Why aren't you allowed to set water intake goals?

shsmith1044

Water intake is a cornerstone of any fitness plan and should be adjusted according to exercise, weight/BMI, fiber intake, etc. How does a food and fitness tracking app not have this feature - especially when they want you to pay for a premium subscription?

paperpudding

You can log your water intake can't you? I never did but the option was there.

but, no, as far as I know you cant adjust it for excercise etc

tomcustombuilder

Water consumption will never be accurate as you eat a lot of water that is un accounted for. Drink until pee is clear, no need to go any further.

AnnPT77

shsmith1044 wrote: »

Water intake is a cornerstone of any fitness plan and should be adjusted according to exercise, weight/BMI, fiber intake, etc. How does a food and fitness tracking app not have this feature - especially when they want you to pay for a premium subscription?

The cornerstone of any fitness plan? Hmmm. I don't think so. An element, sure. I'd put it below the actual details of the fitness plan (which I think of as mainly about things like strength, cardiovascular capability, flexibility, etc., as developed through exercise). I'd put it below fueling and nutrition. I'd maybe even put it below sleep (which MFP also doesn't track).

But I take your point. It would be nice if people could set themselves a water goal in MFP and track that.

Here's the thing: The MFP staff don't read every post in the Community. (There are too many.) When you post in this part of the MFP Community, you're talking to other MFP users with no more power or insight than you have yourself.

Why is there no way to set water intake goals? We don't know. It just wasn't included when MFP was designed, I suppose. Maybe even the current MFP staff don't know why.

If you want to suggest that MFP allow users to set a water goal, suggest that here, in a part of the Community the MFP staff do read:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/categories/feature-suggestions-and-ideas

Or, find the posts in that section where others have asked for a similar feature and up-vote their suggestions. Or both.

There is no way MFP could automatically give you a water goal based on other data it knows about you. Different people need different amounts of water, for reasons MFP knows nothing about. (Examples: Weather. Indoor humidity/temperature. Nature of a person's job. Health conditions.)

Generally, I agree with Tom: Drink and keep an eye on urine color. (I disagree about which color. Clear is over-hydrated. Pale yellow is good, or even light but neon-ish yellow if you've consumed more than you need of certain water-soluble vitamins.)

Personally, I need different amounts of water from one day to the next. I can't think how I'd set a goal, except to use as a minimum. I used to under-hydrate, so I did track water for a while in MFP. I knew that I wanted to hit a certain specific minimum, but it wasn't hard for me to remember what that number was, so I didn't even question why MFP didn't let me set a goal. Clearly, you'd prefer it to be different, and that's fine and understandable.

I have to say, for me, not wanting to use MFP because it doesn't set a water goal would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. It does a remarkable number of good things for me, and absolutely helped me change my life for the better in a big way. And it's free, which is pretty amazing. But sure, if you can find an app that does all of the things you want, including setting a water goal, definitely use that other app.

Best wishes, sincerely (even though I sound cranky . . . )!

yirara

Garmin has a water function where your water goal gets higher the longer you exercise I think. I don't care. As long as the pee is clear you're hydrated enough.