Coffee vs Tea vs Water

just4peachy

Do you log your coffee or tea as water? I'm not sure why the distinction (in my head) but I'm feeling like I can count my tea but not my coffee. Thoughts? Reasoning?

JennaM222

i LOG MY COFFEE..IT IS LIKE 5 CALS..

PokenStick

You'll get a lot of debate on this. Some people will say coffee and tea both count, while some say that non-caffeinated counts, and some that say only pure water.

I personally don't count anything but pure water...but I drink a crap ton during the day so I'm not even close to the min. of 8 cups.

DCBStudios

I try to log in all the tea and coffee...as well as water when I get a chance. It tends to become a pain for the water, since when you add it to the diary of things you taken in...it doesn't add to the cups of water consumed. As for tea and coffee, I usually try to add the drinks that I go after the most to the My Foods section, (I believe), making it easier to add. Besides that, unless you're really concerned about those 5 - 10 calories...i wouldn't be too concerned. If anything you have the quick add calories button, too.

chefliesha

I only log water as water. I log my coffee as coffee and my tea as tea.

johncinarch

My understanding is that you should have at least 8 glasses of water a day in addition to any other drink. I log my tea, coffee, milk, etc., separate from my water.

modernfemme

Here is the general rule of thumb - coffee does have calories and the caffeine dehydrates you, so you can't count that as water - especially if you put cream and sugar in it.

Black, green, and white teas all have caffeine, (although the latters less than the black tea) which again, dehydrates you. I don't log these because since I put nothing in them they are 0 calories.

The only thing that has acted like pure water in my body is herbal tea - so long as you put nothing extra in it.

Practice makes perfect. Pure water is really the best thing for you. And keep in mind it's 8 cups... not 8 glasses! If I drink 4 full glasses here, it's a little more than what I need. Easy peasy!

SweetPandora

I only log water as water too!

I drink green tea but do not log it as water.

Karen

Mindful_Trent

I do. It's my understanding after reading lots of sources that water is water no mater where you get it. Your body will use water the same way regardless of where it comes from. Water in food counts (eat those watery veggies/fruit!) water in soda counts (but it has lots of other bad stuff for you) and water in coffee counts. I do log anything with calories in my food log. Most people don't count coffee because they say caffeine is diuretic (dehydrating) but despite common misconceptions, a little bit of caffeine is NOT going to be dehydrating or cause you to lose extra water. You do NOT have to drink a glass of water for every coffee you have. Caffeine can have a dehydrating effect if you consume enough of it, but that threshold is more than just a cup of coffee or two. As long as you're not drinking more than a few cups (keeping in mind a cup = 8 oz.) then you should be fine. Here's a good source explaining all this: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

omarytorres

According to Weight Watchers any type of liquid count as water

SteelersFan7

I only count my water as water. I saw on The Doctors that you need to drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee you drink because it dehydrates you.

jewelzg79

I log my coffee and tea separate from the water. Since I dont drink much 100% water (dont like the taste) I dont have to log it....I gotta get over that aversion. Either way coffee and tea dont cout as weater because of the caffeine and other additives.

Sorry Darlin...No Dice:smokin:

Mindful_Trent

I only count my water as water. I saw on The Doctors that you need to drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee you drink because it dehydrates you.

Either way coffee and tea dont cout as weater because of the caffeine and other additives.

This is not a cut-and dry issue. I've seen credible medical sources that explain caffeine is only dehyrdating if you consume more than 500-600mg per day. This is more than a few cups of coffee, and quite a bit of tea (more than I could drink in a day). I'm not suggesting people drink only caffeinated beverages all day, but caffeine is NOT as bad as people try to make it seem. There are actually studies that suggest it is great to drink before working out and can boost the effectiveness of workouts (something to do with an effect on your metabolism). If someone drinks a cup or two of coffee or a few glasses of tea a day, there's no reason why it shouldn't be counted as water.

just4peachy

I only count my water as water. I saw on The Doctors that you need to drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee you drink because it dehydrates you.

Either way coffee and tea dont cout as weater because of the caffeine and other additives.

This is not a cut-and dry issue. I've seen credible medical sources that explain caffeine is only dehyrdating if you consume more than 500-600mg per day. This is more than a few cups of coffee, and quite a bit of tea (more than I could drink in a day). I'm not suggesting people drink only caffeinated beverages all day, but caffeine is NOT as bad as people try to make it seem. There are actually studies that suggest it is great to drink before working out and can boost the effectiveness of workouts (something to do with an effect on your metabolism). If someone drinks a cup or two of coffee or a few glasses of tea a day, there's no reason why it shouldn't be counted as water.

I tend to drink a LOT of coffee and I log it as coffee (patrially because of the amount I drink) but I've noticed that others don't log it. The question really came into play for me when I had some herbal non-caff tea (nothing added) and wondered what I should count it as. I ended up logging the tea bad and counting the 12oz mug as 1 cup of water. I don't ever have a hard time hitting 10+ cups of water anyway so I figured it couldn't hurt.