Water advice - I'm drowning

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  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,088 Member
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    If you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated.

    Try to go off the colour of your pee - if it's highlighter yellow you're not drinking enough but if it's completely clear you probably are having a bit too much as it's going straight through you and you're body isn't taking much from it.

    I tend to drink between 3-6 litres a day, depending on my workout.

    I disagree with this. There is no harm in recognising thirst and then drinking - nobody in normal conditions ( ie everyday life, not trekking across the desert) became dehydrated enough to come to any harm just drinking when they were thirsty.

    I don't think healthy people need to worry about analysing their urine colour to know when to drink.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    I don't log my water because I drink ~4 litres/just over 1 gallon every day.

    Drink water until your pee looks like straw. Drink water when you are thirsty. Don't worry too much about it otherwise. Don't worry about drinking it hot or cold or room temp. None of that noise matters.
  • bkthandler
    bkthandler Posts: 247 Member
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    I have always drank a lot of water. Currently I carry a 40oz water bottle and easily drain it 3 times a day.

    Since I picked back up with MFP and have been working out regularly I have noticed I do need more and have found myself thirsty more, especially during more intense workouts. I did a kettlebell workout a few days ago and emptied my bottle twice before I gave up. It does seem to help to drink before and during a workout.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    You're overthinking it. As long as you're not thirsty, you're getting enough water. And the temperature doesn't matter, so don't worry about that.
  • thinsports
    thinsports Posts: 10
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    I drink between 4 and 6 liters a day. Really the more water the better.

    A good friend of mine once told me, "drink until your pee is clear, then drink some more"
  • sarahsamuels82
    sarahsamuels82 Posts: 51 Member
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    Don't over think things, as long as your body is hydrated - regardless of the temperature of the water etc, that's the main thing.

    Personally, I take a 2 litre bottle of water with me every day to work, and aim to have half of it gone by lunch, and then drink every hour or so.

    I usually end up having at least 3 litres though, especially if I go to the gym.
  • eminentclapper
    eminentclapper Posts: 15 Member
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    The colour of your urine is not a particularly accurate way to measure if you're drinking enough water as the colour is determined by a number of factors.

    It's also not very useful to drink an exact specific amount, like 3 litres, as it's individual.

    The best way is to listen to your body: are you thirsty? If so, drink water (not anything else!) until you're no longer thirsty. That's the best measurement. Your body ALWAYS knows best! Unless you cheat it by drinking flavoured or sugary drinks, of course. In fact, it is more dangerous to drink too much water. More than one marathon runner has died from over-hydration, but no marathon runner has ever died from dehydration. Your body will always tell you when you need water, but not when you've had too much...

    I typically drink about 1 - 2 litres of water per day, according to how thirsty I am at any given time, plus about 2 litres during each of the three workouts I do per week.

    I have even checked my weight before and after workout to make sure I drink the right amount of water to replace what I sweat out, and simply by following my thirst, I always got it right.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

    "Eight glasses of water" was a descriptive, not prescriptive, study done back in the 1940's examining how much hydration real humans were actually getting, and included the liquid content of foods and all beverages. There's no reason to force yourself to drink water - or any other beverage - beyond when you're thirsty.
  • KelGen02
    KelGen02 Posts: 668 Member
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    My doctor told me I should drink half my weight in water each day... being that I am waay over weight I am drinking alot of water each day. Rids you of toxins also helps reduce water bloat if that makes "common" sense.. LOL :drinker: all I know is I am rarely hungry during the day and eat only for nutrience and have absolutely great looking skin... must be doing something right with all this water... :bigsmile:

    Someone posted to keep an eye on your urine, my doctor states that you should have clear urine through out the day, only time there should be color is first thing in the morning or before you go to bed at night. :blushing:

    Good luck!
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,566 Member
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    I have a 52oz bubba mug that I count as 6cups per MFP, because it is hard to fill it right to the brim and get the lid on, so I err on the side of 48oz (which equals 6 cups). I drink a minimum of 2 of these a day, sometimes three. Plus, coffee, hot water with lemon, unsweetened tea I've homebrewed, the occasional diet rootbeer, club soda with lime... you get the idea. Since I do drink plenty of water, I only track plain water -as- water, even though I get plenty of fluids. Heck, last night I drank a 24oz (or maybe slightly bigger) light lemonade with my dinner, lol. I find drinking lots of water helps me not retain, and also my skin is loads softer. Not to mention drinking water between and with meals has really cut down on my random snacking.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Yes, you are overthinking it. but you are on the right track.
    Basically:
    temperature does not matter
    1 liter is 4 cups (technically 4.22 US cups or 4 metric cups)
    You can judge your hydration by the color of your pee. If you are pale tan to yellow (about the color of a manila file folder) you are very well hydrated. If you are the color of a lemon, drink more. If you are the color of a pumpkin or basketball, get to the doctor.
    8 cups is a good general goal for people to aim for but in reality, each person is different.

    ETA; overhydration and elecrolyte imbalance is possible but extremely hard to do unless you sweat a lot or take high potency diuretics. If you think you need to drink more, do it. The average person in more likely to get dehydrated than overhydrated.
  • Eoghann
    Eoghann Posts: 130 Member
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    Water temperature doesn't matter. Drink it the way you like it.

    There is no advantage to "over hydration"

    Any number you see online BS. There are too many factors including exercise level, temperature and diet (moisture in your food is fluid intake) to give a single number like that.

    If you're thirsty drink. If your pee is bright yellow drink more.

    Otherwise... you're fine.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,953 Member
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    I assume that MFP uses 250 ml as a fluid cup (8 oz. in imperial), so your water bottle holds 2 cups.
    A general rule of thumb I've been using for water consumption is to drink in oz what half of my body weight in pounds is.

    Eg. if I were 128 lbs, I'd drink 64 oz a day which is 8 cups (2 litres).
    If I were 160 lbs, I'd drink 80 oz a day which is 10 cups or 2.5 litres.

    Sometimes I find it to be a lot though and it makes me uncomfortable. So if I really truly don't want it (am actually not thirsty), I don't drink that much. Water consumption is highly based on your environment and the individual so you need to just do what feels good. If it's hot or very cold where you are, or windy, etc., you might need to drink more.

    Also, some suggest weighing yourself before and after an exercise to see how much water weight you lose. If you were to lose 1 lb through sweating, you'd drink back 1 additional cup. Something like that.

    Research differs a lot on water consumption guidelines - some say nothing is a good indicator except thirst. And to keep in mind some cravings for "sweet" things are actually thirst.
  • opus649
    opus649 Posts: 633 Member
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    If I don't drink 5 gallons of water per day I go into starvation mode.
  • CindeeMaree
    CindeeMaree Posts: 16
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    If you take in 1 8-oz. glass of water every hour of an 8 hour day you have succeeded in your necessary water consumption. Coffee, tea, broth all count as water. Also, what is better, room temp or cold? Obviously room temp is easier on the body, not a shock but cold requires energy to bring it to body temp thus burning more calories. I doubt it burns many more calories however, since the body's internal temp is 98.6 I'm sure the water heats up quickly.
    My trick is to fill two 32 oz. pitchers of water in the evening and put slices of orange in the water. The next day the water is delicious and I drink a glass an hour.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    I aim for between 1.5 & 2 litres a day, but to be honest, really only pay attention to make sure I'm not drinking too little. Water is great for so many things, and our bodies typically need something like 1.5 litres every day just for normal functions. It takes your body a while to get used to higher levels of hydration though, something I learned from a sports bio, so just build it up gradually :)
  • blueboxgeek
    blueboxgeek Posts: 574 Member
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    If I don't drink 5 gallons of water per day I go into starvation mode.

    Oh no!!! Get drinking!!! lol.

    Personally I drink about 1 litre of plain water a day. Plus 2-3 mugs of tea (with milk) and a can of diet coke on an evening. This works for me.

    I do tend to notice quite quickly if I am dehydrated and get a headache. With the above amount, I am headache free but not at the toilet every 20 minutes like I was when I tried drinking 3 litres of water a day.

    It's individual. I also find that if I don't drink enough my skin gets crappy.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Q1) Cold or room temperature is up to you. Your body doesn't need to work as hard to keep your core temperature regulated with room temperature water so it is less stress on the body but it's not worth getting paranoid over.

    Q2) It's fluid intake rather than water intake which you need to watch out for as well as electrolyte balance (and too much water can mess with that...)

    If you eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit per day as well as other drinks containing water then 1 litre or so should be enough, otherwise a bit more. Check the colour of your urine as an easy test to see how well hydrated you are - if it is dark get more fluids.
    This!

    One "cup" as indicated by MFP is 8 fluid ounces which equals 236.5882375 mL.

    The whole "you need 64 ounces of plain WATER each day" is old, outdated, and mis-calculated information. You need 64 ounces (1.893 L) of water each day from ANY source. That includes tea, coffee, soda, food, anything. However, if you live in a hot climate (I do) you should drink more to compensate for the extra fluid loss. You would also want extra to replace what you lose through exercise. You do not NEED to drink 1.9 L of plain water every day or even to track it on MFP unless you'd like to (I don't usually).

    Use the color of your urine to indicate your hydration level. Your urine should be a very pale yellow so if the water in the bowl is clear after urinating you're drinking enough water. Don't overthink it.

    Forgot to add: caffeine is so mildly diuretic that you don't need to compensate for it.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    Lots of people think they are hungry when they are actually thirsty and need a glass of water. I usually drink 5 glasses before lunch (250 ml in North America) because I take pre breakfast meds with one glass, post breakfast supplements with another, and 3 in between breakfast & lunch just lugging around my 750 ml bottle. That way I don't have to fit in so many glasses late in the day and wake up in the night to pee. Usually 3-4 glasses in the afternoon/evening.
    I think your 2 litres sounds just fine.
    Pee in the toilet should be almost clear according to my doc except for the first one in the morning.

    edited for clarity
  • ToughMudderAddict
    ToughMudderAddict Posts: 290 Member
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    Q1) Cold or room temperature is up to you. Your body doesn't need to work as hard to keep your core temperature regulated with room temperature water so it is less stress on the body but it's not worth getting paranoid over.

    Q2) It's fluid intake rather than water intake which you need to watch out for as well as electrolyte balance (and too much water can mess with that...)

    If you eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit per day as well as other drinks containing water then 1 litre or so should be enough, otherwise a bit more. Check the colour of your urine as an easy test to see how well hydrated you are - if it is dark get more fluids.

    This. You can actually get a lot of fluid from the foods you eat. I don't find the need to drink a ton of water outside of my food intake. I drink one capucinno (powder mix in drink) in the morning and usually do not drink anything more until lunch time at which time I will have a cup or so of water and the same with dinner. It's just going to depend on your own body needs and what you've eaten throughout the day.. also what kinds of activities you are doing - more activity may mean you need more water.

    ETA - Logging your water/fluid intake on MFP does not affect anything, it is just a record and reminder for yourself.

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