water intake?

alligatorrawr
alligatorrawr Posts: 144 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been doing research and apparently I should be drinking 18 cups of water a day!! I know you get a lot of water from food, but seriously how can I drink that much water without having to pee every 10 minutes! right now I am drinking 10 cups and I have to pee every hour or more. it's getting so annoying!! what rule do you follow?
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Replies

  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I drink when I'm thirsty. I don't feel you should force yourself to drink if you don't want to or you don't have medical issues (chronic dehydration). Then again, I'm use to peeing every 30 minutes.
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
    I've been doing research and apparently I should be drinking 18 cups of water a day!! I

    Old wives tale I'm afraid .. just drink when you are thirsty
  • jnord8729
    jnord8729 Posts: 234 Member
    That's such a hard one. Really the answer is what works for you. Personally, I feel all sorts of dehydrated if I don't have over 20 a day. I know some that feel bloated at 10. So it depends on the person.

    Do you feel thirsty? Do you cramp up when working out? Do you feel feverish? Does your pee smell like a dirty cat box? If the answer is "no" to any of those, you're PROBABLY doing ok.

    But honestly, yes there is water in your food. It's hard to count how much. Also, remember 8 oz of coffee (or tea or juice or soda or whatever) has about 8 oz of water in it. You know what? It counts.
  • alligatorrawr
    alligatorrawr Posts: 144 Member
    I've been doing research and apparently I should be drinking 18 cups of water a day!! I

    Old wives tale I'm afraid .. just drink when you are thirsty

    well I used to NEVER drink any water, just coffee and wine. I've gotten a lot better about it but I am still training by body to recognize thirst from wanting coffee hahaha. I was looking the ideal number but that's just outrageous!
  • anna_jewel
    anna_jewel Posts: 127 Member
    That seems pretty excessive- 18 cups is a lot of water. From what i learned in nutrition class, the norm is 8 cups. Just drink when ur thirsty :)
  • mizzbugsy
    mizzbugsy Posts: 40 Member
    I've been told 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water daily...Or a gallon a day. That's a full time job! It really doesn't take long for my body to acclimate to that amount of water tho. Soon enough it becomes easy. I am at 9 consistently. This month I'll try for that gallon!! My new October goal!
  • aneary1980
    aneary1980 Posts: 461 Member
    I've been doing research and apparently I should be drinking 18 cups of water a day!! I

    Old wives tale I'm afraid .. just drink when you are thirsty

    most people mistake thirst signals for hungar signals. In addition you will only feel thirsty when you are already dehydrated.

    Edit - NHS recommend at least 1.2 litres in addition too food but this can also be from tea or any water based drinks.
  • alligatorrawr
    alligatorrawr Posts: 144 Member
    That's such a hard one. Really the answer is what works for you. Personally, I feel all sorts of dehydrated if I don't have over 20 a day. I know some that feel bloated at 10. So it depends on the person.

    Do you feel thirsty? Do you cramp up when working out? Do you feel feverish? Does your pee smell like a dirty cat box? If the answer is "no" to any of those, you're PROBABLY doing ok.

    But honestly, yes there is water in your food. It's hard to count how much. Also, remember 8 oz of coffee (or tea or juice or soda or whatever) has about 8 oz of water in it. You know what? It counts.

    I thought caffiene or alcohol actually "dehydrates you"? I usually count my coffee intake as water (but not my wine!) That's a good call tho, going by the good ol pee chart haha
  • jonlfischer
    jonlfischer Posts: 171 Member
    I drink around 16-20 glasses a day..but thats just me.

    I have heard to take your body weight and divide it in half and thats how many ounces you need.
  • ascrit
    ascrit Posts: 770 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1462409-you-don-t-need-8-glasses-of-water-a-day
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    You need to be more discriminating in determining what really is "research." Just because it is posted on the Internet doesn't make it scientifically true.
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    Caffeinated drinks do dehydrate you - if you drank a litre of coffee, you would pee out more than a litre of urine. I wouldn't count coffee or tea as 'water'. I only count water as water and log other drinks in the 'food' section.

    It's generally recommended to drink around 8 x 250ml glasses of water a day, but in truth you just need to be drinking enough to ensure that your pee is 'straw-coloured' - not completely colourless and not too orange/yellow.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    That's such a hard one. Really the answer is what works for you. Personally, I feel all sorts of dehydrated if I don't have over 20 a day. I know some that feel bloated at 10. So it depends on the person.

    Do you feel thirsty? Do you cramp up when working out? Do you feel feverish? Does your pee smell like a dirty cat box? If the answer is "no" to any of those, you're PROBABLY doing ok.

    But honestly, yes there is water in your food. It's hard to count how much. Also, remember 8 oz of coffee (or tea or juice or soda or whatever) has about 8 oz of water in it. You know what? It counts.

    I thought caffiene or alcohol actually "dehydrates you"? I usually count my coffee intake as water (but not my wine!) That's a good call tho, going by the good ol pee chart haha

    Both coffee and tea provide you with a net increase in fluids (caffeine is mildly diuretic but they're still mostly water).

    Being adequately hydrated is important is terms of sports performance but you need to keep in mind that much of the so-called hydration "research" is being sponsored by companies that want to sell you sports drinks.

    Judging your state of hydration by the colour of your urine can be misleading, you can consume a large quantity of water and be peeing clear shortly thereafter without your tissues being hydrated.

    Drink small quantities of fluids throughout the day and obey your thirst.
  • sm1zzle
    sm1zzle Posts: 920 Member
    Do they make beer flavored water ?
  • alligatorrawr
    alligatorrawr Posts: 144 Member
    I think I am just going to go by the half my body weight, that's 14 cups (or 3 of my water bottles which is doable). I don't drink sports drinks unless I know I am dehydrated (hiking and long bike rides) and thanks for the insult but I know what research is.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    18 cups!
    most people aim for 8.
    I have days when I easily drink that, and others when I'm lucky to get 4 down me!
    but I do drink a lot of tea which is still liquid.
    I have found drinking water to have no impact at all on my weight loss.
  • aneary1980
    aneary1980 Posts: 461 Member
    Caffeinated drinks do dehydrate you - if you drank a litre of coffee, you would pee out more than a litre of urine. I wouldn't count coffee or tea as 'water'. I only count water as water and log other drinks in the 'food' section.

    It's generally recommended to drink around 8 x 250ml glasses of water a day, but in truth you just need to be drinking enough to ensure that your pee is 'straw-coloured' - not completely colourless and not too orange/yellow.


    You aren't quite right please see the below extract from the NHS

    'We need to drink about 1.2 litres of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated. This is in addition to the fluid we get from the food we eat. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water and milk are the most healthy.

    Try to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks that are high in added sugars and can be high in calories and bad for teeth. Even unsweetened fruit juice is sugary, so try to drink no more than one glass (about 150ml) of fruit juice each day.

    When the weather is warm, or when we get active, we may need more fluids. Learn more in Drinks.'
  • jordanwalker1531
    jordanwalker1531 Posts: 2 Member
    Take half of your body weight - that number is how many ounces of water you should drink a day. Example: 200lb person should drink 100 ounces of water a day...8 ounces in a cup so about 12 cups a day.
  • agal129
    agal129 Posts: 215 Member
    To echo some other posts on here, I have heard that you should drink half your weight (pounds) in ounces. So if you weight 200 pounds, you should be drinking 100 oz of water a day (12-13 cups water). But of course, I don't believe you will not lose weight or be less healthy if you don't drink that much. Personally, for me it is better for my body and my mind to follow this rule.
  • Sweetvirgo63
    Sweetvirgo63 Posts: 119 Member
    I drink enough to keep myself hydrated and to make it easier on my kidneys to do their job. They were permanently damaged in a car wreck back in 2001 so they have a harder time at processing excess whatever than kidneys that are healthy. Other than that, I don't fret over it.
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
    I aim for half my body weight in ounces of water a day - plus an additional 16-20 oz for every hour I workout. So I drink a minimum of 80 oz a day, but I'm usually closer to 100 oz (or more, depending on my workout). Yes, when you first start drinking that much, you do have to pee ALL the time...but your body eventually gets used to it and you'll have to pee less. :tongue:

    But that is ALL of my liquids - 90% of what I drink is water or hot tea, but I also count any milk, OJ, sportsdrink, etc - if what I'm drinking has calories, I also log it in my food diary, but otherwise, it just gets added to my water log :flowerforyou:

    ETA - I've found that drinking this amount of water aids in my weight loss. *For me* if I slack on my water, I either hold weight or gain, even if I eat the exact same amount of calories each day...but when I hit my water goal, I drop weight like nobody's business.
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
    Do they make beer flavored water ?

    Bud?
  • wyattj99
    wyattj99 Posts: 454 Member
    I love my water intake. I have an app called WATER YOUR BODY...kind of like a game to get 8 bottles in a day. It is annoying to pee alot but then I feel better.
  • QuillensMom
    QuillensMom Posts: 100 Member
    I heard from doctor as well about the half ounce per body weight. I don't quite get that much but I do make sure to drink one gallon. Use 4 32oz bottles and if get thru them by dinnertime I will go for the 5th. The first week it is hard as you aren't used to it. And whoa lots of peeing. Then your body adjusts. I don't wake up thirsty like I used to, so it must be doing some good.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    I try getting in 8-10 cups a day. We have bottled water at work so I know that every time I finish one I'm down 2 cups.
  • independant2406
    independant2406 Posts: 447 Member
    Every morning I pull out 8 bottles of water (17oz each) to get my gallon of water a day. I just try to drink 1 per hour during the weekday. I do run and pee a lot more than I used to but I also feel (now that I'm used to it) I'm a little bit clearer in the head, and my muscles don't ache for as long after working out. I also find my fluctuations in water weight are much less when I stay consistent with water intake.

    Worth noting... I didn't just try to do the whole gallon a day right away to start with... I just started out drinking as much as I could and then building from there. Helps drinking 1-2 bottles of water after workouts, 1 bottle first thing when you wake in the morning, and 1 with meals... doesn't feel like a "task" as much if your re-hydrating at times when your more naturally thirsty.

    I crush and recycle all the water bottles at the end of the week when I go out for groceries so I don't feel guilty for using so many plastic bottles.
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
    I drink around 2 gallons a day. I have for the past 10 years at least. I also don't drink anything else except for water, so I guess that makes it easier! I am constantly thirsty though. (And yes, they rule out diabetes every time I go to the doctor and have since I was a teenager...lol.)
  • JVWard98
    JVWard98 Posts: 49 Member
    I drink at least 100 fl oz a day. It is a pain in the butt to have to get up and pee all the time but it works for me. I started noticing the weight coming off when I first started getting serious about my water in take. I drink mine usually in a shaker bottle and fill up to the 20 oz. I think it is true to take your body weight and divide in half and that's how many oz you should drink to loose weight. It helps along with watching what you eat and exercise. When I don't drink my usual water intake, I can really tell it. Feel sluggish and bloated. This might be grose but if you are still peeing yellow then you have not had enough water for the day. It should be CLEAR! LOL
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I drink at least 100 fl oz a day. It is a pain in the butt to have to get up and pee all the time but it works for me. I started noticing the weight coming off when I first started getting serious about my water in take. I drink mine usually in a shaker bottle and fill up to the 20 oz. I think it is true to take your body weight and divide in half and that's how many oz you should drink to loose weight. It helps along with watching what you eat and exercise. When I don't drink my usual water intake, I can really tell it. Feel sluggish and bloated. This might be grose but if you are still peeing yellow then you have not had enough water for the day. It should be CLEAR! LOL

    I completely agree. I drink abut 100 oz per day (a little more than half my weight). Don't have to pee as often as I used to, and I snack less because I am not mistaking thirst for hunger anymore. My pee is clear!!
  • LoneWolfRunner
    LoneWolfRunner Posts: 1,160 Member
    I drink 14 -16 cups a day...been doing it for a while, so I don't pee excessively anymore. Pretty much the only thing I drink that is not water is whiskey.... and vodka..... maybe some Kraken....

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