do you count your coffee in with water for the day?

2012Brenda
2012Brenda Posts: 56
in Food and Nutrition
I'm not the best at drinking all my water each day (8 x 8 oz glasses). I have also heard/read we should drink half of our weight in ounces of water per day. If this is true I'm really struggling. :huh:

Do you count your coffee or tea toward your water total each day? :drinker:

Replies

  • jenneal89
    jenneal89 Posts: 243
    Is this a serious question or a joke about the condensed soup?

    If serious then no especially if caffeinated because caffeine dehydrates you.. Count water as water.
  • lookpretty
    lookpretty Posts: 276 Member
    at my job we say if you have a cup of coffee to have another glass of water to over compensate but medical community is in disagreement how much of an effect the caffiene has, if you had 8 ounces of coffee sure its a diaretic but did you maybe get 1 or 2 ounces of hydration? I dont count it and add an extra glass of water for the day
  • tammihart
    tammihart Posts: 953 Member
    I only count plain water as water, not tea, not crystal light.......
  • jtumbiolo
    jtumbiolo Posts: 1
    I was told no by a fitness trainer. He basically said 8 oz as soon as you get up to hydrate from sleep. Drink 64 oz a day. Also it helps to drink 8 before each meal to feel more satisfied if your portions are smaller than usual. I like to add the Mio flavoring so it's not just plain water all the time.
  • dustyd48
    dustyd48 Posts: 14 Member
    I count my coffee or teas as water consumed during the day. I add anything added to the coffee such as creamer and sugar as calories. It is very hard to give up the sugar for me since I'm from the South.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    my coffee has 200 ml of water and 3g of coffee, so I count the 200 ml of water if I'm adding up my total water intake.
  • dustyd48
    dustyd48 Posts: 14 Member
    I was curious (because I've been wondering about coffee and looked through the food listing.

    Plain black coffee is 2 calories and the sodium is 5. Decaf is 0 for everything.


    Coffee - Brewed from grounds, 1 cup (8 fl oz) 2 0 0 0 0 5


    Coffee - Decaf, Black, 12 oz 0 0 0 0 0 0
  • martha1514
    martha1514 Posts: 20
    I do but I don't think you are supposed to...I try to drink at least 3 cups of water in addition to 2 cups of coffee but that's hard because I rarely get thirsty.
  • martha1514
    martha1514 Posts: 20
    Have you tried xylitol in your coffee! It helped me break my sugar addiction. You can find it at health food stores and if you find you like it you can order it on Amazon in 5lb bags. I think it tastes just like sugar and it doesn't affect your glycemic index. It's all natural too..from birch trees.
  • brevislux
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
    No.

    Caffeine makes you pee. You don't gain any liquid drinking coffee.
  • LoriBeMe
    LoriBeMe Posts: 165 Member
    I count water as water.. just sayin' :smile:
  • rydersgrammy1
    rydersgrammy1 Posts: 28
    I do, but I only drink one cup a day... I usually drink 64oz of water plus a lot of unsweetened tea everyday....
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
    unless it contains a diuretic like caffeine or alcohol, it counts as 99.99999 percent water.

    given this, i count anything decaf. i do try to drink some plain water, but i like it more with crystal light in it. if that makes me drink more water, all the better.
  • lizardcave
    lizardcave Posts: 42 Member
    Nope. I don't.

    Just plain 'ole water counts.
  • PeakToValley
    PeakToValley Posts: 8 Member
    From Wikipedia "Health effects of coffee":

    "Contrary to popular belief, caffeine does not act as a diuretic when consumed in moderation (less than five cups a day or 500 to 600 milligrams), and does not lead to dehydration or to a water-electrolyte imbalance; current evidence suggests that caffeinated beverages contribute to the body's daily fluid requirements no differently from pure water.[34][35][36][37]"

    Three of the four references are journal articles. I can't vouch for them, I have only scanned them very briefly, but it's certainly enough to call into question the old assumptions, at least for me.

    As others have said in other posts/threads, the easiest (best?) way to track your body's hydration is by the color of your urine.
  • busymomma97
    busymomma97 Posts: 75 Member
    As others have said in other posts/threads, the easiest (best?) way to track your body's hydration is by the color of your urine.
    [/quote]

    Agreed ^..this is the rule of thumb I use.

    However, on my food log I don't count my coffee as actual water intake, I do count the calories/sugar, but not for actual water..figure if it should be counted for water then it is just an added bonus. I do lightly flavor about 6 out of 12 cups of water I drink and I still count that as water intake. I use those green tea packets and only use half a pack for 3 cups of water.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I'm not the best at drinking all my water each day (8 x 8 oz glasses). I have also heard/read we should drink half of our weight in ounces of water per day. If this is true I'm really struggling. :huh:

    Do you count your coffee or tea toward your water total each day? :drinker:

    I couldn't imagine even trying to drink 200oz of water daily, I'd never leave the bathroom. I suspect there's absolutely no benefit to doing so, in fact you may be depleting electrolytes (google hyponatremia......it's not common and you have to drink a lot of water over a long time but.....)

    Your body is able to get most of the fluids it needs from food (an apple is over 80% water - check this out http://www.ca.uky.edu/enri/pubs/enri129.pdf)

    Fluids are fluids, even though caffeine is mildly diuretic you realize a net increase in fluids when drink a cup of coffee.

    We've been brainwashed by the makers of bottled water and sports drinks (guess who finances much of the so-called "hydration research"). While I wouldn't advocate the old deprivation models of endurance training practiced in the past I don't think we need to be constantly hyper-hydrated either.

    Trust your thirst.
  • 2012Brenda
    2012Brenda Posts: 56
    thanks for all the responses--seems we all differ a little but what ever works for each of us

    I can not drink more than 2 cups of coffee a day without it killing my stomach. So I'm not worried about drinking caffein in excess. My iced tea is decaf and on that rare occassion I drink a soda it is decaf. I do count my ff creamer and sweet n low on the log-thanks for the reinforcement to keep up with that.

    Best wishes to all to have a great productive week.
  • maldham
    maldham Posts: 1
    I don't count coffee as water, but I will count herbal tea. When looking at your water intake don't forget that much of what you eat contains water (however alcohol and caffeine will dehydrate you so be careful). My best advice (and way of looking at it) is not to stress over how many glasses of water I drink, but I listen to my body. I drink mostly water (juice and soda is high in sugars anyways) throughout the day, when I'm thirsty, and gradually I have worked up to handling quite a bit of water intake. Instead of focusing on how much water you drink try looking at cutting out the unnecessary beverages and replacing them with water. This strategy has worked for me.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    All I know is when I tried to donate blood the first time after nothing but coffee (and breakfast, just hadn't had any water other than a swallow or two when I brushed my teeth that morning), they had a hard time finding a vein, and getting a pint out of me took FOREVER!

    The next time (and every time since), I make sure I have plenty of water before I go in - no problem finding a vein, getting a pint took easily half the time or less than that first time, and they usually have to ice pack my arm when I'm done because the blood keeps flowing (sorry if you're squeamish :tongue:).

    So I only count my water as water, because coffee and other drinks do not hydrate me the way plain ol' water does. Plus more water is better for me all the way around - I notice a difference in my skin, my hair, my energy, how things, uh, move on a 'regular' basis, etc. :bigsmile:

    I still have my two cups of coffee a day (plus an iced coffee or tea here and there) but make sure I also get at LEAST 8 glasses of water a day - that's what works for me.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    (1) The amount of caffeine in regular brewed coffee is simply too low to have a significant diuretic effect that will offset the amount of water in the coffee. It might be a good idea to drink a little more water to "offset" the diuretic effect, but a whole extra cup is overkill.

    (2) Overkill with water is not a bad thing. It's hard to drink "too much" water, and if you are drinking water that is mixed with electrolytes (like the potassium found in coffee) it's damned near impossible. So if you choose to drink an extra three glasses of water to make up for a cup of coffee and as a result you are drinking 90 ounces of water a day, go for it. The extra walks to the bathroom are good exercise.

    (3) 8 8oz glasses is an arbitrary number that may or may not apply to you. You can skip the whole argument by checking urine color - pale yellow or clear = you're good.

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