I can only drink so much...

SaltNBurnBoys

I know that most doctors recommend at least 8 cups (64 ounces) of water a day. But I've seen posts around here about drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces. For me, that would be 92.5 ounces a day! I don't know about anyone else, but I only have so much room for water in my stomach. Do any of you have any tricks for getting in those extra ounces without making yourself sick?

sunshinesquared

I have a 32 oz tumbler that I fill up first thing in the morning and take with me everywhere. When it's empty, I refill and drink throughout the day. By day's end, I've gone thrrough four or five of these. Hope this helps!!

lmarshel

Yes...go pee! I drank 80 oz of water before I left the house this morning. I think I went pee about 6 times.

92 ounces in a day is a snap! :bigsmile:

What goes in must come out...

morethanthis0

I totally get you! Some days I can barely make it to 8, 8 oz glasses a day. I don't know how people do it! Hurts mt stomach to drink so much. At work I do have a 25 oz watter bottle I fill up in the morning but some days I only drink one or maybe 2 full of those.

SaltNBurnBoys

That's exactly my problem. If I drink too much, I start to feel sick the same way you would if you overate. My stomach just doesn't want to fit it!

KendleX

I have one of these at its my main water hole:

http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Keg-Insulated-Mug-Black/dp/B002KDPSYI

I can fill it up with ice in the morning, and still have ice in it as I leave work. I have a hard time drinking a lot of water unless it is ice cold, and this thing does just that. If its sitting by you all the time, you shouldn't have a hard time drinking water.

neandermagnon

How much water you need to drink depends on a lot of factors, the climate being the main one. Definitely don't drink water until you feel nauseous or are making trips to the bathroom every 5 mins. The more you sweat, the more water you need to drink. So if it's a hot day or you're very active, drink more. If you're sitting down a lot and it's cold, don't drink so much.

Your pee is a good indicator of how hydrated you are. If it's very pale or clear, then you're adequately hydrated and don't need to drink any more water.

Sweet_C_Smiles

There is no medical research what so ever supporting having to drink half of your body weight in water each day. It's just a recommendation. Just drink as much as you feel comfortable. I get sick when I drink too much water too. I just keep a bottle of water with me at all times and drink when I think of it. I'm sure I get plenty through out the day.

Just set your goal to drink 64 ounces a day and go from there.

Caroline

1two3four

There was a time that I would drink 16-24 ounces of fluid a day. Over a year I upped that to 32-40 ounces and then the next year 48-64. The last two years I've gotten myself drinking 80-96. I did it slowly, sips at a time. Buy yourself a big container (QT/L) and fill it and sip from it all day. Get yourself drinking 1 then 2 then 3. And as you do it slowly increase the amount you sip from sips to drinks. Down try to down a cup at a time!

Sweet_C_Smiles

Totally agree with you on this. Pay attention to your urine for sure!

erickirb

That's exactly my problem. If I drink too much, I start to feel sick the same way you would if you overate. My stomach just doesn't want to fit it!

then space your water consumption out evenly throughout the day. drink on average 6 ounces/hours to get that amount, though not sure that is really required.

eddiesmith1

I usually manage the 8 glasses (aside from other liquids) . For me I start the day with 2-3 before I leave the house, I drink a couple at lunch, and a couple at dinner, as well I drink 1-2 when I finish my 7km walk home
the advise on watch your pee colour is a good one, if it's too dark you need water if it's pale to clear you are good. 3 years + back I Did Atkins which of course required the 8+ a day, at the time my urine was pretty dark so I was obviously dehydrated, first 2 weeks I lost 15 pounds. This go round I was much better hydrated and the weight loss has been slower because there is no water retention

HeatherGTaylor

I found it hard to get plain water in through out the day. I now make "tea" waters, just flavored green tea bags in some hot water. Wait a bit and add ice (I like cold drinks). Gives me flavor with no calories and helps get all that water in.

Also helps when I want something "other then water".

sweetpea03b

Someone else just posted something similar about what can you count towards your "water" goal...and another person posted a study saying that the need is for fluids in general, not just water. I'm not a doctor so I don't know how accurate that is... and God knows just because it's on the internet does not make it gospel

I don't really get too strict with this whole water intake thing... but one thing that helped me was trying not to drink my calories and avoiding added sugars etc in things I drink whenever possible. So, what does that leave? Water. When I need a drink.... I choose water instead of tea, soda, juice, etc. I have several flavors of Mio that I add to it now and then. So, other than my daily glass of wine and 2 cups of coffee... water is all I drink. I don't force myself to drink a certain amount.... but since that's all I'm drinking I usually get pretty close I have a 12oz cup on my desk at work that I fill up... and I just keep count of how many I've had during the day and it adds up pretty fast.

KANGOOJUMPS

switch to whiskey

grillnchill

^ this is the 24 oz bubba keg, I carry this sucker with me everywhere in the office. I refill it every two hours, by the time I leave work I would have 96+ oz. Easy peasy. That doesn't count any other water I have during workouts.

My advice, don't chug, sip. You'll avoid getting bloated. I learned that the hard way.

Recently I realized I wasn't downing as much water so I looked around and found an app that gives you a reminder to drink up, it's called "water your body." Very simple and straight forward app and it gives you a good visual as to how much water you're drinking daily/weekly, etc. :drinker:

lisajsund

Count everything liquid as water.
Water, milk, tea, coffee, gatorade, etc.
Also, dont' forget that veggies and fruits contain water, it's just harder to know how much from them.

grillnchill

then space your water consumption out evenly throughout the day. drink on average 6 ounces/hours to get that amount, though not sure that is really required.

^ yep

cajuntank

I typically drink about a gallon of water a day, but this is more from a preventative level of addressing daily sodium intake and high blood pressure. But I have see where I am stronger in my workouts if I am properly hydrated as opposed to not having enough water that day.

shirleygirl910

Everything in moderation too. There was a radio contest back when the Wii first came out. It was something like "How long can you hold your pee for a Wii". A lady died from too much water. I don't remember how many gallons but it was extreme. When a doctor suggests 8 8oz glasses that is minimun, but some of us have to work up to it. The urine color is the best indicator of if you are drinking enough. Also keep in mind some diets, like high protein low carb, and some foods like water melon or coffee are dieretics. Someone mentioned weather effecting water consumption too.

So my advice is try to get the minimum of 8 8oz glasses, and the rest may differ day to day.

echoslug

I'm with you- I can hardly get 8 cups a day in. The one month I forced myself to drink more than 8 cups a day I started getting headaches and feeling dizzy. My doctor told me I was over hydrating which can be just a dangerous as dehydration. You actually end up diluting the extra-cellular fluid surrounding your cells which can cause your cells to rupture under osmotic pressure.

Since I eat almost no added salt- I get plenty natural from my diet - it didn't take much extra water to cause hyponatremia and I was drinking 3x my normal 6-8 cups plus eating lots of water rich foods.

So now I'm back to 6 cups spread throughout the day and more when I feel I need it.