Water Intake

MartiWillett
MartiWillett Posts: 103 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
How much water should I be drinking to aid with weight loss and help keep myself hydrated? Right now I drink between 10 - 12 glasses a day.

Replies

  • i've heard a lot of people say to drink half your body's weight in ounces every day. so, since i'm around 120 pounds, drink a minimum of 60 oz of water daily, but i usually bump it up to 80 :)
  • I think your intake of 10-12 glasses a day is great. Good for you!

    Although I make sure that I get at least 8 glasses a day, I usually go over regularly depending on 2 things:

    1) workout - I tend to drink during the actual workout and about 2-3 glasses immediately after the workout.

    2) food - I try to compensate for potential sodium-rich foods. If I know that we are going out for Chinese dimsum then I make sure I drink a lot of fluids to compensate for the sodium.

    :)
  • I agree, your 10-12 is great! I look at it like, if I can drink 10 servings a day I am doing well. I really judge it by how I feel but I do my best not to go below 8 servings. Also, if you are putting in a good INTENSE workout, you should make sure you are drinking 12 ounces an hour or so before your workout, during your workout, AND after your workout. So that right there takes care of 36 oz that you should definitely be sure you are drinking. And then throughout the day, keep drinkin. I have also experienced that the more you drink before bed, the less sore you are because it helps flush your toxins. :-D
  • xaviernelson
    xaviernelson Posts: 24 Member
    Great info. I had heard about the 'drink half your weight in ounces' too, but I also heard something about drinking the # of pounds you want to lose in ounces, not sure which one is right.
    I have to admit however that I struggle to get to 8 glasses a day, I need to work on that.

    Xavier
  • MartiWillett
    MartiWillett Posts: 103 Member
    I agree, your 10-12 is great! I look at it like, if I can drink 10 servings a day I am doing well. I really judge it by how I feel but I do my best not to go below 8 servings. Also, if you are putting in a good INTENSE workout, you should make sure you are drinking 12 ounces an hour or so before your workout, during your workout, AND after your workout. So that right there takes care of 36 oz that you should definitely be sure you are drinking. And then throughout the day, keep drinkin. I have also experienced that the more you drink before bed, the less sore you are because it helps flush your toxins. :-D

    Very helpful thank you!
  • MartiWillett
    MartiWillett Posts: 103 Member
    i've heard a lot of people say to drink half your body's weight in ounces every day. so, since i'm around 120 pounds, drink a minimum of 60 oz of water daily, but i usually bump it up to 80 :)

    I'm going to try doing this thanks!
  • Great info. I had heard about the 'drink half your weight in ounces' too, but I also heard something about drinking the # of pounds you want to lose in ounces, not sure which one is right.
    I have to admit however that I struggle to get to 8 glasses a day, I need to work on that.

    Xavier

    This would not make sense for someone who wants to lose 10 pounds ;) Then you would be only drinking 10oz. The first one is certainly closer to accurate! :-D
    I take a water bottle with me everywhere I go-BPA free of course. I also use crystal lite packets or water flavor packets. This works well for people who think water is too plain. Challenge yourself to a bottle before lunch and bottle after lunch and a bottle in the evening and you will be rockin that water ! :-D Little goals feel just as good when you meet them.
  • xaviernelson
    xaviernelson Posts: 24 Member
    Great idea Shanally, I will take that challenge :)
    I think it will definitely help me get on track in the right direction.

    Thanks,
    Xavier
  • I tell my clients to drink a liter of water for every 50 pounds that they weigh. It takes a while for the body to get used to that amount of water, so gradually work your way up to it. Water keeps you from bloating, you absorb more nutrients from your food, and it actually helps your skin.
  • I tell my clients to drink a liter of water for every 50 pounds that they weigh. It takes a while for the body to get used to that amount of water, so gradually work your way up to it. Water keeps you from bloating, you absorb more nutrients from your food, and it actually helps your skin.

    So 33floz or 4 cups, right.
  • I think that could get a little too high the bigger people are. For instance a 300lb person would need to drink 198floz of water. That is 24.75 8oz glasses of water!!!!
  • It's based on volume and mass. Yes, bigger people need more water than smaller people.


    **Also, if you think that's too much water, you should see how much soda some people drink daily!
  • I agree they need more but 198floz? That to me is nuts. I'd need to drink 124floz. For me my hardest hurdle is seeing the obstacle in glasses needed. When I fill up a 27floz bottle it doesn't seem nearly as daunting for some reason.
  • If they fill up a litre water bottle 6x a day that doesn't seem nearly as crazy as manually drinking 24 glasses a day. That was what made my water intake so hard until recently.
  • I naturally feel very thirsty and drink an average of 100 oz or more of water everyday. More if i workout or eat spicy food but still feel bloated and thirsty. Has anyone experienced something like this? Am I drinking too much water? BTW I am 134lbs
  • i never was a water drinker so what has helped me is i drink through a straw, for some reason it does not seem to be that much water if drank through a straw. it goes down pretty easy and i drink at least 100oz a day i make sure i get my 10 cups in before 3pm and then anything after that is a bonus.
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    I drink a mimimum of 80-90oz a day and quite often exceed 124oz I currently weight 214 and know that I should have been and could have drank more when I was closer to 300.

    Drinking 198 would have been harder to attain but I think possible.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
    Proper hydration should be based on urine color. If it's completely clear (like water) then your drinking too much.

    If you're properly hydrated, it should be a very pale yellow, almost clear but not quite. Here's a decent chart for reference;
    http://www.buzzle.com/articles/urine-color-chart.html

    Obviously this is affected if you take a multivitamin or B12 vitamins.
  • xaviernelson
    xaviernelson Posts: 24 Member
    I have noticed using a bottle does make it easier for me too, especially since I am already struggling just intaking enough liquid itself every day, let alone enough water. I just don't drink a lot of fluids at all.
    Using the bottles does seem to make it easier, guess it's the mental thing.

    Ray: good point about the urine. I had read about that before too, but thank you for the reminder about vitamin intake, that does change things around.
  • chatal36
    chatal36 Posts: 167 Member
    if i drink more than 3 glasses of water i feel swollen and that i want to pretty much die !
  • if i drink more than 3 glasses of water i feel swollen and that i want to pretty much die !

    Water should make you feel less swollen. Watch your sodium intake...could be high or even low.
  • I have noticed using a bottle does make it easier for me too, especially since I am already struggling just intaking enough liquid itself every day, let alone enough water. I just don't drink a lot of fluids at all.
    Using the bottles does seem to make it easier, guess it's the mental thing.

    Ray: good point about the urine. I had read about that before too, but thank you for the reminder about vitamin intake, that does change things around.
    Great! I hope that it continues to get easier for you. I get the ones that have the pop up straw and it is even easier to suck it down. :)
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