feel hungry when they are actually thirsty. I've experienced similar confusion with protein - I used to overeat fat and carbs when my protein was low.
I also disagree with you pathologizing this question. Since water consumption is in the media a lot, I'd be surprised if some people WEREN'T curious about how much they should drink. MFP says to drink 8 glasses of water per day. The OP may have heard a different number elsewhere and was curious. Jumping to this indicating orthorexia is a huge stretch IMO.2 -
I see no need to wait until you're thirsty. I doubt many of us are at risk of drinking too much water. I'd rather my body have the water it needs than wait until it tells me water is needed.westrich20940 wrote: »Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!).
Solid advice for the regular washing though. I saw an article about that recently and it reminded me I haven't been washing mine often enough.2 -
I drink over 100oz of water a day (+-24oz). My urine is only yellow first thing in the morning. With the high amount of potassium (5000mg) and moderate sodium (1845mg) I get, water is important to flush my kidneys out. Plus, water is neccessary for all functions in the body to take place. The amount of water an individual needs is dependant on many variables. The accepted practice of 8 cups of water a day may be fine for most sedentary people. Active lifestyles and dietary practices can dramatically increase the amount of water someone should drink. I drank 14oz while writing this.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »I disagree. I always feel hungry in the AM, and then I start drinking tea, and it goes away for a few hours. I've read a number of people here talking about feeling hungry after a workout, and learning they were actually thirsty. That's how I figured out I was thirsty after I swim, not hungry.
Tea would not be the first beverage I'd reach for to quench thirst (unless you're talking about iced tea) since I tend to sip it in quite leisurely fashion and it needs too cool off a bit before I can even start drinking it. Back when I could tolerate caffeinated beverages I found that they had a mild appetite suppression effect however. And throwing a glass of water onto a hungry stomach only ever increased that gnawing sensation, it never made me any less hungry. My stomach is not so easily duped.
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sollyn23l2 wrote: »westrich20940 wrote: »Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
I would posit misconstruing thirst for hunger is really uncommon. If it were that common, we'd have people dropping like flies from dehydration because they would just keep eating food and never drinking anything. But this doesn't happen, except in some instances with severe dementia. And I would posit this poster doesn't have severe dementia. People with ED'S are extremely likely to drink more water as a way to stave off hunger, rather than not enough. I've done it myself. Also, trying to figure out how much water you *should* drink would be more of an indication of orthorexia, if anything, in which case closely monitoring water intake would most likely be counterproductive.
Fair. I'm not trying to say the original poster has any of those. The opposite, actually. I was responding to the other poster stating that thirst can get messed up for various mental/physical reasons. I maintain it's unlikely. But we all have different opinions.2 -
drjeff0609 wrote: »I drink a massive amount of water. I start off each morning with 6 cups of green tea and 4 cups of coffee. Then more water or green tea throughout the day.
Be careful. You can dilute the electrolytes in your blood by drinking too much. Hyponatremia can send you to the hospital. At the least, you will feel really awful.1 -
drjeff0609 wrote: »I drink a massive amount of water. I start off each morning with 6 cups of green tea and 4 cups of coffee. Then more water or green tea throughout the day.
How many ounces are your cups? Because my 3 cups of coffee are at the 12 cup mark of the coffee maker....
I too would maintain that for most people their thirst and urine color should be enough to guide them. Of course extra washroom trips do increase one's step count and probably NEAT, so that's a good thing2 -
I literally (in it’s true sense) never drink water. Just don’t find it easy to do.
Black coffee, occasional black tea, salad veg, vegetables, soup, food in general, even the odd glass of wine…provide all the hydration I need.
Other than first time in the day my urine is clear pale yellow, indicating adequate hydration. I do live in the temperate climate of the U.K. so I appreciate other geographical regions may require more attention to hydration…but in general I think there is too much stress in the health and diet space given to the ‘drink X amount of water’.
The true amount needed is so dependent on activity, humidity, temperature of environment, typical dietary style, height, weight etc as to make a guideline amount almost meaningless.3 -
sollyn23l2 wrote: »I think people way overthink this. Drink when you're thirsty. Drink until you're not thirsty. I think people for some reason have a tendency to think our bodies are really dumb. The thirst mechanism has been refined over millions of years of evolution to keep living creatures from getting dehydrated.
I agree. Do you remember a time, when we didn't see everyone smacking on their baby bottle of water? That's what my father used to say. Everywhere we look, someone is guzzling water just as fast as they can. So darned thirsty. He had an old camel joke. Brick one. Brick two. Chugging water bottles, grossed him out. I took someone to the emergency room, not too ago. The doctor watched them chug some water. He told them to stop it. It's contributing to their acid reflux. It's become a habit that's difficult to break. I remember, when people instinctively knew if they needed water. Now we swill it, from dawn til bedtime. 1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »sollyn23l2 wrote: »westrich20940 wrote: »Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
I would posit misconstruing thirst for hunger is really uncommon. If it were that common, we'd have people dropping like flies from dehydration because they would just keep eating food and never drinking anything. But this doesn't happen, except in some instances with severe dementia. And I would posit this poster doesn't have severe dementia. People with ED'S are extremely likely to drink more water as a way to stave off hunger, rather than not enough. I've done it myself. Also, trying to figure out how much water you *should* drink would be more of an indication of orthorexia, if anything, in which case closely monitoring water intake would most likely be counterproductive.
I disagree. I always feel hungry in the AM, and then I start drinking tea, and it goes away for a few hours. I've read a number of people here talking about feeling hungry after a workout, and learning they were actually thirsty. That's how I figured out I was thirsty after I swim, not hungry.
The consequences don't need to be nearly as severe as "people dropping like flies from dehydration" - they could just be people eating a little more than they should because they feel hungry when they are actually thirsty. I've experienced similar confusion with protein - I used to overeat fat and carbs when my protein was low.
I also disagree with you pathologizing this question. Since water consumption is in the media a lot, I'd be surprised if some people WEREN'T curious about how much they should drink. MFP says to drink 8 glasses of water per day. The OP may have heard a different number elsewhere and was curious. Jumping to this indicating orthorexia is a huge stretch IMO.
Tea has caffeine. Caffeine is an appetite suppressant.1 -
drjeff0609 wrote: »I drink a massive amount of water. I start off each morning with 6 cups of green tea and 4 cups of coffee. Then more water or green tea throughout the day.
How many ounces are your cups? Because my 3 cups of coffee are at the 12 cup mark of the coffee maker....
I too would maintain that for most people their thirst and urine color should be enough to guide them. Of course extra washroom trips do increase one's step count and probably NEAT, so that's a good thing
Both my french presses count 4 fl. oz. as "a cup." The insulated carafe from my old drip coffee maker (which I saved for making pour over when the heating element in the coffee maker died) is supposed to be a 12-cup carafe, but it only holds five and a half cups. So it might very well be that the 12-cup mark on your coffee is much less than the 96 fl oz that implies.0 -
I count it as 60
Evidence is that my cups look smaller than 24 and larger than 16 plus they do fit the contents of a 20!🤪 Why or how.... no clue🤷♂️0 -
sollyn23l2 wrote: »westrich20940 wrote: »Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
I would posit misconstruing thirst for hunger is really uncommon. If it were that common, we'd have people dropping like flies from dehydration because they would just keep eating food and never drinking anything. But this doesn't happen, except in some instances with severe dementia. And I would posit this poster doesn't have severe dementia. People with ED'S are extremely likely to drink more water as a way to stave off hunger, rather than not enough. I've done it myself. Also, trying to figure out how much water you *should* drink would be more of an indication of orthorexia, if anything, in which case closely monitoring water intake would most likely be counterproductive.
I didn't intend to mean that people misconstrue 'thirst' for 'hunger' --- although this is a fairly common misconception due to diet culture. What I mean is people have no idea how to interpret or trust their hunger and thirst cues.0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »sollyn23l2 wrote: »westrich20940 wrote: »Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
I would posit misconstruing thirst for hunger is really uncommon. If it were that common, we'd have people dropping like flies from dehydration because they would just keep eating food and never drinking anything. But this doesn't happen, except in some instances with severe dementia. And I would posit this poster doesn't have severe dementia. People with ED'S are extremely likely to drink more water as a way to stave off hunger, rather than not enough. I've done it myself. Also, trying to figure out how much water you *should* drink would be more of an indication of orthorexia, if anything, in which case closely monitoring water intake would most likely be counterproductive.
I disagree. I always feel hungry in the AM, and then I start drinking tea, and it goes away for a few hours. I've read a number of people here talking about feeling hungry after a workout, and learning they were actually thirsty. That's how I figured out I was thirsty after I swim, not hungry.
The consequences don't need to be nearly as severe as "people dropping like flies from dehydration" - they could just be people eating a little more than they should because they feel hungry when they are actually thirsty. I've experienced similar confusion with protein - I used to overeat fat and carbs when my protein was low.
I also disagree with you pathologizing this question. Since water consumption is in the media a lot, I'd be surprised if some people WEREN'T curious about how much they should drink. MFP says to drink 8 glasses of water per day. The OP may have heard a different number elsewhere and was curious. Jumping to this indicating orthorexia is a huge stretch IMO.
Tea has caffeine. Caffeine is an appetite suppressant.
Caffeine is not nearly the appetite suppressant the green tea and green coffee supplement pill manufacturers would like you to think. I know, I used to work for one of these companies.
Also, not all of my tea has caffeine.0 -
westrich20940 wrote: »sollyn23l2 wrote: »westrich20940 wrote: »Sometimes hunger and thirst cues can be messed up due to people possible engaging in various behaviors related to: 'diet culture', ED, or disordered eating habits. Also...the mental *kitten* that leads to people absolutely not trusting or understanding their bodies cues.
Ideally - yes, you'd drink when you're thirsty and that would be sufficient.
I'd like to point out that really what you should look at (as also stated above) is your urine color. If it's dark/very yellow -- drink more. I also pay attention to my skin/lip hydration and if they feel dry/chapped, I drink more. Also, know that anything you are drinking that has a first ingredient of water, should also count as water. Coffee/tea...etc. --- those are all water.
I'd say it's helpful to always have a container of water with you (that you WASH often!). I keep a 32oz plastic mug (one of those souvenir ones you get at Oktoberfest) and just fill it up, drink it, and then fill it up again...and wash it daily. I also use Crystal Light squeeze stuff to flavor it bc I don't love drinking plain water and I drink more when it's flavored.
I would posit misconstruing thirst for hunger is really uncommon. If it were that common, we'd have people dropping like flies from dehydration because they would just keep eating food and never drinking anything. But this doesn't happen, except in some instances with severe dementia. And I would posit this poster doesn't have severe dementia. People with ED'S are extremely likely to drink more water as a way to stave off hunger, rather than not enough. I've done it myself. Also, trying to figure out how much water you *should* drink would be more of an indication of orthorexia, if anything, in which case closely monitoring water intake would most likely be counterproductive.
I didn't intend to mean that people misconstrue 'thirst' for 'hunger' --- although this is a fairly common misconception due to diet culture. What I mean is people have no idea how to interpret or trust their hunger and thirst cues.
I realized that after I wrote my response... and you're right, many people mistrust their own bodies signals or interpret them differently.0
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