stop drinking 8 cups of water (because it's "good"), and get

123468

Replies

  • savage22hp
    savage22hp Posts: 278 Member
    Drink the water and see what happens . Give it a chance . If you are dead set against drinking the water , then don't . I know that I lose weight more consistently when I drink 64 ozs or more of water a day . I also know that if I don't drink the water or substitute coffee for part of it I am not as consistent . I was told that saying this was anecdotal and had relevance only to me when I stated this in another forum so if you feel that way just disregard .
  • :noway:
  • k1mcat
    k1mcat Posts: 68
    whatever would we do without one of these posts every week.

    I would cry without these posts... (of course, then I wonder if I would have to replace that liquid). I find these both informative and HIGHLY entertaining. I say, "keep'em coming!!!":drinker:
  • Klein1475
    Klein1475 Posts: 248 Member
    No one will ever get me to believe that drinking plenty of plain water is not good for you. And in order to drink too much, you have to drink a LOT or drink quite a bit in a short amount of time.

    If we drank more than the kidneys can handle over a day's time then we wouldn't eat. There is nothing wrong with drinking 10 or 12 cups of water.

    I disagree with coffee, tea, soda, etc being counted as water also as it is not plain water.

    Most people that increase their water intake find they have more energy, better moods, clearer skin and better digestion and elimination.

    Water is important to the human body.

    I say this with the up most respect....

    I completely agree with you Naturemade...

    ** Water can HEAL your body...

    ** When I get a headache it's because I am dehydrated which is NOT very often but it has happened... I drink about 48 ounces or so of water ( NO MEDICATION ) and in about 30 or 40 minutes that headache is gone... The term grow your family with water comes to mind....

    ** Being dehydrated can also cause you to feel like your blood sugar is low... I am NOT diabetic but when I am dehydrated I feel weak and shaky... I drink water and that feeling goes away...

    ** Drinking a lot of water won’t make you fat. It won’t rot your teeth or give you a hang-over. Drinking lots of water can temporarily assuage hunger pangs, which dieters find useful. It can also help prevent kidney stones in those susceptible to them. Drinking more can ease constipation and—ironically—also alleviate water retention.

    ** Adequate hydration is a crucial part of health and even a small water loss can impair both mental and physical function. The average adult requires at least 2-3 litres of water a day (2). This requirement increases if you exercise. Thirst is a poor measure of
    dehydration. You become dehydrated long before you feel thirsty so drink water continuously throughout the day. Being well hydrated improves how you feel and perform. Alternatively, choose fruit teas and herbal blends, and water flavored with a little fresh fruit juice. The best measure of fluid balance is urine colour, this should be clear and pale at all times. Dark yellow urine is an indicator of dehydration.

    Here is a link to a site that will tell you about water and your body....

    http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/water-health.htm

    Please check it out and know that I say this b/c I honestly care...

    Take care
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    On the caffeine argument: http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what

    But overall, while sometimes plain water hits the spot for me, I get a lot more fluid by drinking my green tea lemonade (homemade, green tea + lemon and lime juice + stevia) with coffee chasers than I ever have when I tried to drink plain water. If I were perfect, maybe it would be all water (though I would then not get the antioxidants I get from the green tea.) I'm not perfect--but I am hydrated. Because I am willing to drink my green tea, and a lot of it.
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    The way I understand it:

    * Drinking eight 8-oz cups of something liquid per day is not essential to life, but will help improve one's health & well-being.

    * Those "cups" are 8-oz measuring-cup-sized cups. Most glasses, tumblers, mugs, etc. hold 12 to 16 oz or more. (I drink most of my water out of a 16-oz mug. If I drink 4 full mugs, that's 64 oz (8 eight-oz cups). If I drank 8 full mugs, that would 128 oz (half a gallon); and, unless I were out in the desert somewhere, or running a marathon, I'd be up all night peeing.

    * Four of those 8 cups (32 oz) should be just plain water, to give your kidneys a break from having to separate the water out of everthing else you eat or drink.

    * The other 4 cups (32 oz) can be juice, milk, caffiene-free soda, decaf coffee or tea, the juice from the pickle jar, whatever; as long as it's not caffeinated or alcoholic.

    * The other 4 cups shouldn't be caffeinated (coffee, tea, cocoa/chocolate milk, cola, Mountain Dew, etc.) or alcoholic, because caffiene & alcohol are diuretics that will make you pee out more liquid than they contained.

    * When you're burning fat & losing weight, any toxins that were originally stored in that fat. plus the toxins produced in your body both by exercise and by the fat-burning process itself, are crowding into your bloodstream. If your kidneys have plenty of water to dissolve those toxins in as it filters them out of your bloodstream, they can function more efficiently - and then so can you.

    (And now a word from our Snarky Dept:
    Of course water/hydration is not strictly & absolutely necessary to the weight loss process. If you take in no liquids at all, you'll die of thirst in about a week, and weight loss takes place very rapidly after that. :bigsmile: )
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    (Warning: mini-rant/truly annyoed fit-of-pique follows)
    Also, for all of you in the Caffeine Dehydrates you and the Coffee/tea/etc. "Doesn't Count" camps, please read: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    The relevant portions of the article linked to, in its entirety:
    Q. "I've been seeing ads that say cola and coffee drinks hydrate you as well as water does. Is this true?"
    A. "It is true. Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. (...) Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day."

    Really? Seriously? Three sentences? Three lousy little largely content-free sentences???

    And with no references? No indication as to who did the research in question (the cola industry? some caffeine-consortium think tank? the same guys who spent 50 years doing tobacco research that never showed that smoking could possibly be bad for you? or the geniuses who thought that high fructose corn syrup was such an amazingly good idea?)?

    And is that 5 to 7 8-oz cups? So 3 16-oz mugs of coffee puts you over the limit? I know plenty of people for whom 3 mugs of coffee is not so much a "large amount" as it is "a morning at the office."

    I was expecting better from the Mayo clinc. Hmpf!

    (end rant/fit of disgusted pique. We now return you to our ordinary level of snarkiness.)
  • synergyabc
    synergyabc Posts: 16 Member
    I appreciate your post! When I was a kid I got waterlogged playing kiddie quarters. lol... I have had a hard time drinking water ever since. I am learning to drink water again and have just started to get my self to enjoy it, but can't get myself to drink anymore then 6 cups a day unless it's very hot outside. I do prefer water over juice and have cut my soda intake down to 1 a day. A month ago I had 4 sodas and 1 cup of water if I made myself... Now I drink water through out the day when I am thirsty, but I don't force myself. I just try to listen to my body.
  • TexasTroy
    TexasTroy Posts: 477 Member
    "* Drinking eight 8-oz cups of something liquid per day is not essential to life, but will help improve one's health & well-being."


    Im sorry Evelyn_Gorfra but " not essential for life"? Try spending more than a few days in the desert without water!
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    "* Drinking eight 8-oz cups of something liquid per day is not essential to life, but will help improve one's health & well-being."


    Im sorry Evelyn_Gorfra but " not essential for life"? Try spending more than a few days in the desert without water!
    I expect I could last for a few days in the desert on a mere 63 oz. of water per day, rather than the full 64 oz. That's not to say I'd like it. (But then, I don't much like being in the desert anyway.*)

    (*Purely a matter of personal preference. No offense meant to deserts or to the people who enjoy being in them.)
  • rebecca_chess
    rebecca_chess Posts: 101 Member
    Another person saying that while she understands that her opinion differs from the nutrition info from the Mayo Clinic site, she's just going to continue with her own opinion.

    Had you read my post prior to the post where I disagreed with the information from the Mayo Clinic, you would see that I sided with the opinion of Dr. Andrew Weil (Harvard Medical School) and it wasn't just "my own opinion". I quoted his theory on why caffeinated beverages do not count and agreed with his opinion.
  • Aleara2012
    Aleara2012 Posts: 225 Member
    I think the main point here is that we should stop looking at a number on a website and start listening to the clues of our own bodies. Drink as much or as few water you feel good with. Thats all :)
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    People forget that the bodies main transportation is blood. Keep the body hydrated and all the nutrients we drink will be transported in blood that is cleaner and fresher due to the body having to recycle less.

    And water regardless of source is water. Be it in tea/coffee/soda etc. Unless someone can tell me the reasoning why it is not?
  • cunokyle
    cunokyle Posts: 58 Member
    I hardly ever drink water...I drink diet soda, coffee, and tea.
  • laurabini
    laurabini Posts: 257 Member
    if I don't drink 8 glasses of water every day I get a awful headache, so yes water does really work FOR ME :)
  • Rosiered2
    Rosiered2 Posts: 87 Member
    I hardly ever drink water...I drink diet soda, coffee, and tea.

    I drink coffee in the a.m., then I switch to crystal light packets in bottled water and I drink that till I go to bed....about 10-12 cups per day (total--all liquids)....I do try and have 1 glass of milk each day too.....my doctor told me that it was perfectly fine to consider that part/all of my water requirement for the day
  • faiga
    faiga Posts: 47
    a lot people who drink 8 cups of water do it not because they are "supposed" but its a great way to clean out your system.
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    Just do a quick search for "8 cups water myth" on your favorite search engine and see what you find.

    I did that, and the first result is this post.

    what you did there, I see it, :wink:
  • xSophia19
    xSophia19 Posts: 1,536 Member
    how the heck is drinking 8 cups of water a day bad for you?! :noway:

    Well, all us people on here who drink 8 cups of water would be reallly unhealthy then by now wont we?! When infact we are all lots of pounds lighter!

    Oh you make me laugh!
  • Bailey543
    Bailey543 Posts: 375
    This... 100% this!!!!
    No one will ever get me to believe that drinking plenty of plain water is not good for you. And in order to drink too much, you have to drink a LOT or drink quite a bit in a short amount of time.

    If we drank more than the kidneys can handle over a day's time then we wouldn't eat. There is nothing wrong with drinking 10 or 12 cups of water.

    I disagree with coffee, tea, soda, etc being counted as water also as it is not plain water.

    Most people that increase their water intake find they have more energy, better moods, clearer skin and better digestion and elimination.

    Water is important to the human body.
  • gurganuss
    gurganuss Posts: 78 Member
    Even weight watchers switched to the whole 8 cups of fluids. They are there to keep you hydrated and to help flush the bad stuff our of your body. It doesnt necessarily have to be water. But water is always good for you no matter what.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    how the heck is drinking 8 cups of water a day bad for you?! :noway:

    Well, all us people on here who drink 8 cups of water would be reallly unhealthy then by now wont we?! When infact we are all lots of pounds lighter!

    Oh you make me laugh!

    It is just people that want to make excuses for their bad habits instead of focusing on way to change those habits to something more positive and health conscience.
  • WildFlower7
    WildFlower7 Posts: 714 Member
    I like water, in fact, I happen to crave it. Drinking water all day, makes me feel good, energized and my skin feels softer. I do also like the fruits and veggies that are spoke about in this thread. So why not drink your water and eat your fruits and veggies :wink:
  • Whereas you are certainly entitled to your beliefs, i completely disagree with them. Since I started drinking water (and I average between 4-8 glasses a day), my skin is softer, I feel more energetic, I am more alert and focused. I've lost five pounds, I no longer have problems with my stomach and bowels that I used to. Water is the mainstay of life. That being said, I used to be like you when people would tell me to drink water. I was super-resistant to it, and found articles online that I agreed with. That was until I went to the hospital a month and a half ago and they couldn't find a vein in my arm. I was so dehydrated, when they did find a vein it collapsed. I ended up with kidney stones and uti's all of the time. Still, I didn't drink water. What it took was me almost passing out to realize my body needed this. Can you overdose on water? yes, you can. You can overdose on just about ANYTHING, including vitamins, if you take them in EXTREMELY large quantities. If you don't like water, fine. Drink Crystal light or put a lemon in it or drink lemonade. But drink something that is made mostly of water because your body really does need this. Have a headache? drink water. Trust me, I used to get headaches all of the time. I thought it was because of my allergies. But it wasn't. Now, I rarely get a headache. I rarely feel tired during the day. My skin has a healthy glow. My belief? Proof is in the pudding. Drink water and you will begin to feel amazingly better than you have in a long time!!
  • zebraspots2069
    zebraspots2069 Posts: 213 Member
    I agree with NatureMade. My skin definitely looks better than it did a few weeks ago and I just feel better.


    Me too, since I have increase my intake, 64 fl oz ...my skin is clear, I haven't had any cramps in my feet and elbows (weird right)...and i have energy..OH and my pee isn't all dark and nasty looking!!!
    I even suggested it to my son,,,,and his face has gotten better (acne) so...............
    YAY WATER!!!!
  • SuzanneKrause
    SuzanneKrause Posts: 4 Member
    People who post on these forums and have no educational background except a single google search really need to be careful about the advice they give. Please people do your own research... and no don't just stop at google. Dig deeper. Check your resources. You can make yourself very sick if you follow the wrong advice.
    The "Drinking when you're thirsty" comment is just flat out wrong. Nutritional scientists will tell you that need lags behind thirst. You need more water than you crave. This is fact. If you are exercising you are almost certainly in a dehydrated state. Ask any professional athelete who is serious about performance and they can tell you about hydration. Water consumption has EVERYTHING to do with digestion. It has EVERYTHING to do with your health and it has EVERYTHING to do with weightloss. Take a class, read a book, ask someone other than google for legit information.
  • loseweightjames
    loseweightjames Posts: 360 Member
    And yes, it CAN HURT if you drink too much water. For easy reference, see the following article. With input from a nephrologist (kidney doctor)
    http://calorielab.com/news/2006/05/28/8-glasses-of-water-a-diet-urban-legend/

    Proof? Citation needed, your own link disagrees:

    http://calorielab.com/news/2006/05/28/8-glasses-of-water-a-diet-urban-legend/
    "A high water intake does benefit certain people, such as those who suffer from kidney stones or who work or exercise outdoors on a hot day. “The problem is that it’s a universal recommendation,” Valtin says, “and I want people to be aware that plain water can be harmful, or even fatal.” Under certain circumstances, excess fluids can cause water intoxication, a condition that occurs when the kidneys cannot keep pace with water intake. The body retains water, diluting solutes in the blood and causing cells to swell. When brain cells swell, the result is mental disorientation, followed by seizures and even death."

    water intoxication is very difficult to get
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

    basically you would have to drink gallons of water and either refuse to use the restroom and NEVER eat anything with any salt in it since salt is our main source of electrolytes
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolyte

    it's extremely difficult to find foods that are completely salt free. Even vegetables like potatoes and avocados contain electrolytes.

    Healthy kidneys process 32 ounces a hour, every hour, which is roughly 6 gallons a day
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

    Water drinking story: when I was in basic training at Fort Benning, GA we drank 2 gallons of water a day. This is because it was the June and July and we were training outside all day in full BDUs. No one died.

    EDIT: I just realized you're trolling, there's no way anyone would believe that drinking less than 64 ounces of water a day is a *good* idea. I'll just block you so I don't have to read anymore of your ridiculous threads.
  • Skinny_Beans
    Skinny_Beans Posts: 405 Member

    I disagree with coffee, tea, soda, etc being counted as water also as it is not plain water.

    That's silly. Soda yes, it's more sugar than water, but tea and coffee are still servings of water. That's like saying seasoned chicken doesn't count as chicken.
  • Nice info to know
  • prism6
    prism6 Posts: 484 Member
    If I wasn't drinking 10-12 glasses of water I'd be drinking beer...soooooo it's H2O for me and I KNOW that's healthier!
This discussion has been closed.