What drinks qualify as water?

Also remember caffeine is a diuretic, and is counterproductive to hydration goals.

That depends on your personal tastes and whether or not your hydration goals include "enjoying life."

In other words, never drinking any liquid other than 'water' is counterproductive to my "living a fulfilling and happy life" goals.

Believe it or not, I was able to find a way to meet both goals. I'm guessing that, with decades of intensive labor, maybe one or two other people could manage to do it too.

Fair enough, if overstated.

I should have qualified it. I should have said "Drinking primarily highly caffeinated drinks can have a diuretic effect and may be counterproductive in reaching hydration goals"

I assumed the OP meant large amounts of coffee (as I consumed in grad school). I didn't mean never have any caffeine - but I didn't make that clear. I just meant that large amounts of caffeine can be a bit detrimental to staying well hydrated. And as I linked to earlier, with a single venti having (nearly) the levels the Mayo clinic states can have an effect, it's at least worth some consideration. Or not - I really don't care anymore.

water only. anything else I add in my food area. extra liquid? maybe so, just an added benefit.

All of them

what drinks qualify as water?


water

I just count plain water, not even unsweetened tea, but thats just me

Just drink WATER! Why is this concept so hard for people to grasp? Why do people feel the need to drink FLAVORED things? :grumble:

Because I'm privileged enough to be able to buy flavored drinks with minimal calories, which I much prefer to the taste of water.

I hope that isn't a difficult concept for you to understand..

No drinks count, not even water! You'll just pee it out so it doesn't even do anything!


Most drinks count. You're getting water from everything you eat too, so you're not going to dehydrate... Just don't count alcohol?

yah, cause its impossible to feel dehydrated even when you arent.

just like its impossible to feel skinny unless you lost more weight.

I didn't say anything to go against that..

diuretic (adjective) di . u. ret . ic - increasing the volume of the urine excreted

Guess what happens if I drink 20oz of water...

What I do is I put anything that has nutritional factors that MFP tracks (calories, carbs, sodium, vitamins, ect.) in my food section to make sure I track that stuff. Anything with out that stuff (such as unsweetened tea or herbal teas) I count as water.

I don't know why I'm letting myself get sucked into this thread! Argh!!

Water is water. If you're counting water, count the water. If you're counting drinks, then count your coffee, tea, juice, pop, grease... or whatever else you want to call your "drinks/liquids/whatever".

I don't know why I'm going to waste my breath (or finger muscles typing, gee how many calories.....er nevermind) here but I'll do it just for my own satisfaction.

1. MFP includes water tracking for the same reasons that nutritionists, doctors and dietitians recommend the infamous 8 glasses of water a day especially when trying to lose weight. It's not to flush your system of toxins, it's not to purify your body of unnecessary calories, it's simply because your biological processes and in particular metabolism, need water in order to function. Certain studies have shown the body's metabolism is more efficient when you are properly hydrated. So henceforth, from now on when someone asks a question about logging water in MFP, unless they say they are trying to flush or something else, it would be safe to assume that their goals are related to the above.

2. Based on the goal being hydration, ANY form of intake that contains water would technically "count". I would assume that no one's going to sit down and try to figure out how much water content was in that pineapple they just ate, but it's there and it does help hydrate you. Just the same, so does coffee, so does tea, so does diet soda, etc. Anyone that tries to tell you that water somehow becomes something other than water because you dissolve another material in it is someone that likely failed High School Chemistry. There is no molecular change in the water as a result of dissolving another substance in it. Molecular change requires a chemical reaction (i.e. you'd have to add heat or it would create heat and generate an all new compound).

3. The whole water tracking in MFP is stupid in the first place. Different people need different amounts of water to remain hydrated. How much you sweat out when you work, how much your body loses through respiration (yes you lose water through breathing), the overall make-up of your body, cellular differences, the list goes on and on. Instead of worrying so much about what counts toward your magic number of 8 cups of water, just make sure you're properly hydrated. Note the color of your urine when you use the toilet and if it's too dark, drink more. If you feel hungry when you shouldn't, try drinking a glass of liquid and wait 20 minutes to see what happens. If you know you're going to be involved in strenuous activity and sweating a lot, drink more (remembering to replace not just water but electrolytes too).

Beyond that this discussion has so little use it's pathetic.

sure it is, next time you go to get a coffee from a cafe, i hope they give you a mug of hot water :drinker: since its you know, the same exact thing anyway.

-Are you familiar with atoms and molecules?

-Do you understand what a water molecule is?

-Are you aware that a water molecule from a cup of coffee is identical to a water molecule from a bottle of drinking water?

Fair enough, if overstated.

I should have qualified it. I should have said "Drinking primarily highly caffeinated drinks can have a diuretic effect and may be counterproductive in reaching hydration goals"

I assumed the OP meant large amounts of coffee (as I consumed in grad school). I didn't mean never have any caffeine - but I didn't make that clear. I just meant that large amounts of caffeine can be a bit detrimental to staying well hydrated. And as I linked to earlier, with a single venti having (nearly) the levels the Mayo clinic states can have an effect, it's at least worth some consideration. Or not - I really don't care anymore.

I understand what you mean, but the solution is just drink more liquids if you're dehydrated or thirsty. It's not like there is some physical limitation to prevent it. Seems like at least as reasonable a solution as "don't drink caffeinated beverages" especially since people who are doing so are likely to be doing so because they enjoy caffeine.