Does my morning coffee count

Options
1…78101213

Replies

  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Options
    I say no, Coffee can dehydrate just as sodas can. To me water is water.
    Which is to say, negligibly.

    Assuming arguendo that it dehydrates at all... and assuming this (admittedly false) dichotomy for the purposes of discussion:
    Which is more dehydrating in the long run, drinking a couple of gallons of tea and diet soda, or drinking nothing at all?

    Because I ain't drinking plain water. Maybe two cups a day.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Options
    In a hospital setting input and output of all beverages is recorded.

    As for calories that's a different issue. In hospital we are not measuring calories. Reckon this topic could go on forever ;)
    But what do calories have to do with the price of tea in China, pardon the pun?

    If they slap the label 'diet' on the tea and promote it as a cleanse the price goes up and stock holders make more money?
    Probably, but cleanses are ridiculous too, as it sounds like you're already aware.
  • rayr1964
    rayr1964 Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    i don't think it makes a diffrence either way. If you drink enough water throughout the day, don't count it.
    If you need a little mental boost of reaching your water goal, then count it. It is a water based drink afterall.
    The choice ultimately remains yours. Continued success to you.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Options
    I don't count it because I count calories, and anything under 10 calories I'm not going to bother keeping track of. If you're counting carbs, you may want to record it.

    A cup of coffee is 1-2 calories, or with splenda it's 3-4. Not really worth the mental effort to estimate.

    I wouldn't count it as water because of the caffeine, but really, it's not that important to get 8 full glasses of water a day either.
    Some people choose to be that accurate and log their tea and coffee calories, and that's cool. But what about caffeine makes it not count as water? Is it that outdated belief that it dehydrates you? Because you have to be drinking the equivalent of 5-6 cups a day for that to have an effect, and whereas I'm sure plenty of people drink that much coffee, I bet they also drink a bunch of other stuff too.
  • qwicherbytchin
    qwicherbytchin Posts: 42
    Options
    So, could you count coffee as both water and food? Add it to your water intake, but because of the calories, even tho minimal, also add it to your food diary?
  • shapefitter
    shapefitter Posts: 900 Member
    Options
    What's the verdict?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Options
    What's the verdict?

    The verdict is that the water in your coffee is treated the same way by your body as any other water you ingest. There are no magic ingredients in coffee, including caffeine, that dehydrate you to the point where that water doesn't count.

    So long story short: your body counts it as water, whether or not you log it on MFP.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    Still this? Wow! Seriously, you can track the calories in the coffee and still add 8 oz to your water intake for the day. Nobody said not to record the calories in the coffee or whatever you add to the coffee. Nobody! It really isn't that difficult.
    Apparently, it is.

    As for the fruit comment somewhere up there, I don't know how much water is in the fruit I eat. If I knew there was 8 oz of water in my orange, then I might log it. But I don't know that.

    I do, however, know there are 16 oz of water in my morning tea.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    Options
    What's the verdict?

    The verdict is that the water in your coffee is treated the same way by your body as any other water you ingest. There are no magic ingredients in coffee, including caffeine, that dehydrate you to the point where that water doesn't count.

    So long story short: your body counts it as water, whether or not you log it on MFP.

    My point is that 3 coffees, 3 sodas and 4 waters is not enough to hydrate my body, as I suffer from dehydration related cramping on this mix of fluids(cramping that is always alleviated by chugging water...amazing). I do not have this problem when I drink 10 glasses of actual water in one day.

    So yeah, my body can tell the difference between water and not water. I'm not saying "call the state on hospitals" because they log juice as water. I'm not saying "it's the end of the world if someone else chooses to log coffee as water". I'm saying that *my* body is dehydrated by caffeinated beverages and I have lived through a negative side effect of this. So I personally don't count them as water. Everyone is different that's why questions/threads like this are so silly. We all know how it's going to turn out from the first 2 replies.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    What's the verdict?

    The verdict is that the water in your coffee is treated the same way by your body as any other water you ingest. There are no magic ingredients in coffee, including caffeine, that dehydrate you to the point where that water doesn't count.

    So long story short: your body counts it as water, whether or not you log it on MFP.

    My point is that 3 coffees, 3 sodas and 4 waters is not enough to hydrate my body, as I suffer from dehydration related cramping on this mix of fluids(cramping that is always alleviated by chugging water...amazing). I do not have this problem when I drink 10 glasses of actual water in one day.

    So yeah, my body can tell the difference between water and not water. I'm not saying "call the state on hospitals" because they log juice as water. I'm not saying "it's the end of the world if someone else chooses to log coffee as water". I'm saying that *my* body is dehydrated by caffeinated beverages and I have lived through a negative side effect of this. So I personally don't count them as water. Everyone is different that's why questions/threads like this are so silly. We all know how it's going to turn out from the first 2 replies.
    It sounds like you have a medical condition because plenty of people drink absolutely no plain water, many people drink nothing but coffee or soda and they are not dehydrated.

    Clearly, you have an unusual sensitivity to caffeine or some other condition that is causing you this problem. So FOR YOU, you have to be more careful. But the vast majority of the population doesn't have this issue.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Options
    I :heart: it so hard that this topic is still going.
  • bettyjoburdett
    bettyjoburdett Posts: 120 Member
    Options
    Personally, I make my coffee with water, so it counts as water, too.

    :drinker:
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Options
    This is the first time I have looked at the 'is a water based drink actually water' threads.

    I'm struggling to see that there is an argument, but hey everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Options
    My point is that 3 coffees, 3 sodas and 4 waters is not enough to hydrate my body, as I suffer from dehydration related cramping on this mix of fluids(cramping that is always alleviated by chugging water...amazing). I do not have this problem when I drink 10 glasses of actual water in one day.

    3 coffees and 3 sodas (depending on the sizes) is not a trivial amount of caffeine. I can see how that might cause you problems, especially if you sweat heavily. And plain old water (not purified and distilled to within an inch of it's life) contains minerals that help your body keep everything functioning properly.
  • shapefitter
    shapefitter Posts: 900 Member
    Options
    Well, if it wasn't so important to drink 2lt of water a day i.e. 8 glasses, then why is MFP advising us to do so? After all, the body is mainly made up of water, not coffee...as far as I know.
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Options
    Well, if it wasn't so important to drink 2lt of water a day i.e. 8 glasses, then why is MFP advising us to do so? After all, the body is mainly made up of water, not coffee...as far as I know.

    Do you even have a large intestine? You know, that place in your body that absorbs water from everything we eat, all mixed up together...
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    Well, if it wasn't so important to drink 2lt of water a day i.e. 8 glasses, then why is MFP advising us to do so? After all, the body is mainly made up of water, not coffee...as far as I know.
    MFP "pushes" it because it's an old myth that won't die that the website has for some reason bought into.

    And, no, our bodies are not made of coffee. But the H2O that you use to make coffee doesn't cease being H2O once you filter it through some coffee grounds. If you can't count water that's mixed with something else, you can't count water you drink before, during or within a couple hours or a meal, either.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Options
    Well, if it wasn't so important to drink 2lt of water a day i.e. 8 glasses, then why is MFP advising us to do so? After all, the body is mainly made up of water, not coffee...as far as I know.

    As far as I know, there's no place in the body to find plain water.

    We should be drinking blood, lymph, and cytoplasm! After all, the body is made primarily of that and not plain water.
  • shapefitter
    shapefitter Posts: 900 Member
    Options
    What other old myths, do you beleive MFP 'push' on people?
  • Kate
    Kate Posts: 35 Member
    Options
    Does my morning coffee count as water drank?
    Of course. Fluid is fluid. Technically we could count any juice, milk, pop etc as well. I recently heard an expert on water/hydration say that the idea that coffee and tea can't be counted is a myth. As is the idea that we "must" have 8 glasses of water a day'. Our body is designed to let us know when it needs water. Thirsty? Drink.

Categories