drinking water makes me thirsty

holdthefries

Has anybody else noticed this?
I have been using MFP for about a month now. I have lost 10 pounds (Yeah!!) I am watching my calorie intake, exercising more and drinking ALOT more water, I probably drink about 12 cups a day up from about 4 cups before. Besides water the only other drinks I have are 1 coffee in the morning and herbal teas. And here's the thing I am thirsty all the time now - sometimes parched. Does drinking more water make you way more thirsty?

dls06

Sometimes it the water is really cold it does it. I try to drink tap. I know it's gross but I find Ice water from the frig. is just too cold.

youngtweezy

I drink about ten 20oz. bottles of water a day because water is basically all I drink. However, I think you should check your sodium levels or blood sugar if you're super thirsty always.

jessgallison

Honestly, 12 glasses a day seems like a lot. There is something called 'hyponatremia'. Its when you basically flush out all the electrolytes in your body. It can actually be quiet serious, people can actually die from drinking an extreme excess amount of water. Clearly you are no where near that stage, but I just wanted to explain that it can be a real problem. One of the dangerous things about it is it can make you think you are 'thirsty' and have similar symptoms as dehydration.

So, I recommend you figure out what your sodium level is. If you can't do that, they I think you should try slowly decreasing the amount of water you drink. Either that our you could try small amounts of Gatorade instead (keep in mind it has a lot of sugar too, there may be healthier alternatives).

holdthefries

Good point. My sodium levels are low and so is my sugar intake. No processed foods and no added sugars of any kind. Only sugars in fruits and other foods etc. But is blood sugar something I need a test for?

youngtweezy

I've been told that you can be terribly thirsty all the time if you are diabetic.

holdthefries

uh-oh.
Maybe I should check with my doctor then.
Thanks for the advice.

youngtweezy

uh-oh.
Maybe I should check with my doctor then.
Thanks for the advice.

I've been meaning to get checked for a while, too. I don't want to scare you or anything, though. It's just a thought because people bring that up to me all the time. I'm no doctor!

holdthefries

no I appreciate that. Better safe than sorry for sure!

Improvised

It's recommended you drink at least eight 8 oz glasses of water a day. I drink about 12 glasses a day, more if it's super hot out, or if I've worked out a lot that day.

WIQQID

Drinking eight 8-oz glasses of pure water daily is essential to health and weight loss. Not only does it take up a lot of room in your belly, but it helps your body metabolize stored fat. Your kidneys can't function properly without enough water. When kidneys don't work to capacity, some of their work is dumped onto the liver. One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body, but if the liver has to do some of the kidneys' work, it can't operate at full capacity. As a result, it metabolizes less fat and more fat remains stored in the body, and weight loss slows or stops.

Surprisingly, drinking an ample amount of water is the best treatment for fluid retention! When the body gets less water, it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is then stored outside the cells. This causes swollen feet, legs, and hands. The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs: plenty of water! Only then will the stored water be released.

And for anyone wondering how much is too much.. well healthy kidneys can filter 5 gallons of water/day. Unless you have health issues to where your doctor has advised you to limit fluid intake, it's pretty darn hard to overload on water, so drink up!!

kwhite16

Just curious if this went away for you. I recently started working out (it's been about 2 weeks) and totally changed my diet and water drinking habits. I feel like I'm thirsty all the time now and I'm drinking about 70 oz of water a day. I was never thirsty when I just drank sodas and very little water. It's kind of driving me crazy because I feel like I need to have water with me at all times. I don't think it's diabetes, because I wasn't ever thirsty till I started drinking the water. I'm assuming my body is just adjusting to my new habits. I sure hope it goes away.

Mission_110

These pretzels are making me thirsty.

LadyNaaNa

I seem to be having the same issue. I drink plenty of water but my mouth is dry as a bone in the Sahara desert. I drank 48oz of water just this morning. I have no blood sugar issues and all my labs come back normal. Geesh! At least I know I am not the only one out there.

Blamber21

Maybe just a side effect of new habits? I always noticed I'd be dry when I ran, and I hated carrying a water bottle with me. Gum saved my life lol. So maybe that will help?

bwogilvie

The advice to drink 8 glasses of water a day, on top of the water that you get from solid food and other drinks, is a widespread myth. Snopes has a good page on it: http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

The South African exercise scientist Tim Noakes has written a book, "Waterlogged," (based on his research) on the dangers of overhydration for endurance athletes. There's an interesting interview with him on Outside Online:
http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/outdoor-adventure/tim-noakes-on-the-serious-problem-of-overhydration-in-endurance-sports.html