Water in take, how important is it?

wreckermom

I am new here. I am wondering how important is it to have the 8 glasses of water or fluids each day? I have a problem drinking that much everyday. I hate having to go to the bathroom every hour on the hour due to the water intake. Is there a better or different way? DO I truely need all that water.?

hayleyray

im glad u asked.. im kinda going through the same. need some input here

cheshirequeen

absolutely need it. its even recommended you get at least that much but your weight divided in half for your ounces. if you do an intense workout, i do zumba, i get 64 ounces in in that hour for the 64 ounces. start off drinking a glass in the morning. you can add some fruit to it, lime, lemon, orange, i dont use anything, personally all i do is drink water, its good to me. and crystal light and other things like that, but definitely get that amount at least.

natskedat

YES! I wrote posts on this topic earlier this year! Both posts are quite informative.

Here is the importance of water:
http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/01/lets-be-clear-or-at-least-light-yellow.html

Here is the formula to find out how much water you should be drinking. Hint: Frequent bathroom visits are normal and healthy!
http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/p/fitness-by-numbers.html

Hope this helps!

mjemerson

That water is vitally important!! You will not lose weight if you don't drink enough water. Once your body adjusts to that amount you won't be going to the bathroom as much. I actually drink around 15 glasses a day and it makes all the difference!

Jellyphant

Water intake helps flush out sodium, thus reducing water weight. When I drink tons of water a day, yeah I have to keep zooming mid-shift to the bathroom, but then I weigh myself and I'm suddenly a few ounces, sometimes pounds lighter. I don't know about you, but water weight drives me nuts so I'm now trying my hardest to control it the best I can.

Plus, more water makes your skin soooo much softer and smoother! Plenty of other benefits along with it too.

FTIM2015

How important is it? Depends, do you want to look like a deflated balloon?

Water helps to keep the elasticity in your skin and flush out the toxins in your body. As you drink more water your body will get used to it and you wont need to run to te loo constantly!

Try it with lemon juice, quite nice warm with lemon, or sugar free squash/ cordial. I'm quite into elderflower in sparkling water at the moment.

talysshade

Absolutely. I hated drinking myself and never drank more than maybe 4 glasses a day. When I started here I started forcing myself to drink actual glasses of water. Each hour i'd have a little alarm set and i'd go, fill up a glass and drink it. Now i don't mind drinking anymore and it really helped the first pounds already come off.

acasey0123

its important and for the skin as well... I notice that when I dont drink enough water my skin looks "ugly", my elbows are dry and feel like sandpaper no matter how much cream and lotions I put on my elbows. It also flushes out the water of water weight. For the bathroom thing it gets better with time...also split up your water intake, dont have like 2 cup fulls at once. For flavors add like crystal light or another sugar free thing, or squeeze some lemon in it. I count coffee and tea as water intake but remember to count the calories as well

beckusjane

Very important. Eventually your body will get used to taking in so much but keep trying. It has been one of the key ingredients to weight loss for me.

laursey

It's super important to drink your water. Before January, I drank maybe 2 or 3 glasses a day. I hated water!!!! Your body needs to get rid of what it doesn't need. I had a rough week (I had to pee all the time) the week I started my eight glasses of water. My body did adjust really quickly. I made it a challenge for myself to drink the water and when the week was over I bought myself a gift. What helped me was to cut out all other beverages. I used to drink coffee instead of water - YIKES! And it has now been an easy habit to keep.
I feel so much better now, and my skin has never been better.
Oh, yeah. Quite often your body is telling you you're hungry, but really you're just thirsty.

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lingading

Unfortunately, yes. Water is crucial. The more the better, really. And you'll actually pee less frequently once your body gets used to being sufficiently hydrated. The first few days of drinking tons of water, your body flushes out a lot of the excess water you have stored in your body that's when you're rushing to the bathroom what seems like every 10 minutes.. after those few days, you'll notice your feet and hands will be slimmer due to less water weight and you won't feel the need to rush to the bathroom so frequently.

carlfry

I have a friend tell me all the time - "My Coach told us that if we were not peeing every hour on the hour, we were not drinking enough water."

I try to live by that now My friend is very wise!

TDGee

VERY!

annacataldo

You need half of your body weight in ounces of water a day. I weigh 282---I have to drink 141oz a day--or 18cups a day--minimum.. Drinking that amount use to be a problem for me, but now that ive been doing it for awhile, its automatic--yesterday I drank 22cups, day before 26, day before that 24... You only go pee that much at first, after a week of drinking the amount ur suppose to drink, you dont need to go so often. I however would enjoy if i had to go more because it gets me out of my chair at work and gets me more active, burning more calories, etc.

Water helps sodium flush out, and other toxins; u also release fat cells in ur pee. Ive been on "diets" before where all i have done is drink water and not change my food or activity, and ive lost weight. It helps with hunger, etc etc etc.

If you drink coffee, caffeinated tea, soda (Even diet), crystal light, etc etc etc, it all depletes water in your system. Also, if u have alot of sodium in your diet it with dehydrate you, if u drink alchol, same thing; also u use water when u excercise... U need water too loose, and days I go over sodium, work out, or drink coffee, i be sure to drink extra water, beyond my 18cups a day.

Divatime

I too had to learn the importance of this. I started carrying a 32oz water bottle and I don't even realize how much I'm drinking until it's gone. I drink all day at work and save the last 32oz for at home with dinner. The water bottle makes it so much easier!

Hope this helps!

Eskimopie

Unfortunately, yes. Water is crucial. The more the better, really. And you'll actually pee less frequently once your body gets used to being sufficiently hydrated. The first few days of drinking tons of water, your body flushes out a lot of the excess water you have stored in your body that's when you're rushing to the bathroom what seems like every 10 minutes.. after those few days, you'll notice your feet and hands will be slimmer due to less water weight and you won't feel the need to rush to the bathroom so frequently.

Water is important and you should make an effort to drink it, but I wonder if the whole "your body will adjust to extra water" thing is really true? I love water and drink a minimum of 8 ounces of water a day...have done so for years. My skin is still dry, I still go to the bathroom constantly, and I feel dehydrated super easily. My doctor says its because my body has adjusted and now requires this much water to function, and it may be better to cut back a bit for convenience's sake. Just another experience...

wreckermom

I completely hate running to the bathroom so much. I know I am whining but i am new to this documentation of ewverything you eat and drink and im never gonna meet my goal. I honestly hate running to the bathroom. Is there any alternative? My bladder seems to be so small....

Divatime

It's not just you...it drove me crazy to have to go so much at first. But then my colleagues reminded me that I'm flushing out toxins, I noticed I was less hungry and my skin had a glow to it. Don't give up...figure out a way to make drinking water fun and challenging...my nice new water bottle did it for me. It seemed like so much so of course...we all like challenges. I challenged my self to finish the water bottle every day. I also get some cheers from my colleagues when I'm complaining about going to the restroom but that has gotten a lot better than it was early on. I do 64 ounces during the work day instead of trying to do 96 during that time...the rest I save for when I can go to my own toilet! lol!

annacataldo

also, note: I feel like im forcing myself to drink when i drink out of a cup, i drink out of water bottles only. I keep one on my desk, one on my nightstand, one at my boyfriends house, and one I carry around with me... Also, adding ice I drink more...when i go to resturants i order a water with a straw--cuz again--i hate drinking out of a cup, but love sipping.. I drive the waitresses crazy cuz i empty 4-5big glasses of water (which would be about 8cups of water), just during the meal... helps me eat less, but i do it cuz i really enjoy the ice cold water.

Can add lemon, orange, lime, etc to your water.. lemon i know for sure boosts metabolism, not sure about others, but dont add caffeinated tea or crystal light to your water... crystal light has sodium and caffeine--caffeine depletes your water, sodium doesnt help u with anything. Tea doesnt have calories but if its cafeinated it will deplete your water...unless u use decaf tea, unsweetened, then u can count it as water...

debrastormcrow

I believe that the water intake not only helps to keep you full and not want to eat constantly but it also flushes out your system as you change your diet and lose the weight. As for needing all 8 glasses, I believe that if you can't do all 8 then the as much as you can get down the better off you will be.

annacataldo

I completely hate running to the bathroom so much. I know I am whining but i am new to this documentation of ewverything you eat and drink and im never gonna meet my goal. I honestly hate running to the bathroom. Is there any alternative? My bladder seems to be so small....

You just need to drink more on a regular basis---ur going the the bathroom so much because your new to drinking water... and ur probably going through days where u drink just a couple cups and other days your drinking 8cups... Drink 8cups a day, everyday, and youll beable to get to the point after a few days where u dont have to use the restroom as often... You need to keep it consistant though... if one day u drink a couple cups, then ur body needs more water to flush out stuff, so the next day when u drink 8cups it makes itself go pee more to get rid of toxins from the previous day... drink a consistant amount that is adequate your your body weight (8 cups is the minimum, but if ur heavier, u might need more--like me who is at 18cups minimum a day). Ive been drinking 20+cups for several days, and I dont have to use the bathroom every hour---but it took me awhile to get use to drinking water everyday; when i first started out I sure was going pee that often! And now ive even increased it and i dont have to go anymore than i was when I was consistently drinking only 10cups or 15cups.

eeeekie

It's very much needed if you're consuming a lot of sodium. I think a minimum of 8 glasses is required for a healthy lifestyle. I try to get more than that and I think your bladder gets used to it after awhile.

I don't know how accurate this site is but someone posted it on the forum. It's a water intake calculator based on weight and other factors...

http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

It says 20 percent of your water may come from the foods you eat and that today I should be drinking 153.2 ounces of water which equals out to roughly 19-20 cups a day. I used to get that much but I've been averaging 9-14 lately. Some people will say that's too much water but my step-dad is an RN and he has doctor friends who said it takes a lot more than that to drown yourself (for me). You might want to ask your own doctor.

Qarol

Yep. In fact, you should really be drinking MORE than 8 glasses. Two good guidelines I've heard is either your weight divided in half with that number being the number of ounces of water you drink or the 8 glasses plus one more glass for every 25 lbs you want to lose. Either way, water will be essential to your success. Yes, you'll go to the bathroom more often, but this is good. Toxins are being flushed from your body.

PNWriter

It is crucial. I can't stress this enough. We all started off going from no water (I used to drink maybe 1 glass of liquid a day) to 8+ glasses and peeing every 5 minutes is what happens....for a while. After about 3-4 days you'll be fine! And, believe it or not, you'll actually be thirstier. Pretty soon you'll have no trouble getting those 8 glasses. I average about 10-12 per day and feel so good. My skin is healthier, I have more energy, and I've lost weight.