Water Requirement

darla499

Hi everyone,

I'm just curious. I'm trying really hard to get my liquids down everyday. I know we're supposed to drink 8 glasses of water daily. I rarely (if ever) make that.

Can we use servings of other liquids (clear), like Crystal Light, Chicken Broth, Vitamin Water, Zero or other beverages as counting towards our water goal?

Or does it have to be 8 glasses of water on top of what other liquids you consume?

Thanks in advance for any input.

wriglucy

Crystal light will work and juices too. I would caution the high sodium foods as they will make you more bloated. Also, if you eat a lot of protein, you will need more liquid as well.

BrentGetsFit

I typically drink a few glasses of unsweetened tea throughout the day and count it towards my water goal.

Manda1987

I would stick to it.

I used to have a lot of trouble drinking water on its own. As in, more than a sip or two and I'd feel nauseous. My whole family is like that. I would struggle down maybe a cup over the course of a day, eked out by pop.

A month later, I'm up to an average of 9-15 cups of water a day, drinking nothing else but the occasional tea or black coffee. It's really just a matter of forcing yourself at first, then naturally building on that.

I got myself a water bottle from Costco that holds 3 cups. I forced myself to drink one with breakfast, one with lunch and one with dinner. Not allowed to get up from the meal without finishing. About 2 weeks into this I found that I needed the water or else I got really thirsty. Then I started wanting more. So it is possible... just stick to it!

PokenStick

Unsweet Tea and coffee can count towards it, not sure about the others as I've heard conflicting arguments about them. Some say anything counts as long as it's not carbonated, others have said water/tea only allowing one cup of coffee to count. You'll find very different opinions if you look on the web.

jroulo

Don't forget the amount in ounces is what's important. I'm drinking out of a 16 oz mug so I count one as two cups. A cup is only 8 oz of water.

fitterpam

I would say count it, if when you look at the nutritional values, they all equal zero but I agree with Manda.....work on upping it. Set your watch to go off every hour and just have a cup of water, you'd be surprised how small a cup really is.

I'm at the point where I have a water bottle that I carry everywhere because getting a glass every once in a while was my problem. My water bottle holds 24oz (3 cups). I make sure that I fill it up when I get to work, once with lunch, right before I leave, with dinner. I still have coffee in the morning and hot chocolate in the evening, but that's 4 bottles, or 12 cups a day, on average. Sometimes I fill it up after dinner as well (which is 15 cups).

They say you should drink half your body weight in water in oz (so 8 cups is really for a 130lb person). My weight is 240 (we'll use that for round number purposes) so I should be drinking 120oz of water. If you divide that by 8oz (8oz in a cup), I should be drinking 15 cups a day....just be sure not to drink more than 30oz an hour and you'll be fine......

Really, water is the key to the weight loss....I started slacking on the water 2 weeks ago. Tuesday I got back up to 9 glasses a day and I've lost 4lbs in 4 days......I know it's not fat loss, it's water weight coming back off.

Valtishia

Don't forget the amount in ounces is what's important. I'm drinking out of a 16 oz mug so I count one as two cups. A cup is only 8 oz of water.

Right!!! When I drink out of a 500ml bottle of water, that is counted as 2 as well. I don't really track my intake cause I drink so much over the course of the day, but my body tells me if I haven't had enough.

NoAdditives

It should be plain water only. Coffee and a lot of teas have caffeine which dehydrates you, they should definitely NOT be counted. Things with artificial sweeteners have other undesirable affects on the body and should really be avoided.

To help me drink more water I use either a large sports bottle or a reusable cup I have from a smoothie place. they both hold about 24oz of water and I sip on them all day long. It doesn't take long to drink the equivalent of three 8oz glasses and I never feel like I'm forcing myself to drink a ton all at once. And, since they're closed containers I don't have to worry about bugs or dust or anything else getting into my water!

If you exercise or live in a dry climate you should be getting more than just 8 glasses a day.

Manda1987

And, since they're closed containers I don't have to worry about bugs or dust or anything else getting into my water!

So I'm not the only one! My fiance is always laughing at me because I won't drink out of a glass that's been unattended for more than a few minutes.

pkd1

I drink the crystal light ice tea with lemon but i dilute it its to much for me full strength, it makes it easier for me to drink liquids im like u ,can go all day without drinking one thing

darla499

It should be plain water only. Coffee and a lot of teas have caffeine which dehydrates you, they should definitely NOT be counted. Things with artificial sweeteners have other undesirable affects on the body and should really be avoided.


If you exercise or live in a dry climate you should be getting more than just 8 glasses a day.

That's what I've heard all my life .... it has to be 8 cups on top of your coffee and soda intake. But I was hoping that had changed with the new modern drinks like Crystal Light or Zero and Vitamin Water.

I also live in Bullhead City, AZ which runs extremely hot. We're right in the middle of the desert. I drink more when it's hot but I've been turning to large, iced sodas .... So I'm going to recommit to doing 8 cups of water, somehow, someway today!

Thanks everyone for your help!

Dafrog

this is one of their is no true answer questions. u could google it to death. i personal think nothing with caffine. i read somewhere u can count juice, except no idea where. perhaps try adding lemon juice to your water, try it on ice. i keep a 20 oz water bottle within reach, myself. also if you consume a lot of sodium in your diet then it is said that you should drink extra water. in general your pee should be light tint of yellow to clear. i myself will be glad when i can overcome boredom eating.