Water/Tea confusion

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  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    you can drink and do whatever you like-no one said any different. Just offering my "two cents" like EVERYONE else

    By saying "good luck cuz your gonna need it!", and using quotation marks around the word 'diet', you essentially implied that 1)A person that chooses to drink pop on occasion isn't being serious about their weight loss and 2)Any weight loss a person would see while drinking pop/soda would be due to 'luck' as opposed to hard work or dedication. Perhaps it's just me, but I read your comment as a bit condescending.

    The reason I commented at all was to point out that I DO drink pop, juice, caffeinated beverages (etc) and log them as water, and that I've still managed to lose a significant amount of weight doing so. My weight loss has nothing to do with 'luck' and everything to do with hard work and patience.

    In closing, yes, you do have a right to 'your two cents'; however, there's no need to be rude or snotty about it.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    sigh
    here we go again
    SODA does not count as water! But hey if you want to count soda into your "diet" feel free and good luck cuz your gonna need it!

    All liquids you consume count as 'water'. Your body needs fluids, and pop is a fluid. Is it as good for you nutritionally as water? No. It contains sugar and sodium and calories and chemicals. But when a person is trying to track their fluid intake, they can absolutely count pop, coffee, tea, juice, whatever. They just have to make sure they're also tracking it in the food tracker, to account for said sodium/sugar/calories.

    I would say that only about 50% of my fluid intake each day comes from straight water. The rest of it is juice, coffee, soups, teas and (occasionally) diet pop. And I've had no trouble whatsoever losing weight.

    you can drink and do whatever you like-no one said any different. Just offering my "two cents" like EVERYONE else

    Indeed you are. I'm just saying that you are wrong with what you say, and i posted links that back up my claim. If you can provide links that say that soda does not count towards your daily fluid intake, not about how bad it is for you, then feel free.

    You also said that caffeine dehydrates, when all modern research says that any caffeinated drink actually hydrates. If caffeine did dehydrate, i, and many others, would be dead from dehydration, as its pretty much all i drink.

    I am wrong in YOUR opinion. (which doesn't really matter to me at this point-had you taken a different approach perhaps I would be interested in what you have to say. I could also find and post websites that support my claims, But I don't need to prove anything to myself. I offered my opinion, you offered yours-End of discussion (as far as I am concerned.)
  • dane11235813
    dane11235813 Posts: 684 Member
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    You can only count it if it's decaf. If it's caffeinated it's the same as coffee and dehydrates your body. So you actually have to drink more water to compensate for it.

    another bro-scientist. come on people. quit making blanket statements that are absolutely not true.
  • adjones5
    adjones5 Posts: 938 Member
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    As caffeine dehydrates.

    Sigh.


    Here we go again!

    You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

    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/


    As for coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

    di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
    adj.
    Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
    n.
    A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

    Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


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

    http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

    http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

    http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

    http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

    http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

    http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

    http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo

    sigh
    here we go again
    SODA does not count as water! But hey if you want to count soda into your "diet" feel free and good luck cuz your gonna need it!

    A) ^^ that response was b*tchy.

    B) I count tea as water but I try to drink around 12 cups of water a day just to make sure I'm completely in the clear!
  • ruby_red_rose
    ruby_red_rose Posts: 321 Member
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    I personally do not count anything that contains caffeine, or milk, soup etc. I find myself much better hydrated if I only count water and herb tea.
  • chicklidell
    chicklidell Posts: 275
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    I'm a dietician. All liquids count. Hydration comes in liquid form as well as food sources (such as melon, soups...) They are all accountable as liquid. Unless my 4 year degree was a waste of my time, coffee is not a proven diuretic, it also counts toward fluid intake. It does not dehydrate you, certain people may be affected by caffeine differently. Your reaction to caffeine can depend on the amount that you consume, the type of product, and your tolerance level. And of course water is still the recommended choice for optimal hydration, which of course we all know.
  • ncahill77
    ncahill77 Posts: 501 Member
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    The dehydration effects of caffeine are miniscule, you would have to consume ridiculous quantities to dehydrate yourself to anywhere near a dangerous level.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    [This has probably been asked before, but I didn't see it.]

    I've heard it both ways... no, tea (hot or iced) is not the same as water, and yes, tea (hot or iced) is exactly the same as water. I've never been much of a water drinker, but I do drink a lot of tea - unsweetened, throughout the day. Since all I'm doing is flavoring the water without sweetening it, can I count it as part of the recommended daily 8 cups of water?

    Thanks!
    Any liquid contain H2O is counted.

    That's actually not true. Coffee or Pepsi both contain water, but they do not count towards your daily limit. This is because they contain caffeine, which needs to be eliminated by the body. So, you can count non-caffeinated drinks, but not caffeinated ones.

    That's not accurate, though. Even accounting for the 'diuretic effect' that caffeine has, you're still getting fluids from that coffee or Pepsi. As I mentioned earlier, I generally count 1.25 cups of coffee or so as 1 cup of water in my tracker. It accounts for any fluids I may be losing as a result of the caffeine without ruling out the beverage entirely.

    EDIT TO ADD: Because I drink coffee regularly, whatever diuretic effect it may/may not have (for some people) is really minimized with me. I don't find I have to go to the bathroom any more frequently after drinking coffee than I do after drinking anything else. It's probably not even necessary that I make the above adjustments at all; I just do it to be on the safe side.
  • rescueangel
    rescueangel Posts: 28 Member
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    you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

    Thank you for posting this. I've heard others on here say that we can count tea as water, but that concerns me since, as you said, the caffeine in it dehydrates.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    Tea counts, coffee counts -- any fluid counts towards your daily -- they are primarily water! Why wouldn't they?
    I never drink plain water but I still get 10-14 glasses of fluids a day and I havent' died yet.

    PS the caffeine in tea/coffee is so minute that its not even worth mentioning.

    I find it ridiculous that people don't think all fluids count -- heck, even some foods count!

    The only thing you have to do if its not plain water is track it in your journal to count any calories or other factors, like sodium.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    You can only count it if it's decaf. If it's caffeinated it's the same as coffee and dehydrates your body. So you actually have to drink more water to compensate for it.

    Not true.
  • JaycrazyRose
    JaycrazyRose Posts: 104 Member
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    Wow, I never knew this about Coffee, I have been counting my coffee intake as my water intake as well. Now i know. grrr. okay time to change that.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    The dehydration effects of caffeine are miniscule, you would have to consume ridiculous quantities to dehydrate yourself to anywhere near a dangerous level.

    Concentrated quantities, don't forget. Millions of people the world over drink nothing but tea and they aren't desiccated corpses. Tea and coffee still hydrate, just not *quite* as much as water. Even beer does. That's all people drank in the Middle Ages as water was considered unsafe. And yet they lived.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Why is there so much focus on what does or does not count as water? The only question that matters is: Are you properly hydrated or not? You don't need to count your cups of water to answer that. The result is all that matters.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    Wow, I never knew this about Coffee, I have been counting my coffee intake as my water intake as well. Now i know. grrr. okay time to change that.

    You can count coffee, it's fine.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    How much water a day? (By the Mayo Clinic) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

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

    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/drinking-enough-water-topic-overview

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/466085-can-you-substiture-green-tea-for-the-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/

    "Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Another approach to water intake is the "8 x 8 rule" — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," as all fluids count toward the daily total. Although the approach really isn't supported by scientific evidence, many people use this easy-to-remember rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink."
  • rescueangel
    rescueangel Posts: 28 Member
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    Personally....to me:
    If we are counting it as "hydration"
    And caffeine "dehydrates"

    This is a no brainer........don't cheat by using tea, coffee, and soda as a "hydrating" count.
    Drink WATER!


    This is what I learned going to school as an EMT.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    I'm a dietician. All liquids count. Hydration comes in liquid form as well as food sources (such as melon, soups...) They are all accountable as liquid. Unless my 4 year degree was a waste of my time, coffee is not a proven diuretic, it also counts toward fluid intake. It does not dehydrate you, certain people may be affected by caffeine differently. Your reaction to caffeine can depend on the amount that you consume, the type of product, and your tolerance level. And of course water is still the recommended choice for optimal hydration, which of course we all know.

    Thank you!

    A great example of how caffeine affects people differently can be seen in those (like me) that suffer from ADHD. Whereas your average person might get 'cranked up' from stimulants such as caffeine or Ritalin, a person with an ADHD brain will feel calmer and more focused. A good, strong cup of coffee helps start my day off on the right foot- but, for someone else, it might make them jittery or feel sick.
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
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    Of course you can count tea/coffee/soda/diet soda/orange juice etc.. as water, it's not the ideal perfect hydrator but just because it contains more substances than just water it still hydrates. It's not 100% hydrating but still hydrates :)
  • MFPfriend
    MFPfriend Posts: 1,121 Member
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    My three rules:
    1) Drink whatever you want. Whether it is caffeinated or not.
    2) Track the liquids, both in the water count and the food diary (if drinking something other than water that has calories, sodium, etc).
    3) Drink enough of anything to make sure your pee is close to clear.

    Boom.
    Life simplified.

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