What counts as "water?"

MayaSPapaya

I think you could probably count it, but I log the crystal light packet as well. I always make sure to keep water next to me, and that gives me more of an incentive to drink it.

tigersword

Obviously soda/beer are not something you would give a person if they were dehydrated. Water, tea, crystal light seem to be ok.

Why not? Both are 90%+ water, and both hydrate perfectly fine. Due to poor sanitation conditions, people in the 1700's did not drink water, as it was too contaminated. They drank ale almost exclusively. They didn't all die of dehydration.

KenosFeoh

Weight Watchers counts pretty much any 0-calorie fluid as water. Or it did when I was a member more than a year ago.

1two3four

I have a terrible time trying to get my 8 - 8 ounce glasses of water down each day. Not successful most days. When I get close it's usually because I mix some of the crystal light flavors in a bottle of water, but then I feel like this is cheat. Does that still count as water? HELP!

With the exception of coffee and cocoa if I make it in a cup with water and drink it, I count it as "water". Flavor packets, tea, herbal tea and water with a splash of juice or squeeze of citrus is all "water" to me. I just make sure to log whatever I added. All of this is really helpful when you're like me and stuck with well water that's not the greatest.

demorelli

Wait, does adding the flavored powder turn it into non-water? Heavens, what the minerals it picks up on the way to your glass must do to it! Now you have to distill every drop of water before you drink it, just to make sure it counts. And you'd better not put it into a bottle because the structure of the water molecule will automatically pick up trace amounts of the glass, plastic, or whatever else you put it in. Heck, you'd better filter the air you distill it from too, otherwise Lord knows what could end up in it.

Sorry, on a more serious note, water, tea, coffee (you might only count 6 out of 8 ounces because the caffeine will dehydrate you for an ounce or two), soda (true, they're full of sugar or artifical sweeteners and everyone knows they're bad for you but your body still counts the water content as water), milk (only count 5 out of 8 ounces because the other contents take up the other 3), ...you get the point. If your body processes it as water, go ahead and count it as water.

Things NOT to count as water: Alcohol (not only should this not count as water, but you should prehydrate to counteract the dehydration it causes), energy drinks (the caffiene content is high enough that it will dehydrate you more than it hydrates you), crisco.

SariC3

Things NOT to count as water: Alcohol (not only should this not count as water, but you should prehydrate to counteract the dehydration it causes), energy drinks (the caffiene content is high enough that it will dehydrate you more than it hydrates you), crisco.

this^

_FATNSASSY

Question... so why is it... the more water I drink, the more thirsty I am? I drink a lot of plain water in a day... more than 15 cups.

Yogi_Carl

Not this one again!

<goes to put the kettle on ...>

queenbea77

LOL, evidently a frequent question? I say to each his own - if you drink water with Crystal light in it and you feel well hydrated then so be it. For me I count my "plain water" as my water intake for the day. I drink several cups of coffee in the cold weather but I don't consider them as part of my intake, and I don't count any other drinks or fruits (watermelon, etc) as part either. This is just something I do for myself to try to up my water. And I try not to drink more than 8 oz at a time because the more I drink the quicker I go to the bathroom and then I've just flushed away what I drank. That is why I have a bottle of water fon my desk, in my car, on my nightstand etc. If it's there I'll drink it - just like some people will drink a soda, coffee, tea or beer - if it's in reach. That's why I don't have it in reach. The way I look at it - "why eat clean if I'm not going to drink clean?"

gracielynn1011

I use Crystal Light sometimes, it still counts as water. Also, I do a mind trick. Instead of telling myself I need to drink 8 glasses of water. I tell myself I need to drink 4 bottles of water, because each bottle is technically 2 glasses. I carry the same bottle that I refill from the refrigerator filter all day, and just count the bottles as I finish them. It makes it easy for me to get 6-8 per day and I don't feel pressured to have to drink more.

ETA: I forgot to mention that if I occasionally have a soda or something else, I do not count it as water. But I rarely have those now.

swissbrit

Water and herb or fruit teas no sugar..... One thought fruit teas cold zapped with a soda stream for those who dont like plain water might be an idea....

tomg33

I couldn't always drink water so easily but I worked my way up to it. Yesterday I drank 6L of pure water (1.6 gallons). I'm a 220lb male, I don't suggest you drink this much, but the point is that it's just a habit you have to form. I have a 16oz glass at my desk and carry it around with me if I'm at home

judydelo1

My Naturopath tells his patients to drink eight 8-oz glasses per day of clean water (no fluoride or chlorine). The other liquids are in addition. And for every cup of coffee he said to drink an extra cup of water. These recommendations are to keep you hydrated and also to help keep you detoxing.

Back in December I was out having lunch with my son we asked for bottled water. They brought us a brand I never had before in a tall slim bottle . . . VOSS from Norway. The bottle is 3.1 fl oz, just over 3 cups.

I saved the bottle and have been using it since then, filling it 3 times a day. I work from home, so using a glass "water bottle" is not a problem. I'm also fortunate because we have clean well water!

THE BIG TIP is that for some reason, the water chugs down so easy. No, it glides down. There is something about the shape and size of the opening and the shape and size of this bottle that make drinking water so effortless, lol.

So if anyone out there is struggling to meet your goal of drinking 8+ cups of water a day . . . I suggest finding VOS, and then keep reusing the bottle. I know it's sold at the D'Agostino's grocery stores in NYC. Its probably all over.

koootenay

Wait, does adding the flavored powder turn it into non-water? Heavens, what the minerals it picks up on the way to your glass must do to it! Now you have to distill every drop of water before you drink it, just to make sure it counts. And you'd better not put it into a bottle because the structure of the water molecule will automatically pick up trace amounts of the glass, plastic, or whatever else you put it in. Heck, you'd better filter the air you distill it from too, otherwise Lord knows what could end up in it.

Sorry, on a more serious note, water, tea, coffee (you might only count 6 out of 8 ounces because the caffeine will dehydrate you for an ounce or two), soda (true, they're full of sugar or artifical sweeteners and everyone knows they're bad for you but your body still counts the water content as water), milk (only count 5 out of 8 ounces because the other contents take up the other 3), ...you get the point. If your body processes it as water, go ahead and count it as water.

Things NOT to count as water: Alcohol (not only should this not count as water, but you should prehydrate to counteract the dehydration it causes), energy drinks (the caffiene content is high enough that it will dehydrate you more than it hydrates you), crisco.

^^haha....this : )

xiofett

Oprah did a big disservice to her audience by reinforcing this belief as well. ... (She also brought on the pox of Drs Oz and Phil, for which she shouldn't be forgotten or forgiven).

This. If mass media and talk show hosts are pimping it, you can safely call BS on it.

Oh, and I almost threw something at my TV the first time I saw the bottled water commercial where the kids soccer coach went to give them a sports drink and the one smug little girl on the team asked why they weren't drinking water instead. That was just shy of the "sugar is sugar" commercial that the HFCS industry put out. (And people wonder why I don't watch TV.)

As for what you track, I rather like plain old tap water so that's all I count. However, I'll agree that adding a little flavoring doesn't magically make it not water. As long as it doesn't contain a ton of sugar, caffeine or alcohol I don't see the harm in counting it towards your hydration.

upgetupgetup

Plain water is my favourite beverage, actually, and it's hard for me to understand how other people might not also love it.

But yeah any liquid will be ok (including that in soups!) The pee test mentioned above is the best measure, if you're worried.

However would like to recommend low-sodium club soda with a fresh cut lemon wedge & fresh mint sprigs and like a teaspoon of sugar, which is only 20 cals, because that is almost a mojito, which is the second best drink in the world, and imo way tastier than Crystal Light (but if you like that nothing wrong with it either).

Yogi_Carl

Also remember that vitamins C and B complex are water soluble and you could be flushing these essential vitamins down the toilet by drinking so much you are going to the loo too often. You can over-drink.

chardi7

Water...I also count it when I mix it with Crystal light.

Cr01502

Any fluid counts for hydration. The 8 glasses of water claim is a myth. The actual medical recommendation was about 2.5 liters of fluid, and the text specifically mentioned coffee, tea, soda, juice, milk, and water all as viable sources.

It was the bottled water industry that changed the word "fluid" to "water" in a marketing scheme to increase sales.

This.

If it splashes. You can count it as water.