WATER?

MrsDudley2002

How many of you count coffee and tea as a water on your tracker? I'm so bad at getting all my water in. Suggestions appreciated.

deadstarsunburn

If it has caffeine in it you cannot count it as water. Adding flavor packets is about as far as you can go.

I found crystal lite helps =] raspberry tea is my favorite =]

melvac

I count everything liquid but I still try to add in just plain ole water

mebegreen

I drink caffeine free tea and I count that as my water

Bankman1989

i do but only because I drink over a gallon a day. And of course I make my coffee with water..lol

I wouldn't drink 8 cups of coffee a day and count it as 8 cups of water however. Regardless of coffee or tea I drink i will drink 128oz of water also.

melianne125

I only add real water. I dont add flavored water or soda.

moushtie

My herb/fruit/spice teas I definitely count as water!

DietingMommy08

Umm.... Yea....

If its got caffiene in it then its not counted towards water at all.

I dont really count it as water, unless its water.

I only use half a crystal ligh packet... sometimes.

rebeccapolson

Both coffee and tea have a good amount of caffeine in them which actually makes you more dehydrated. It is not really a good idea to count those towards your water totals. Remember ice cold water burns calories! Any water additives (i.e. crystal light or kool aid) will just dehydrate the body more, and may even contain aspartame (a big no no!)! Stick to the water!

jemachharo

i count tea, but not coffee. I drink a bottle of zero calorie SoBe water - almost 3 cups right there. It's really good. I also throw in a glass or two of sparkling water with fresh lime for a change.

Laineegrrl

I only add water but I don't like coffee/tea

SmugCanucksGal

If you drink a coffee it actually De-hydrates you! So for every cup of coffee you drink, you should be getting 1 extra glass of water.

Herbal Tea is just fine, if there's no caffeine!

_GlaDOS_

If it has caffeine in it you cannot count it as water. Adding flavor packets is about as far as you can go.

I found crystal lite helps =] raspberry tea is my favorite =]

So, caffeine doesn’t count, but fake sugar and food coloring is totally water. Makes sense. In fact, this whole thread is so useful. Thank you. :flowerforyou:

afwg1979

Only pure H2O gets tracked; I found that drinking more water decreased my desire to drink anything else.

H2O = Works great at flushing extra sodium out of the system.

jellyfishbones

What do you feel is keeping you from drinking water (and reaching for a different type of drink instead)?

Have you tried adding a lemon or lime slice to your water? You can also add a slice of cucumber - a completely different taste than you might expect, very refreshing. I don't know if floating a slice of vegetable or fruit would be bending the rules or not - I guess that depends upon the person you ask - but IMO it would be 1:1 for plain water.

Try making your water super cold, adding crushed ice, drinking from a fun container or through a silly straw.

I haven't ever had a problem drinking enough water, but I know more than one person who either doesn't like the taste or doesn't like that it has no taste.

shakybabe

I dont count my tea but only have it first thing in morning and before bed.. and have been drinking plain water rest of day.. if have hot choc I count that seperate as I prefer it made with milk. I don't have my tea strong though, only bit of milk and no sugar so I don't bother.

PepperMan98

I only count water as water. I still count it if I add a flavor packet in it, like Crystal Light or something, but that's it. I drink at least 8-12 cups of water a day.

killagb

The diuretic aspect of drinking caffeine is not enough to offset the water intake in the beverage containing the caffeine. I personally only count water itself, but caffeine drinks do NOT dehydrate you enough to say that drinks containing it don't hydrate you well.

maidentl

The diuretic aspect of drinking caffeine is not enough to offset the water intake in the beverage containing the caffeine. I personally only count water itself, but caffeine drinks do NOT dehydrate you enough to say that drinks containing it don't hydrate you well.

What he said.

HMonsterX

Time for me to make my obligatory post...trying to show the truth, only to be shouted down as per usual...

Your "8 cups of water" is actually "8 cups of fluid". Tea/coffee/soda/juice all count towards it, as does fruit and veg, as they have a very high water content.

Contrary to old myths, caffeine does not dehydrate you, certainly not to a noticeable extent and is far outweighed by the fluid in the drink. In fact, the more coffee you drink, the better your body gets at extracting the fluid to the point where it becomes the same as water.

The Straight Talk
In his review, “Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, and Exercise Performance,” Lawrence E. Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Connecticut disproves the notion that caffeinated beverages rob us of our precious fluids. By reviewing the scientific research on the subject, he concludes that although caffeine, like water, is a mild diuresis (it increases excretion of urine), moderate caffeine consumption does not produce a “fluid-electrolyte imbalance” that can affect health or exercise performance. Furthermore, we retain roughly the same amount of fluid after drinking a caffeinated beverage as we do after drinking water.

Even more encouraging for habitual coffee consumers is the finding that those with caffeine tolerance have reduced likelihood that a fluid electrolyte imbalance will occur. The more regular your caffeine habit, the more fluid your body is conditioned to retain.

Other findings support his conclusions. A small study done at the University of Nebraska tested the body weight, urine output, and blood of eighteen subjects after they consumed caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages. They determined that there was “no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males.” The Institute of Medicine expert panel on water and electrolyte intake asserts that the diuretic effects of caffeine are transient, and that coffee, tea, and colas can contribute to total water intake.



Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what#ixzz1ahO1ShJ2

http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/

_GlaDOS_

Time for me to make my obligatory post...trying to show the truth, only to be shouted down as per usual...

Your "8 cups of water" is actually "8 cups of fluid". Tea/coffee/soda/juice all count towards it, as does fruit and veg, as they have a very high water content.

Contrary to old myths, caffeine does not dehydrate you, certainly not to a noticeable extent and is far outweighed by the fluid in the drink. In fact, the more coffee you drink, the better your body gets at extracting the fluid to the point where it becomes the same as water.

The Straight Talk
In his review, “Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, and Exercise Performance,” Lawrence E. Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Connecticut disproves the notion that caffeinated beverages rob us of our precious fluids. By reviewing the scientific research on the subject, he concludes that although caffeine, like water, is a mild diuresis (it increases excretion of urine), moderate caffeine consumption does not produce a “fluid-electrolyte imbalance” that can affect health or exercise performance. Furthermore, we retain roughly the same amount of fluid after drinking a caffeinated beverage as we do after drinking water.

Even more encouraging for habitual coffee consumers is the finding that those with caffeine tolerance have reduced likelihood that a fluid electrolyte imbalance will occur. The more regular your caffeine habit, the more fluid your body is conditioned to retain.

Other findings support his conclusions. A small study done at the University of Nebraska tested the body weight, urine output, and blood of eighteen subjects after they consumed caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages. They determined that there was “no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males.” The Institute of Medicine expert panel on water and electrolyte intake asserts that the diuretic effects of caffeine are transient, and that coffee, tea, and colas can contribute to total water intake.



Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what#ixzz1ahO1ShJ2

http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/

Thank you for making sense of this thread.

noneya2010

I count my tea! i usually have a cup or two of hot green tea in the mornings and do count it. If I later drink a large 32 oz of iced tea, I will count a glass or two.

Ruby11222

I only count water as water.

sostengo

just water and pure green tea, everything else i log into snacks

trelm249

I only count water as water. I count my coffee in my breakfast.

acstansell

I track water as water with the water consumption feature. Anything else (coffee, soda, tea, anything) I track in my meals for the day. If I don't want to drink regular water, I have been using that MiO liquid concentrate and I like it much better than Crystal Light...

calamitydown

i just read an article that stated that you technically can count coffee and tea as water, regardless of caffeine count. it's soda you should be weary of. all in all, it's best to count water as water!

keiraev

I don't actually track water/liquids as I don't really count how many "cups" I've had all day. I have a bottle of water on my desk all day at work and I drink tea & herbal tea throughout the day too. Tea definitely counts as water in my opinion especially herbal tea with nothing added.