What counts as water

Greg3705

My wife and I were having a debate yesterday and I would like to get other opinions.

My side only water counts as water

Her side she counts water with crystal light, hot tea with nothing added, black coffee.

What do you guys count?

mollz007

I agree with the water with crystal light and tea. Im not sure about black coffee. I guess it just depends on how technical you want to be, because technically black coffee (or any kind of coffee) has water in it. There are lots of things that contain water, but I generally only count something as water if it is mostly water. I hope that makes sense, lol. So I think you are both right.

EdTheGinge

Pure water as water anything else goes in my snacks column. My opinion anyway

gargisingh

Water counts as water. (everything else is unaccounted bonus :happy: )

twinkychops

I have a real problem drinking water so I drink really weak squash and I count that as my water

mindygood

Water with flavoring is water... tea and coffee are iffy as they have caffenine and serve to dehydrate also....

csevier1967

Water is water. My Doctor said vitamin waters are a good source of vitamins and water.

kenazfehu

I count all liquids that are close to 0 in calories as water. But most of my water is just that - water. I do have one mug of coffee per day, sometimes also a mug of green tea - I count each of those as 1 cup of water also, although the mug holds closer to 12 ounces.

knightreader

water is water. iced tea is iced tea. lemonade is lemonade. you get the idea. if i followed her logic i could count beer as water. wait, maybe i WILL follow her logic.

rebasporty

I drink plain water and water with Crystal light. I count it all as water. I need a little flavor or I don't get all my water in during the day at my desk.

alaskaang

I think you are both right. I only count plain water as water. But you do get water from alot of other sources, even fruit and veggies. The question is what hydrates you most or what affect does the additional ingredient have? Does the addition of crystal light or the caffeine in coffee offset the effect of the water? If it does, then your 20oz water with crystal light might really only provide 10oz of hydration.

jealous_loser

Water and herbal teas I count as water.

I would also count the 0 calorie adders to water as water as well, but I don't drink those anymore.

thektturner

I count plain iced tea as water as well. I mostly just drink water at work. But at home, I drink more iced tea. If I were to put sugar in it, I would count it as sweetened tea, which I would not count as water. But plain tea is water that was heated up and cooled again. The tea leaves do not negate it being water.

gothicfires

When it comes to hytradtion anything with water in it is water. You don't have to have 8 cups of water each day. You need 8 cups of fluid.

aimeebtn

I actually talked to my doctor about this and you are correct. Only water counts as water. She said things like crystal light and tea (even with out adding anything to the tea) takes away from the purity of the water and does add things to our bodies that we don't necessarily need.

BubblySharon

I count only water... I drink it with Mio sometimes, and that still counts as water. I drink 1 cup of coffee a day, but that isn't counted in my water intake.

thebigcb

My wife and I were having a debate yesterday and I would like to get other opinions.

My side only water counts as water

Her side she counts water with crystal light, hot tea with nothing added, black coffee.

What do you guys count?

Its simple

YOUR WIFE IS WRONG. WATER = WATER. COFFEE = COFFEE

thebigcb

When it comes to hytradtion anything with water in it is water. You don't have to have 8 cups of water each day. You need 8 cups of fluid.

INCORRECT, guess again

AmyRhubarb

I only count water as water. I don't do the crystal light stuff, so not sure I would count that. I do not count black coffee or tea, as neither one is very good at hydrating me.

I use my blood donation experiences as an example -

Several cups of coffee, breakfast, and off to donate. Difficulty finding a vein, flow extremely slow once they got it, taking a long time to get the pint, and having to work at it to get those last few vials they take to test or whatever.

Several cups of water and normal food, and off to donate again. Easy to fine my vein, filled that pint in half the time, with no issues getting the last vials. If I go in the afternoon, it goes even faster, and they usually have to ice pack my arm to get the blood to stop when I'm done.

Water clearly does a better job of hydrating me than black coffee does.

FredDoyle

I actually talked to my doctor about this and you are correct. Only water counts as water. She said things like crystal light and tea (even with out adding anything to the tea) takes away from the purity of the water and does add things to our bodies that we don't necessarily need.

Get a new doctor.
Even coffee and tea don't really dehydrate you and can be counted (if you want to count).

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/06/08/water-eight-glasses-myth.html

TrailRunner61

I discussed this with my neurologist. He said that ALL liquid counts. Liquids come from many food sources also, like pasta, yogurt, the milk in your cereal, water in oatmeal, etc. Fruits and vegetables also have a lot of water in them. Look at watermelon! It's full of water.
I used to think that the water in coffee or other caffeinated drinks shouldnt count but if I go out and run after having some, I wont have to (yeah tmi) pee because I sweat it off. If I had stayed home, I'd be in the bathroom within 15 minutes.

Again, perhaps tmi, but If you think not getting enough water is an issue for one of you, check your pee. If it's dark yellow, drink until it's clear! Repeat as necessary!

shelbyfrootcake

It all counts. Liquid is liquid. Some stuff isn't as good as others, and some stuff is outright terrible, but it all still counts towards the end of day total.

prairiedawg2014

i drink 2 - 3 cups of green tea everyday, i count that as water along with my regular water. i also count crystal lite as a water .

azjenny72

I count water as water. I stopped drinking crystal lite because even though it is "sugar free" I noticed that it was having an affect on my blood sugars. However when I did drink it, I didn't count it because it has calories as minimal as they may be.

neverstray

The experts disagree, so I don't expect MFP members to agree. What I have read is that the research suggests that it all counts, coffe, tea, juice, ect. It all counts as water. Even your food contributes to your water intake. So someone that eats salad all day has a much higher water intake than someone who doesn't eat much veggies or fruit. So, you can count a lot of that as water. And, therefore, you don't have to drink as much water.

I count coffee, tea, and water. I don't drink crystal light, but I would count that. I don't drink juice, but if I did, I would count that.

Read before you make an opinion. There is tons and tons written on this topic. You could take either side. For me, I don't view things as independant from other things. It's one big giant intake valve. Water is contined in those things, and the research suggests that the myth about coffee dehydration is just simply not true. There is a small teeny tiny bit of dehydration, but it
IS almost so small that it is not detectable. Also, research suggests that if you eat a proper diet, including your veggies and fruits, you don't need 8 glasses of water. That is also a myth.

But, whatever your opinion is on this, it is not really that important. Do whatever you want.

kariinbliss

i was wondering the same thing as well... i drink a bottle of crystal ice sparkling water (pomegrante flavored) each day instead of my usual diet pepsi. both have 0 calories, but is the water any better?

karenwill2

I count water. Water is all I drink for the most part with the exception of my 45 calorie energy/vitamin drink. But I love my water so much, it is easy for me to be that way. Everything else is just gross to me.

TheCaren

I've heard it both ways. Only clear water in it's original form counts as water. But when I was in Weight Watchers, you could count a certain amount of ounces per day of things like Crystal Light or Mio as water. It was great for me back then because the zero calorie flavoring was the only thing that made the water palatable! I guess the question to ask would be, what is it in the water that we need so badly? Because if it's strictly the hydration, I'm not seeing how Crystal Light or Mio would affect that. I don't drink those items myself , but I could certainly argue in support of them.

I've heard it back and forth (even from those who would count Crystal Light as water) as to whether iced tea or coffee count. Some say the caffeine in them negates the value of the liquid because it dehydrates. If that's true, what about their decaffinated alternatives?

Currently, I'm only counting clear water as water. But when my water is low for the day (less than 64 ounces) I think back to other beverages I've consumed and figure they have to have had some benefit toward hydration.

aliciagetshealthy

For hydration purposes? Any liquid and plenty of different foods. The "only water" myth has been dispelled many, many times. For my actual water counter? Just plain water, but only because I prefer it to the additives you could put it. However, the additives don't make the value of the water any less. It's just not nearly as big a deal as so many make it out to be. my $.02

Greg3705

To be fair her tea is just water with crystalized ginger in it. Mine is the herbal tea bags

CapeCodSheila

If it's decaf, non-carbonated and minimal calories, I count it as water. That's from my old WW life.
I don't count tea or coffee if I put anything but sweetener in it
Funny how many opinions there are on this. great topic