Does your 8 glasses of water have to be water??!

MissMaryMac33

OMG everytime this comes up I just want to scream.

NO it does not have to be plain water. ANY fluid counts toward your daily.
If it has calories, you need to track it in your food journal too -- thats the only difference.

I haven't drank a plain glass of water in years... I don't like it and I'm not going to force it down.

I haven't dropped dead yet, go figure.

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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."

JBennis1013

this^. unsweetened iced tea isnt WATER. water with lemon or those crystal light packets/mio can be put in your water to sweeten it a bit and its still considered your water intake though. water is really important so you should make sure you get 8 or more glasses a day..

Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, but how can you say that adding those crystal light packets can still be considered water when I believe they either have low calories or are artifically sweetened? Unsweetened iced tea is calorie free.

nucreeman

You need plain water for many reasons. Will you drop dead if you drink 8 glasses of soda probably not, but you will probably have body odor especially women (vaginal odor), bad skin, slowed digestion which equals slower weight loss, unhealthy hair. I can look at people and tell when they don't drink water, their skin and hair has a dullness. If diet Pepsi and Iced Tea works for you great, but I'll stick to my water, crystal light, and occasional diet ginger ale.

kprangernix07

So I have a question.... If I drink the glass of water, and then 5 minutes later eat the packet of drink mix, does that negate the effect of drinking my glass of water??? Or is there a lag time.... I guess I gotta stop sucking on tea bags too. and drink my water completely seperate from any food. In fact.... lets just stop eating all together. It might ruin my water consumption...

grimm1974

If you are talking purely about hydration, then pretty much any beverage will hydrate you to some extent. It is a complete myth that caffeinated beverages causes a net loss in hydration. Water is probably the best choice, but it isn't the only choice. If pure water was required for my body, I would have been dead years ago. Before I gave up soda, I would go months without drinking a glass of water.

StrawberrySt

So I have a question.... If I drink the glass of water, and then 5 minutes later eat the packet of drink mix, does that negate the effect of drinking my glass of water??? Or is there a lag time.... I guess I gotta stop sucking on tea bags too. and drink my water completely seperate from any food. In fact.... lets just stop eating all together. It might ruin my water consumption...

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Thank you

diben

You need plain water for many reasons. Will you drop dead if you drink 8 glasses of soda probably not, but you will probably have body odor especially women (vaginal odor), bad skin, slowed digestion which equals slower weight loss, unhealthy hair. I can look at people and tell when they don't drink water, their skin and hair has a dullness. If diet Pepsi and Iced Tea works for you great, but I'll stick to my water, crystal light, and occasional diet ginger ale.

How is your crystal light any healthier than Iced Tea? Iced tea is a tea bag brewed in water and ice added to it. While crystal light contains horrible chemicals. Some flavors of Crystal Light contain aspartame, one of the most dangerous artificial sweeteners. Side effects of aspartame include headaches, anxiety, abdominal pain, nausea, heart palpitations and irritable bowel syndrome. Acesulfame potassium is another artificial sweetener used in some Crystal Light varieties. This sweetener contains methylene chloride, which is a known carcinogen. Therefore, long-term use of this carcinogen may cause cancer. Other side effects include nausea, headaches and impaired liver.

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/413874-what-are-the-ingredients-of-crystal-light/#ixzz1vZ10suX2


Are you aware that diet ginger ale is also soda? Here's the list of ingredients: Water Carbonated Citric Acid, Flavor(s) Natural, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Malic Acid, Aspartame, Caramel Color.

Source: http://www.foodfacts.com/NutritionFacts/Ginger-Ale/Canada-Dry-Diet-Ginger-Ale-20-fl-oz/47843


Folks, before you try to preach.... please read!

Sarauk2sf

You need plain water for many reasons. Will you drop dead if you drink 8 glasses of soda probably not, but you will probably have body odor especially women (vaginal odor), bad skin, slowed digestion which equals slower weight loss, unhealthy hair. I can look at people and tell when they don't drink water, their skin and hair has a dullness. If diet Pepsi and Iced Tea works for you great, but I'll stick to my water, crystal light, and occasional diet ginger ale.

How is your crystal light any healthier than Iced Tea? Iced tea is a tea bag brewed in water and ice added to it. While crystal light contains horrible chemicals. Some flavors of Crystal Light contain aspartame, one of the most dangerous artificial sweeteners. Side effects of aspartame include headaches, anxiety, abdominal pain, nausea, heart palpitations and irritable bowel syndrome. Acesulfame potassium is another artificial sweetener used in some Crystal Light varieties. This sweetener contains methylene chloride, which is a known carcinogen. Therefore, long-term use of this carcinogen may cause cancer. Other side effects include nausea, headaches and impaired liver.

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/413874-what-are-the-ingredients-of-crystal-light/#ixzz1vZ10suX2


Are you aware that diet ginger ale is also soda? Here's the list of ingredients: Water Carbonated Citric Acid, Flavor(s) Natural, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Malic Acid, Aspartame, Caramel Color.

Source: http://www.foodfacts.com/NutritionFacts/Ginger-Ale/Canada-Dry-Diet-Ginger-Ale-20-fl-oz/47843


Folks, before you try to preach.... please read!

Ummmm - while I agree that some people may be sensitive to aspartame - the myth that is is bad for you has been pretty much debunked.

simplysassi

I am a former WeightWatcher employee. Every single day I was faced with people who would swear they just could not put down the minimum # of glasses of water each day. Our advice to them was that they count unsweetened, decaf drinks as a substitute, but for no more than half the daily consumption.

For MFP's 8 glass minimum, that would mean you could have 32 ounces of decaf/unsweetened drinks and 32 ounces of pure water and still make your goal for the day.

Just keep in mind that your body needs water to function properly, especially in the heat or during workouts.

mellie2603

What If I drink a glass of water with a cafeine pill?

I hate the logic....and I am about to disagree with my boy steve...but If I drink 8 oz of water laced with green tea (35mg caffeine) no sugar how is that different than me drinking a glass of water with a caffeine pill that is 200mg of caffeine?

So I don't log water that I had with a caffeine pill? What if I take a sip with the caffeine pill..wait 5 mins...is that 8 oz now legal to be logged?

This made me giggle!

I think some people take logging water way too seriously. If you start with a glass of water and add something to it...you still have water...the H2O molecules didn't magically disappear!

ShyFeather

I'm sure this conversation would look silly to people in countries where clean water is a luxury.

led6777

I'm sure this conversation would look silly to people in countries where clean water is a luxury.

THIS!!

mfp_1

The UK National Health Service says:
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http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/water-drinks.aspx
The Department of Health recommends that we should drink about 1.2 litres of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated. This works out to be about six 200ml or eight 150ml glasses, cups or mugs. In hotter climates, the body needs more water than this.

The total amount of water we lose each day and need to replace is in fact greater than this – about 2.5 litres – but we get 1 litre of the fluid we need from food and the body recovers 0.3 litres from chemical reactions in our cells. The rest needs to be taken from drinks.

All drinks count, but water, milk and fruit juices are the healthiest. It is best to avoid alcoholic drinks.
************************************************

shannairl

Okay it's none of my business what other people do, but for me, I just drink the g*ddamn water. How hard is it to get a litre bottle and fill it twice throughout the day?! It helps with snack pangs, it hydrates you, and it's good for you.

I have a friend who refuses to drink water because "it's horrible" but will happily glug down a 2-litre bottle of Diet Coke but "that's okay because there are no calories in it". I want to hit her.

FFS... Sorry, this is just a huge annoyance for me, it's ONLY WATER! You'll get used to it! How many of us instantly loved the taste of wine or beer?! You got used to it, same with water. I can't understand why people WOULDN'T drink it.

harebearva

OMG everytime this comes up I just want to scream.

NO it does not have to be plain water. ANY fluid counts toward your daily.
If it has calories, you need to track it in your food journal too -- thats the only difference.

I haven't drank a plain glass of water in years... I don't like it and I'm not going to force it down.

I haven't dropped dead yet, go figure.

---

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."

^ This. It's predominantly water, small amount of sugar intake isn't a bad thing unless you're diabetic, Juice has beneficial vitamins, tea has anti-oxidants, milk is chock full of BCAA's and even caffeine in moderation can have health benefits. In the end, they are all mostly water and hydration is the key. Personally, I don't like the sugar, LOL but I'm not against it entirely.
I believe it's best not to overthink the water thing. Just count the calories into your macros, and be happy. Whatever it takes to get that water into your body is OK in my eyes and my wheels haven't fallen off cause I'm a coffe fanatic! LOL. Just my 2cents.

kiki1335

This debate goes back and forth and has been for years. Personally, a combination of water, and flavored water, including iced tea can count as your water intake. Drowning yourself in water is not the point. Hydration is the point and water is the healthiest way.

ardrigh

This whole thread makes me /facepalm.

The general health guideline is that ANY FLUID that is NON-ALCOHOLIC is considered towards your "8 glasses of water per day".

It is FLUID INTAKE your body needs to remain HYDRATED. Your body DOES NOT CARE if it is juice or tea or flavoured water or piss in a glass AS LONG AS YOU HAVE FLUID INTAKE.

The ONLY difference is that you don't need to track a glass of water in you calories intake, but you SHOULD track anything that has calories eg a glass of juice or a can of Coca Cola

staceym90

No it does not have to be plain water, here is a link from the nhs which will give you information on what you can drink aswel as water, it does state that all drinks do count, they just recommend you stick to water, milk and fruit juices as they are healthier:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/water-drinks.aspx

hsk71

Found this article very interesting and helpful!

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_water.php

WhittRak

Just drink water for Gods sake. And don't add any artificial crap to it. Win.