"1 cup of water"

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  • 40andFindingFitness
    40andFindingFitness Posts: 497 Member
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    I have a 20 oz water bottle that I use daily. If I fill it to the brim and drink every drop four times I log 80oz (10 cups). I find it easier to do if I have a bottle size that isn't too big or too small.
  • XX_Miss_RoseMary_XX
    XX_Miss_RoseMary_XX Posts: 274 Member
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    No one belittled you that I can tell, your question was poorly constructed and led to confusion. You read their tone as critical when most were being pretty straight forward and blunt based on the context. You should have used the word "glass" or "mug" not cup. Cup is a form of measurement in your context. A cup is 8fl oz. I was also unsure until your second post whether you knew that a cup is 8fl oz and not 12 or 16.

    I use a 16oz glass. I count 2 cups for every glass I drink. My tea mug which is about 335mL or 1.4 cups I tend to count as one cup because I often refill my tea before its empty- and really, when is drinking more calories-free fluids than you log a bad thing.

    Ok. I probably shouldve used "glass" instead. I guess I thought people would understand.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Some people need more chocolate in their lives ...perhaps less snarky remarks on the threads/forums...LONG LIVE CHOCOLATE! As for me....I measure 8oz as a cup..but I drink so much water I don't keep track anymore.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Diction is important.

    We understand you asked what a cup was. 8 ounces.
  • jonmscharff
    jonmscharff Posts: 72 Member
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    When I first started this I wasn't clear on the "cup" meaning either. Also to all the responders...if the question is being asked many times perhaps it isn't clear. Maybe it should be switched to 8 oz or even 236 ml or maybe 8 oz/236 ml. That way the term "cup" wouldn't confuse new MFP members.

    Perhaps we could respond to honest questions the same way we would if the person was standing in front of us. A little help and kindness goes a long way.

    Just a thought...
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    1 cup of water is not a universally known concept -- especially for those who use metric measurements and are not familiar with the American cup, which for all I know without looking it up, may be different from an Australian cup. We are an international community.

    But this brings up another question. Why 8-cups of water per day? Well, as it turns out, this "common knowledge" has very little science to back it up. More recent understanding of our need for fluids looks more at the color of your urine than how many glasses of water you drink per day to ascertain whether you are well hydrated. If your urine is light yellow or straw colored you are doing fine. If it is bright or dark yellow, you need to hydrate more.

    Also, anything you may have heard about coffee or tea or milk, etc., not counting for hydration turns out to be false. Anything you drink contributes toward hydration. Even vegetables and other solid foods that contain a lot of water contribute toward your hydration.

    There is no research to show that drinking a specific amount of water results in weight loss. For some folks and at some times, however, drinking that glass of water or plain iced tea will keep other foods out of our mouths and help us lose weight just as doing some crochet might keep food out of your mouth and help you lose weight.

    So, consume enough water containing stuff to keep your urine straw colored and your kidneys happy. If your urine is darker yellow, drink more. If your urine is pink, you either need to call the doctor or you are like the 20% of us who regularly get beeturia from eating beets.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    1 cup of water is not a universally known concept -- especially for those who use metric measurements and are not familiar with the American cup, which for all I know without looking it up, may be different from an Australian cup. We are an international community.

    If only there was some tool, a website even where we could search for things, and it would go scour known knowledge and return suggestions for research so that we can learn.

    I bet anyone who created a good one would probably make a lot of money.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    .. srsly?

    When is a cup not a cup?

    When you're from somewhere other than America.
  • cursumxperficio
    cursumxperficio Posts: 13
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    I am European. For me a cup is a tea cup, a small cup of maybe 250-300ml.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    I'm not stupid i understand that a cup is 8 oz. But I didn't know if people actually measured it out or if they counted it as one still when using a normal sized drinking glass which usually holds closer to 12-16oz.

    Well if your glass holds 16oz, then when logging it in, log 2 cups of water even if it's just one glass you drinking. Then you'll only have to drink 4 of your glasses to get the daily 8 cups of water. :smile: :drinker:
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,466 Member
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    Yeesh - I knew 1 'cup' was 8 fl. oz in baking and stuff, but I have been trying to go by my 'container', figuring it was around 8 anyway, and trying to get 8 a day but forgetting and bumming out. And I just looked, and my container is 16oz, so it's nice to know that even when I 'only' have 4 a day I am still reaching my goal!

    It really is a eureka moment right now lol. My only excuse apart from a brainfart is that I was brought up in England which uses mls and grams etc. (though I always hated that system, and much prefer cups and oz for practical use so it isn't even an excuse lol).

    Check your containers people!

    I'm a Canadian citizen, American resident and miss metric.

    A cup is also 240ml.
  • iheartinsanity
    iheartinsanity Posts: 205 Member
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    I personally was not smart or rude towards your question. I answered honestly.

    When I started losing weight I had no idea how much is how much. I'm American but I didn't care about water consumption. I drank nothing but soda, and coffee before coming a healthy lifestyle. Now I drink nearly 1.5 gallons of water a day (not normal, but I do workout A LOT, and I'm an extremely physically active person) and only drink coffee, soda on occassion.

    Sometimes a person really doesn't have a clue.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    I consider a cup 8 oz. so if your glass holds 12 oz drink two and you have completed 4 cups of water. If it's 16, then you have had one glass of water. Also, I count a regular sized bottle of water as 2. Hope this helps.

    ETA when MFP is counting it's going by 8oz cups, for a total of 64oz of water in a day. that's the general rule of thumb. However, it's been suggested that you drink half your body weight in oz

    Huh? if you have a couple that holds 12oz, and you drink two of those that is 24oz, which = 3 cups. If your cup is 16oz then you have had two glasses of water. You just said as your very first statement that a cup of water is 8oz which is true.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
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    .. srsly?

    When is a cup not a cup?

    Depends......is it with 2 girls?
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Given the fact the OP understood that a cup means 8oz, I think the cross-cultural concerns of colloquial units of measure of a "cup" are at best a side conversation.

    The original issue was misunderstanding that "cup" actually meant "glass." I think if the original question was stated as intended, the responses would have been similar to: "I log my water as ounces, and I count a cup/glass as [x] ounces" or ml, as the case may be.
  • ray121467
    ray121467 Posts: 2
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    Hey...I just use sports bottles and I happen to re-use the Deer Park ones which holds 23.7 ounces (700 ml)..which I count as 3 cups. Normally after i get my maximum amount (by FitBit) I usually just stop counting as I normally go through at least one more sports bottle when I finally get a chance to relax and watch TV.

    However I will say to one of the other posters, I removed Sodas ( I let myself have a diet coke maybe twice a week, and beer one day week) and most coffee (there are some mornings You just gotta feel human) out of my diet. I supplement my water with flavored water on occassion and I think that move by itself I lost 26 pounds.
  • bb_lose_weight
    bb_lose_weight Posts: 103 Member
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    .. srsly?

    When is a cup not a cup?

    Depends......is it with 2 girls?

    Well done!!! Well done!!
  • XX_Miss_RoseMary_XX
    XX_Miss_RoseMary_XX Posts: 274 Member
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    I personally was not smart or rude towards your question. I answered honestly.

    When I started losing weight I had no idea how much is how much. I'm American but I didn't care about water consumption. I drank nothing but soda, and coffee before coming a healthy lifestyle. Now I drink nearly 1.5 gallons of water a day (not normal, but I do workout A LOT, and I'm an extremely physically active person) and only drink coffee, soda on occassion.

    Sometimes a person really doesn't have a clue.

    no, you weren't rude at all! You were honest. My question was just worded off I guess.

    I was more flustered by people asking about education and snarky comments about google.
  • sara_j_barnard
    sara_j_barnard Posts: 23
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    May I recommend drinking your water from a fine pint glass, then you may imagine that you are enjoying a frosty pint of lager, which I find enhances the experience, especially at work. Cheers!
  • aliakynes
    aliakynes Posts: 352 Member
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    In our family, we used the word cup to refer to a drinking container that wasn't glass (paper or plastic), not necessarily as a unit of measurement unless we were cooking. So I can see people not making the connection, especially if they don't cook.

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