Skip to content
  • Register
    • We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

    What do you count as 'water'?

    Posts: 32
    edited January 24 in Food and Nutrition
    I've noticed some variation in what people count toward their water intake. I usually count all non-alcoholic liquids toward water, as long as I also account for any calories the liquid may have. Then I wonder, should diet soda count, should coffee count, should decaf count, should orange juice count, should flavored waters count, should iced tea count? Maybe only calorie-free, decaffeinated beverages? I'm sure there are also purists who would say only clear H20 counts. What do you count toward your total water intake?

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register
    «1345

    Replies

    • Posts: 210 Member
      You could also include alcoholic drinks. One of the main reasons people in medieval times drank wines and ales was because it was safer than drinking water. Had such practices lead to the dehydration and dessication of the societies of the time many fewer of us would be here today.
    • Posts: 871 Member
      i only count water as water when it is only water. if you add flavour to it or anything to water i wouldnt count it as water or i could count vodka tonic as water
    • Posts: 2
      I think its best to to count Water as simply Water. No funny flavored stuff.
    • Posts: 31 Member
      This was actually one of the questions on my final in my dietetic class this past semester. The general rule of thumb is to count all juices, coffees and teas, caffeinated or decaffeinated, with your water count. You, of course, still need to account for the added calories in these liquids.
    • Posts: 1,896 Member
      Water is counted as water.
    • Posts: 8,329 Member
      anything that's liquid and isnt a diuretic. so i dont count coffee but i do count iced tea i make from caffeine free tisanes
    • Posts: 196
      Water. That's it.
    • Posts: 430 Member
      Nothing wrong with counting liquids that are caffeine & alcohol-free towards the daily 64-oz, but I just count plain water.
    • Posts: 86
      This was actually one of the questions on my final in my dietetic class this past semester. The general rule of thumb is to count all juices, coffees and teas, caffeinated or decaffeinated, with your water count. You, of course, still need to account for the added calories in these liquids.


      good to know :)
    • Posts: 201 Member
      I definitely only count water as water. I see it as the straight fuel we literally can't survive without. Everything else I can survive without doesn't count as water to me. Of course I drink coffee, diet soda, or whatever else, I just don't think to count it as my water intake.
    • Posts: 111 Member
      Im like you in that I count pretty much all liquids except alcohol as water. I count all the calories that is in anything that isn't water. But I make sure the majority of my day is water.
    • Posts: 145 Member
      Water. If I have a zero calorie soda or flavored water such as the Sobe life water I log it separately
    • Posts: 61,406 Member
      I don't track water, but if I did, water would be logged as water. Because it's water
    • Posts: 839 Member
      This was actually one of the questions on my final in my dietetic class this past semester. The general rule of thumb is to count all juices, coffees and teas, caffeinated or decaffeinated, with your water count. You, of course, still need to account for the added calories in these liquids.

      This.

      A few cups of coffee a day will not dehydrate you. All liquids I count... pop, coffee, tea, juice, water, etc since they all hydrate your body. I personally wouldn't drink all coffee for your water intake but it still does count.
    • Posts: 840 Member
      I only count... water.
    • Posts: 6,490 Member
      I don't see the point in tracking water. There are plenty of other, more important, things to track and stress over.
    • Posts: 2,019 Member
      show previous quotes

      This.

      A few cups of coffee a day will not dehydrate you. All liquids I count... pop, coffee, tea, juice, water, etc since they all hydrate your body. I personally wouldn't drink all coffee for your water intake but it still does count.
      Agreed. See also the Snopes article on the "Eight Glasses of Water" issue.
    • Posts: 1,781 Member
      This topic makes me want to kill myself.
      Via drowning.
      In water.
    • Posts: 34,415 Member
      I don't count water because I believe it's almost entirely meaningless.

      That said, I don't believe making a solution with water changes the chemical properties of the water. Unless what you're doing to the water is separating a couple of H's from an O, then your body will still know what to do with it. It seems that some people would have you believe that water you drink with a meal wouldn't count as water because the food would dissolve with it in your stomach.
    • Posts: 8,138 Member
      This topic makes me want to kill myself.
      Via drowning.
      In water.

      Log those gulps. Even the last ones.
    • Posts: 2,633 Member
      show previous quotes

      Log those gulps. Even the last ones.

      But it's not water if your in it.... RIGHt?
    • Posts: 232
      I count water as water.

      1 gallon a day. COME AT ME BRAH.
    • Posts: 2,211 Member
      I only count water as water.
      But, I don't really see why you couldn't count your juices or flavored waters.
      I would most certainly NOT count alcohol as water, it does not hydrate you, it does the opposite!
      Also, would not count coffee, as it is a diuretic. Not helping to hydrate you either.
    • Posts: 2,019 Member
      show previous quotes

      But it's not water if your in it.... RIGHt?
      Right. As soon as you drop a person in there, the water/person suspension ceases to have hydrating properties. Only absolutely 100% pure, no chemical trace whatsoever H2O provides any hydration. That's actually what most people died of, prior to the invention of the home water filter pitchers. *cough*
      Also, would not count coffee, as it is a diuretic. Not helping to hydrate you either.
      Please see the aforementioned Snopes article - or similar documents from the Mayo clinic - for more on "coffee/tea/caffeinated soda as a diuretic." Unless you're mainlining it, you won't be appreciably dehydrated.
    • Posts: 378 Member
      Water, plain, only. I drink green tea, coffee, hibiscus water but log those wherever they (meal or snack).
    • Posts: 4,603 Member
      What difference does it really make if you log all the calories in your drinks and are hydrated anyway? :drinker:

      I don't log water, I just keep myself hydrated without aspiring to some made up number of needed ounces of water.
    • Posts: 3,485 Member
      I just fllled up my water bottle, added the juice of a lemon and some Stevia....lemonade! I consider that water.
    • Posts: 319 Member
      I only count plain water in my water intake.
    • Posts: 976 Member
      I log everything I eat or drink...so if I have coffee and MFP has it, I log it. If I have orange juice and MFP has it, I log it.

      If I have a glass of water or 10-15 like I normally do, I increment that little water class under my food log.
    • Posts: 1,155 Member
      I've noticed some variation in what people count toward their water intake. I usually count all non-alcoholic liquids toward water, as long as I also account for any calories the liquid may have. Then I wonder, should diet soda count, should coffee count, should decaf count, should orange juice count, should flavored waters count, should iced tea count? Maybe only calorie-free, decaffeinated beverages? I'm sure there are also purists who would say only clear H20 counts. What do you count toward your total water intake?

      No to everything ...

      Count water as water ...count coffee or tea as water if said coffee or tea is black and with out sugar or milk/cream. No soda pops ... no diet drinks no no no no
    This discussion has been closed.

    Welcome!

    It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.
    Sign In
    Register

    Quick Links

    Categories