Water intake

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mandykasase
mandykasase Posts: 110
in Health and Weight Loss
It is recomended that i drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. The problem is i find it really hard to drink that much water. I drink a lot of herbal or green tea and roibos tea though. My question is, do other forms of liqiud intake count towards the recomened water intake? I don't drink caffeinated tea or coffee as i gave it up 6years ago. I always have bottled water with me but the flavoured kind with no added sugar with callories less than 10 per 500ml bottle. Is this allowed or should i just start forcing myself?

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  • nikkih7869
    nikkih7869 Posts: 58
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    It is recomended that i drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. The problem is i find it really hard to drink that much water. I drink a lot of herbal or green tea and roibos tea though. My question is, do other forms of liqiud intake count towards the recomened water intake? I don't drink caffeinated tea or coffee as i gave it up 6years ago. I always have bottled water with me but the flavoured kind with no added sugar with callories less than 10 per 500ml bottle. Is this allowed or should i just start forcing myself?

    Yes this is allowed! I really stuggle to drink anything at all! I usually have 1 glass of water a day and that is it! Sooo naughty! lol
    But today im starting to make myself drink more... im now on my 4th glass already!!

    Good luck xxx
  • avalonfloyd
    avalonfloyd Posts: 44
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    I found it really hard to drink all the water that's recommended at first. It takes real dedication at first, and you really have to push yourself. I started by having a glass first thing in the morning, before breakfast, before anything, with my vitamins. I have this water bottle that holds 4 cups and try and make sure I drink it all down twice in a day. You really have to replace other drinks you might have with water, and just have water around all the time. I found that if I have the bottle next to me, I'll drink some, even if I wasn't feeling that thirsty, just because it's there. It also helps fill you up to that you don't want to snack as much. Now I don't find it a burden to drink 8 glasses a day, and a lot of days I have more!

    Not sure about the green tea thing though. :s
  • clahut
    clahut Posts: 211 Member
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    You'll find conflicting opinions on this on loads of places. Personally, I count anything that is caffeine free towards my daily water total so herbal and fruit infusions but not black or green tea.

    I find the easiest way to make sure I drink plenty of water is to have a 500ml bottle with fresh filtered water in it beside and I just keep sipping away without thinking about it. I try to make sure that I have at least 3 full bottles of it a day.

    C
  • size08
    size08 Posts: 101 Member
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    Green tea is excellent, it is known to help burn those calories, help the metabolism humming along! and delicously low in calories!:bigsmile:
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I read a book where the author suggested drinking 3 glasses (8oz) before you leave the house for the day. She called it "3 before you leave." I do it just about every day. One right when I wake up which gives you an instant boost to wake up and get moving, then another after my shower and one more right before I leave. It helps keep me from feeling hungry on my way to work which is where I usually eat my breakfast. The only downfall as my husband likes to say, "3 before you leave means, pee as soon as you get there!" Ha ha! It's true...I can barely walk in the door after my hour drive without running to the restroom! This really helps because before you've even left the house you've plowed through three of your 8 glasses. It's also recommended to drink 2 glasses before a meal. So if you drink the 3 before you leave, then 2 before lunch and 2 before dinner you only have to have one more between dinner and bedtime!
  • nikkih7869
    nikkih7869 Posts: 58
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    I read a book where the author suggested drinking 3 glasses (8oz) before you leave the house for the day. She called it "3 before you leave." I do it just about every day. One right when I wake up which gives you an instant boost to wake up and get moving, then another after my shower and one more right before I leave. It helps keep me from feeling hungry on my way to work which is where I usually eat my breakfast. The only downfall as my husband likes to say, "3 before you leave means, pee as soon as you get there!" Ha ha! It's true...I can barely walk in the door after my hour drive without running to the restroom! This really helps because before you've even left the house you've plowed through three of your 8 glasses. It's also recommended to drink 2 glasses before a meal. So if you drink the 3 before you leave, then 2 before lunch and 2 before dinner you only have to have one more between dinner and bedtime!

    Excellent advice! Thanks for that! Im having the peeing problem today! haha xxx
  • jppizana
    jppizana Posts: 59 Member
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    I agree with avalonfloyd, having water nearby and available will allow you to drink more. I sit at a desk 40+ hours a wk and I find that if I leave my water bottle on the desk filled with cool water that I tend to drink it when I am in the middle of a thought (which I always am). For example, in the middle of typing an email and I want to word it just right, I will think about it and absentmindedly, I will take a sip/drink from my bottle. By the time lunch rolls around, I realize that I drank the whole 30 oz bottle. So i refill it and prepare for the second half of my day. I also do agree that water helps keep you full so you aren't snacking as much.

    I also found that when I was consciously forcing myself to drink 8 glasses of water a day, I would get headaches from drinking too much water at one time. Of course, I would also be going to the bathroom more frequently which is not conducive to concentrating.
    So instead of forcing myself to drink 64+ ounces of water a day, I let myself do it all on its own while at work. :) Its a win-win situation for me.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I count anything that is caffeine and sugar free.
  • bbb84
    bbb84 Posts: 418 Member
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    Similar to the 3 before you leave idea, I have learned to associate water with food. When its time to eat, I have a bottle of water before. I try to have water while I eat as well, it seems to help me feel full sooner. If you eat at least 3 times a day that 6 bottles right there usually at 16 oz a piece which will put you well over the daily minimum reccommended of 8 glasses. It takes training but eventually you start to reach for the water without even thinking.
  • hooah_mj
    hooah_mj Posts: 1,004 Member
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    half your weight in ounces :drinker:

    I have tremendous results when I leave a pitcher on the counter...it does something to that mineral taste, and completely changes the flavor.

    I can get half a gallon in surrounding my workouts. 32 before, 32 during and another 32 easily thru out the day.
  • digby765
    digby765 Posts: 163
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    I posed the same question not long after joining, I think the idea is a minimum 8 drinks per day and to try to make as many of them water as you can. I found that i couldn't drink only water, so i have sugar free cordial very well diluted, so just enough to flavour really and it brings the calories down to about 5 per glass. Along with that i dring de-cafinated tea. And the odd skinny latte as a treat rememberring to record the calories....:)
  • hairpleaser1
    hairpleaser1 Posts: 6
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    I use to go to QT everyday to get a 32oz soda for years. I now use my same 32oz QT cup with a straw filled with water and I drink 2-3 of those a day. I learned that it was the comfort of my routine that I still needed and the comfort of the cup and straw. Sounds weird I know but has been working for me for years now.
    Most people do walk around dehydrated and don't even realize it, thats one reason why they are so tired. If I don't get enough water in a day I can feel it.
  • jenni3001
    jenni3001 Posts: 33 Member
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    I drink green tea as well, in the morning and before bed. During the day all I drink is water and I put lemon or lemon juice in it. The lemon juice is supposed to help speed your metabolism (so I've heard) but I like that it masks the flavor of plain water.
  • kmeekhof
    kmeekhof Posts: 456 Member
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    half your weight in ounces :drinker:

    I have tremendous results when I leave a pitcher on the counter...it does something to that mineral taste, and completely changes the flavor.



    You are right aboaut half your body weight in ounces!!! Not everyone is the same size, so some people require more and some require less.

    And to the person who commented about the "3 before you leave"..... It is more important to eat breakfast 20-45 min after you wake up. It's jumpstarting your metabolism.... refueling the fire. Most people go at least 12 hours between their last mean and when they wake up so eating right away is a BREAK from the FAST.
  • lynz4589
    lynz4589 Posts: 389 Member
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    Until last week I would NEVER drink water. I only ever would drink fizzy drinks - then I gave that up just before christmas. So then I went on to diluted orange juice. I decided last week I was bored of the orange too so noticed I wast really drinking anything in the day which was really scary.

    So I set myself a mini challenge to drink nothing but water this week. The first day I struggled with 2 glasses because I hate it that much, by the 3rd day I was managing 3 glasses but feeling sick with it. Now on day 5 Ive managed 4 glasses already and will probably reach 8 glasses before bed tonight no problem, I havent even had to think about physically drinking it today because its become so natural now.

    Like others have said before I drink from a 500ml bottle and keep it beside me wherever I am, even watching tv in the evenings its with me and I will be drinking from it without even realising!!
  • mandykasase
    mandykasase Posts: 110
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    Thanks every one, i think i was just stressing cause i thought if i don't do this right then everything i do will not be enough. I do carry a water bottle with me as my trainer at the gym said i should and whenever i run out i find a water cooler somewhere on campus and top up. Plus i have a water bottle by the bed which i drink during the night, when i was pregnant i used to get headaches due to dehydration so i kept it up after that. i love green tea with jasmine infusion as a change from the berry infusion tea. The only downside is that i have quite a weak bladder something i developed after a bad dose of cystitis(whole different bag of chips) so when i need to go, i really need to go!! I'll try and drink a bit more, it can only be a good thing.

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