Tracking water consumption - what counts?

AbnormalYak
AbnormalYak Posts: 55 Member
in Food and Nutrition
When I'm tracking water consumption what counts as a glass of water? Does it have to be literally water and nothing else? How about a cup of peppermint tea? Or English tea with milk? I'm English and I drink prodigious amounts of tea every day (dash of semi-skimmed milk, no sugar). If I try to drink 8 glasses of water on top of that it comes to like 8 pints of fluid in a day, and I may as well just sit on the loo pouring fluid in one end while it pours out the other.
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Replies

  • Cheeryohs
    Cheeryohs Posts: 3 Member
    I drink iced tea all day and have wondered the same thing. I believe it does count as "water" intake. Heck even water in food counts! One thing I recently learned is tea has a lot of fluoride In it and too much flouride can be bad. So I've started to replace a couple of glasses of tea with just plain water. It too has fluoride, but probably not as much. Tea leaves, when they grow, absorb a lot of stuff in the environment. Young tea leaves are best. But I'm addicted to Lipton tea!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    water in all fluids and foods contributes to your daily hydration balance. No point in added a large water intake to a large coffee / tea intake.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    just stay hydrated. If your pee is yellow you need more fluids, and regular H2O is your best option (technically only water is water..it is H2O)
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
    I don't track my water intake because I always have a cup next to me throughout the day and counting how many times I refill it would be annoying, but personally I would only track water as water. If I add a Crystal light to my water, I make sure to track it.
    Like someone else said, if your pee is yellow you need to drink more. If its clear, you're hydrated. That's how I monitor my water drinking.
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
    Water is water. :wink: Other things are beverages and you can enjoy them all you want, but drink the pure H2O that you need. :bigsmile: The other stuff is liquid snacks.:tongue:
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
    aim for a gallon or more a day. your body eventually adjusts, but there's nothing wrong with extra trips to the loo.
    and it's really great for your kidneys.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I only count water as water. Some people count tea and coffee or other fluids. I go for 8-10 glasses of water a day, but also consider my overall fluid intake, as well as pee color, as others have mentioned, in determining if I'm getting enough to drink during the day.

    Some days hit 8 glasses before dinner, some days not - depends on how much I've worked out, how hot the weather is, etc.
  • jessgetshealthy
    jessgetshealthy Posts: 50
    Like AmyRhubarb, I only count water as water. I don't count the water in
    coffee or tea, just plain water (or water with added Crystal Light or MiO).
    I usually drink 8-12 glasses a day of plain water.
  • AbnormalYak
    AbnormalYak Posts: 55 Member
    I don't understand why I can't count a cup of tea. It's 99.9% water. If I drank a glass of water and then ate a teabag I'd count the water. What's the difference? Why are we tracking water anyway? To make sure we get enough fluid, I suppose. So all fluid should count.
  • mummamckay
    mummamckay Posts: 12 Member
    I count my squash as a glass of water, as I don't like plain water.
    So it's, no added sugar squash, added to a glass of water.
  • candacefausset
    candacefausset Posts: 297 Member
    I drink iced tea all day and have wondered the same thing. I believe it does count as "water" intake. Heck even water in food counts! One thing I recently learned is tea has a lot of fluoride In it and too much flouride can be bad. So I've started to replace a couple of glasses of tea with just plain water. It too has fluoride, but probably not as much. Tea leaves, when they grow, absorb a lot of stuff in the environment. Young tea leaves are best. But I'm addicted to Lipton tea!

    Not completely true. Water in food is processed differently than just plain water inside your body. I don't think tea hurts to count as water since it is an infusion and not a change in the chemical composition. Same goes with water with lemon juice in it or that has had fruit soaked in it the night before. Just make sure to count calories from the fruit juices.

    Coffee on the other hand, while still an infusion can be a diuretic and can defeat the purpose of water intake.
  • fyoufat
    fyoufat Posts: 85
    I personally only track water (unless it has cal. obviously) only because I'm anal about my diary on MFP, but I heard tea with nothing added "can" be counted towards your cups technically...
  • summersbest
    summersbest Posts: 194 Member
    I was on a medically supervised diet years ago and was told that any non caffinated drink counts towards your daily intake liquid. ~
  • candacefausset
    candacefausset Posts: 297 Member
    I don't understand why I can't count a cup of tea. It's 99.9% water. If I drank a glass of water and then ate a teabag I'd count the water. What's the difference? Why are we tracking water anyway? To make sure we get enough fluid, I suppose. So all fluid should count.

    Fluid is completely different than water. Fluid refers to all flowing substances- milk, soda, alcohol, blood, urine, sweat, and a lot more. Water which your body requires to perform daily functions, is just water. Like I said, tea shouldn't matter since it is an infusion. But other drinks like soda and milk are processed in the body like foods due to a combination of sugars, proteins and calories. Water gets processed and goes directly into the blood stream and is then taken to other parts of the body to hydrate everything properly. Since your body is made up of 75% water and you sweat, pee and cry away a good portion of it everyday, not to mention what is used in every day functions like skin and hair growth, etc you need to replenish it every day. By not drinking enough pure water (infusions being ok to some extent) you are potentially keeping yourself in perpetual dehydration. And keeping your body in dehydration, makes it age prematurely- especially on the outside where your skin is starved of water in order to use it for internal organs.
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    I only count water as water.
  • lkcuts
    lkcuts Posts: 224
    :drinker: Hey just got this off the web site MyFoodDiary.com. It is the equasion in which you can figure out how much water you should be drinking...You should have 1/2 ounce of water per your body weight per pound. the formula is .5x your weight = the ounces you should have.
    If you weigh 200 pounds it would be .5x200=100 ounces of water per day. Not as hard as it sounds. If you purchace a liter of water thats 32 ounces so divide the 100 ounces by 32 ounces that comes to 3 bottles of 1 liter each a day. I carry mine with me everywhere and at least try to get in 2 if I can. really I should shoot for 3 at my weight. always sipping through out the day makes it easier than trying to consume it all at once.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    I don't understand why I can't count a cup of tea. It's 99.9% water. If I drank a glass of water and then ate a teabag I'd count the water. What's the difference? Why are we tracking water anyway? To make sure we get enough fluid, I suppose. So all fluid should count.

    Fluid is completely different than water. Fluid refers to all flowing substances- milk, soda, alcohol, blood, urine, sweat, and a lot more. Water which your body requires to perform daily functions, is just water. Like I said, tea shouldn't matter since it is an infusion. But other drinks like soda and milk are processed in the body like foods due to a combination of sugars, proteins and calories. Water gets processed and goes directly into the blood stream and is then taken to other parts of the body to hydrate everything properly. Since your body is made up of 75% water and you sweat, pee and cry away a good portion of it everyday, not to mention what is used in every day functions like skin and hair growth, etc you need to replenish it every day. By not drinking enough pure water (infusions being ok to some extent) you are potentially keeping yourself in perpetual dehydration. And keeping your body in dehydration, makes it age prematurely- especially on the outside where your skin is starved of water in order to use it for internal organs.

    ^ nonsense.

    water is the fundamental fluid in everything you eat or drink. it all counts toward hydration.

    the 64oz per day rule is an old wive's tale. ingest that much or don't. it's up to you. your body will tell you when you need more. it's called thirst.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/drinking-8-glasses-of-wat_n_899276.html

    drinking until you "pee clear" is bro science. all that means is that you are beyond required levels of hydration and are peeing so frequently to remove the excess fluid that very little waste product is being removed in the process.
  • RobP1192
    RobP1192 Posts: 310 Member
    Just record the water when it's plain jane water and nothing else. Why short change yourself? That's like wanting to burn 300 calories by running, but then including an extra 50 calories from chewing that piece of gum. I mean, just my thought.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    I don't understand why I can't count a cup of tea. It's 99.9% water. If I drank a glass of water and then ate a teabag I'd count the water. What's the difference? Why are we tracking water anyway? To make sure we get enough fluid, I suppose. So all fluid should count.

    It does count. You're fine. I don't track water/liquids/fluids either. If I am thirsty, I know I need something to drink. That rarely happens, though, because I do like feeling well-hydrated, and I tend to get headaches when I don't drink enough.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    what's if it's ice?


    does it count?
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    what's if it's ice?


    does it count?

    troublemaker!

    thumb-nose.gif
  • SoViLicious
    SoViLicious Posts: 2,633 Member
    Why do people have to make drinking water complicated?
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/drinking-enough-water-topic-overview

    An extract from that article:
    Do you have to drink only water to stay hydrated?
    All liquids help you stay hydrated. Water is usually the best choice, because it’s free (if you’re drinking tap water) and has no sugar or calories. But most healthy people can get enough fluid through the beverages they consume every day. These can include water, fruit juices, coffee, sodas, iced tea, and other drinks.

    Experts say that it's not true that beverages that have caffeine-such as coffee, tea, and cola drinks-always dehydrate you. Healthy people who consume moderate amounts of caffeine don't lose more fluid than people who don't have any caffeine.1 A moderate amount of caffeine is about 200 to 300 milligrams a day. That's about two to four 8-ounce cups of coffee.

    You don't need water. Milk, tea, coffee, some fruits; everything counts towards your intake of water.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    Why do people have to make drinking water complicated?

    drinking water. harder than rocket science!
  • Morninglory81
    Morninglory81 Posts: 1,190 Member
    what's if it's ice?


    does it count?

    You have to take into account the negative cal created because your body has to warm it to body temp. :laugh:
  • jaxxie
    jaxxie Posts: 576 Member
    Apparently it only works if it's complicated!!! :noway:
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    water in all fluids and foods contributes to your daily hydration balance. No point in added a large water intake to a large coffee / tea intake.

    This is pretty much how I feel. Water is the main ingredient in most all beverages, so I just track how many ounces of fluid I take in, not necessarily only water consumption. When I get to the point where I have to pee every hour or less I cut back, fully hydrated at that point.
  • AbnormalYak
    AbnormalYak Posts: 55 Member
    According to the British Dietetic Association "Tea and coffee (and some soft drinks such as cola) do contain caffeine, which is a
    mild diuretic (makes you want to urinate) so in large amounts this could result in dehydration. However the style of tea and coffee and the amounts we drink in the UK are unlikely to have a negative effect so the good news is that tea and coffee can count towards your fluid intake." (http://www.bda.uk.com/news/110610DehydrationWeek.pdf)

    That's good enough for me - tea counts!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    I don't understand why I can't count a cup of tea. It's 99.9% water. If I drank a glass of water and then ate a teabag I'd count the water. What's the difference? Why are we tracking water anyway? To make sure we get enough fluid, I suppose. So all fluid should count.

    It does. Ignore advice from people who say water with X in counts but water with tea in doesn't. They're talking nonsense so stick to your common sense.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    WATER

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