What all do you count as WATER?

fizzletto · January 2013

I don't drink plain water if I can help it. Hate the taste. I add sugar-free cordial to water, or I have cups of green tea/herbal tea/fruit tea (without milk or sugar), or diet sodas, or black coffees, or fat free milk. As long as I get 6+ glasses of fluid a day (doesn't matter what kind of fluid) then I'm hydrated and happy. (Of course, if I drink anything that has calories in it, I log those calories, but I still also log it as another glass of fluid)

MoreBean13 · January 2013

anything with caffeine is a diuretic and makes you LOSE water so best NOT to count them as water. Start chugging the water, babes! If it tastes gross, get a filter, flavour with zero calorie lemon juice, and you can count decaf teas and coffee as water.

x

Totally wrong.

You can obtain fluids for hydration from beverages and food. It is not just plain water that hydrates you and caffeine is basically no more a diuretic than water is unless consumed in large quantities, and even then, the diuretic effect is minimal.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283 - any beverage counts

"beverages such as milk and juice are composed mostly of water. Even beer, wine and caffeinated beverages — such as coffee, tea or soda — can contribute"

"What you eat also provides a significant portion of your fluid needs. On average, food provides about 20 percent of total water intake."

http://www.jacn.org/content/19/5/591.short - any beverage counts

"This preliminary study found no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males. Advising people to disregard caffeinated beverages as part of the daily fluid intake is not substantiated by the results of this study."

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/12834577 - the diuretic effect of caffeine is minimal

"...nor does it cause significant dehydration or electrolyte imbalance during exercise."

OP: you can count anything you want in the ticker, but water is not the only thing that hydrates you.

Additionally, there's no such thing as zero-calorie lemon juice.

Ramberta · January 2013

I have heard that consuming MORE than 8 oz of water at one time is wasteful (i.e. it'll go straight through you) because that is the maximum your body can absorb all at once. Perhaps that's where the myth of having to have 8 separate cups per day came about.

In an average day I don't count my cups of water, but I probably have at least 8. My rule of thumb is, if it's been more than two hours since your last drink-- whatever it is, juice, tea, even diet soda-- drink some more of it, or preferably grab some water. A few mouthfuls every hour or two will keep you hydrated and feeling great. Once you start drinking lots of water, it's hard to stop! I get headaches when I go too long without water.

DontStopB_Leakin · January 2013

anything with caffeine is a diuretic and makes you LOSE water so best NOT to count them as water. Start chugging the water, babes! If it tastes gross, get a filter, flavour with zero calorie lemon juice, and you can count decaf teas and coffee as water.

x

Totally wrong.

You can obtain fluids for hydration from beverages and food. It is not just plain water that hydrates you and caffeine is basically no more a diuretic than water is unless consumed in large quantities, and even then, the diuretic effect is minimal.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283 - any beverage counts

"beverages such as milk and juice are composed mostly of water. Even beer, wine and caffeinated beverages — such as coffee, tea or soda — can contribute"

"What you eat also provides a significant portion of your fluid needs. On average, food provides about 20 percent of total water intake."

http://www.jacn.org/content/19/5/591.short - any beverage counts

"This preliminary study found no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males. Advising people to disregard caffeinated beverages as part of the daily fluid intake is not substantiated by the results of this study."

http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/12834577 - the diuretic effect of caffeine is minimal

"...nor does it cause significant dehydration or electrolyte imbalance during exercise."

OP: you can count anything you want in the ticker, but water is not the only thing that hydrates you.

BOOM! Science!

Sara is 110% right. I rarely drink straight water, except during and after workouts, and I'm plenty hydrated.

WinnerVictorious · January 2013

I have heard that consuming MORE than 8 oz of water at one time is wasteful (i.e. it'll go straight through you) because that is the maximum your body can absorb all at once. Perhaps that's where the myth of having to have 8 separate cups per day came about.

In an average day I don't count my cups of water, but I probably have at least 8. My rule of thumb is, if it's been more than two hours since your last drink-- whatever it is, juice, tea, even diet soda-- drink some more of it, or preferably grab some water. A few mouthfuls every hour or two will keep you hydrated and feeling great. Once you start drinking lots of water, it's hard to stop! I get headaches when I go too long without water.

i drink when i'm thirsty. i don't monitor my daily intake of liquids. that strategy has worked just fine for the past 45 years. :bigsmile:

kmorganlfc · January 2013

Our bodies are fantastic machines that can extract water from whatever it is mixed with to be used for hydration. It is such a special machine that even a biproduct of cell function can be reused to help with the efficiency of those cells i.e. a biproduct of burning glucose is....wait for it....water!!!

Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy

C6H12O6 + 6O2 = 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy

(This isn't evidence for the human body being 100% efficient, which would be absurd, but it does demonstrate how we can get water in ways we don't always think about).

Arguing with people who believe that there isn't any water in anything else but water is similar to arguing with people who believe the moon is made of cheese. The distinction between water and coffee, for example, is made in peoples' brains, not by their bodies. However, people are free to log their consumption in whatever ways they chose, if it helps them achieve whatever goals they are after. But if a person idiosyncratically chooses to not log coffee as water, then tries to convince others that this is a scientifically correct position, then they are wrong for doing so. Because it is NOT a scientifically correct position.

etoiles_argentees · January 2013

Didn't Jesus turn water into wine? :huh:

gddrdld · January 2013

There actually isn't much (or any) scientific evidence that we all need to be chugging water all day long. At least half of the water we need to stay hydrated comes from the water content of food, particularly if we are eating lots of fruit and vegetables. The water in all other drinks is also hydrating. As others have said, as long as you aren't thirsty and your urine is pale, you are fine. I grew up in a generation in which adults weren't lugging giant bottles around in public all the time. We were all fine.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! ^^This.

shanmackie · January 2013

Water. I do still count water if I add dehydrated coconut water to it, but I add the packet separately as calories too. I don't count anything else but water. Don't count coffee, it works in the reverse direction. Just add it as coffee in your food log.

WinnerVictorious · January 2013

Water. I do still count water if I add dehydrated coconut water to it, but I add the packet separately as calories too. I don't count anything else but water. Don't count coffee, it works in the reverse direction. Just add it as coffee in your food log.

log the water as water
log the coconut as calories
log the coffee as water
log the coffee as calories

MB_Positif · January 2013

There actually isn't much (or any) scientific evidence that we all need to be chugging water all day long. At least half of the water we need to stay hydrated comes from the water content of food, particularly if we are eating lots of fruit and vegetables. The water in all other drinks is also hydrating. As others have said, as long as you aren't thirsty and your urine is pale, you are fine. I grew up in a generation in which adults weren't lugging giant bottles around in public all the time. We were all fine.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! ^^This.

We should also consider the fact that our grandparents were not guzzling giant bottles of soda all day either...

sdumma · January 2013

I count water as water
I count tea as water
I count coffee as 1/2 water
I know coffee and tea has a lot of controversy regarding this. I have read more often than not that the amount caffeine dehydrates you isn't enough to cancel out the water in it.

CoachReddy · January 2013

i cant believe this thread has this many posts.

just drink water. not a hard concept, nor is it difficult.

any hydration you get from other drinks should just be a bonus.