Drink water, suddenly become thirsty?

MuddyMutty
MuddyMutty Posts: 1
edited November 6 in Food and Nutrition
So my whole life, I've never drank very much. For my diet I've been trying to drink more water, but my problem is once I drink a decent amount, THEN my thirst kicks in. The other day I drank about a gallon and a half (I didn't count, I haven't been tracking how much I go through but I know I emptied a full jug of water then dented some juice) and was still thirsty. Why doesn't my need for water ever seem to turn off once I start drinking it? (Fun fact, after I drank all that binge water, I gained 7 pounds water weight in one day and lost it all the next. It was sort of funny to me.) Is my body just overreacting to me suddenly having enough to drink after I've been dehydrated most my life? Everything else is normal about me, I don't feel much different save for the thirst.

Replies

  • paperfiish
    paperfiish Posts: 52 Member
    Honestly? Talk to your doctor. Drinking water is good, and a gallon isn't huge if you're working out and sweating a lot and need to make up the difference, BUT unless you're working out then such excessive thirst doesn't sound like a very good indicator. Even whatever other peoples experiences might be, excessive thirst and water retention are one of those things that you should really talk to your doctor about because they can be signs of an underlying medical issue.
  • JTNanashi
    JTNanashi Posts: 35 Member
    Hey sis. While I'm not sure of the facts of all of it, I did learn a little something about this while in Fitness and Foods in high school. As my teacher put it, a lot of people really are dehydrated a majority of the time, and get so used to it that they sometimes don't realize they're thirsty. They may even mistake the feeling of being thirsty for hunger, obviously leading to possibly eating more than you really need but not really satisfying what your body is looking for. After you start to drink some water, your feeling of thirst might activate with this sudden reminder, and the desire to drink might be stronger than you expected. Perhaps it's trying to catch up? This is just how I understood it from my teacher, though. Years ago.

    I notice when I haven't drank much but suddenly drink some water during mid day, I tend to feel like I should drink more than the original gulp, and it's not unlikely that I may just refill the bottle again and drink a little more! Personally, I have trouble remembering to drink any most days, and I'm horrible about not just picking up a soda or something else that doesn't really fix the problem. Sometimes I'll have 2 16oz bottles or so of tea and drink nothing else, simply because I don't think about it. :/ TMI I know, but urine color is a big indicator for me as to how much more I should be drinking, and I definitely find I have a better metabolism and more energy when I can keep up with it.

    On another note, whywolf is definitely right about keeping an eye out on exactly how much. If you can't seem to drink enough no matter what or feel you're retaining that much more water than normal, maybe even accompanied with excess bloat or swelling, consider talking to a doctor. There could be something else going on that you just haven't found yet.
  • clflanagan4
    clflanagan4 Posts: 1
    I'm having the same issue. I've had a horrible Diet Coke habit, and I've recently started drinking water again. I'm thirstier than ever before. I just wonder if the chemicals in the Diet Coke were masking my dehydration and feelings of thirst. It's only been a couple of days. I'm interested to see how things change as time goes on.
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