Water, Water, Water!

13

Replies

  • Nigel99
    Nigel99 Posts: 498 Member
    I usually run about 85-110 oz a day. More if I'm working, less if I'm home all day.
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    80 for real this time!
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    32 oz so far today!
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    40.
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
    16.9
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    Back on the wagon, didn't do so well yesterday. :ohwell:

    60oz down!
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    64 working on 72
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    80 down the hatch!
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    80oz down and just filled it up again. :happy:
  • I'm pretty sure my co-workers think I have a problem since I spend so much time in the restroom. LOL!
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    I'm pretty sure my co-workers think I have a problem since I spend so much time in the restroom. LOL!

    We're all having that problem!:laugh:
  • FORKDOWN
    FORKDOWN Posts: 1,754
    Forgot, starting right now.

    :embarassed:
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    Okay. Fell off the water wagon again yesterday. Back on today!

    20oz down.
  • not2late
    not2late Posts: 98 Member
  • larsonp
    larsonp Posts: 55 Member
    STOP THIS INSANITY IMMEDIATELY.

    YOU ARE DRINKING TOO MUCH WATER.

    More isn’t better: Too much water can make you sick, a condition called hyponatremia where you essentially waterlog your system.

    Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence to suggest that drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day will make you healthier. (eight 8-ounce glasses is 64 ounces of water, in case you didn't do the math. Those of you drinking 100+ are going way overboard.)

    Why are you doing this? Perhaps you heard that drinking more water will help you lose weight.
    Truth? NOT REALLY. Drinking water before or with your meal may help you feel fuller faster. And if you're replacing your regular sugary soda with a glass of zero-calorie water, then yes, it may help you reach your weight loss goals quicker. But simply upping your water intake -- without cutting back on calories -- isn't going to wash away those extra pounds.

    SO PLEASE. YOU'RE ONLY PUTTING YOURSELF IN DANGER, AND ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF OTHERS BY ENCOURAGING IGNORANCE.

    Truth is that most people require only about 32 ounces of water a day, and that INCLUDES ALL non-alcoholic beverages AND ALL foods. Most of your food, unless it's very dry, has quite a bit of water in it. If you have a 12 ounce glass of juice in the morning, water at lunch, and a glass of milk at dinner, you're already at 36 ounces of liquids, not even counting the liquid in your food.
    If you are eating healthy fruits and vegetables that aren't dehydrated, and drinking normally, you're probably already getting more than enough liquid in your diet.

    Rule of thumb: If you're peeing more than 4 times a day, you're drinking too much.
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    From http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283 :

    So how much water does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? In general, doctors recommend 8 or 9 cups. Here are the most common ways of calculating that amount:

    Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is about 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) a day. You lose close to an additional liter (about 4 cups) of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace your lost fluids.
    Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Another approach to water intake is the "8 x 8 rule" — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," as all fluids count toward the daily total. Although the approach really isn't supported by scientific evidence, many people use this easy-to-remember rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink.
    Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.
    Even apart from the above approaches, if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate. If you're concerned about your fluid intake, check with your doctor or a registered dietitian. He or she can help you determine the amount of water that's best for you.

    From: http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm

    It's Not How Much You Drink, It's How Fast You Drink It!

    The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to intaking an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: it's possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.



    40oz down! :drinker:
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
    Rule of thumb: If you're peeing more than 4 times a day, you're drinking too much
    Seriously? You're putting a limit on pee breaks?! :huh:
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
    I'm putting a limit on pee breaks today - the city is shutting our water off at 2pm, so I can't use the potty after 2pm. We're closing the office at 3, but still, I'm limiting intake to avoid having to drive somewhere, and possibly have to do the 'pee dance' while waiting on a public restroom. Ick.

    So - 6oz so far. I'll make up for it once I'm home & have regular access to a flushing potty. :laugh:
  • Nessarose1
    Nessarose1 Posts: 1,324
    I'm going to go with the "just ignore it" aproach. lmao Kityngirl posted well.
  • larsonp
    larsonp Posts: 55 Member
    From http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283 :

    So how much water does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? In general, doctors recommend 8 or 9 cups. Here are the most common ways of calculating that amount:

    Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is about 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) a day. You lose close to an additional liter (about 4 cups) of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace your lost fluids.
    Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Another approach to water intake is the "8 x 8 rule" — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," as all fluids count toward the daily total. Although the approach really isn't supported by scientific evidence, many people use this easy-to-remember rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink.
    Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.
    Even apart from the above approaches, if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate. If you're concerned about your fluid intake, check with your doctor or a registered dietitian. He or she can help you determine the amount of water that's best for you.

    From: http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm

    It's Not How Much You Drink, It's How Fast You Drink It!

    The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to intaking an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: it's possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.



    40oz down! :drinker:

    At least by doing some research you're helping cure the ignorance. I still want to emphasize the fact that the 8x8 rule is contested and the studies they've done to test it have shown that 8x8 is overkill for most people. Athletes are obviously excluded from "most people," and having done some P90X recently, I'd say if you're doing that, you're an athlete, even if you don't feel like it.

    You can all ignore me all you want, but the science doesn't change. Mayo Clinic just asserted that "most doctors recommend 8 cups of water a day." What they don't tell you is that "Most Doctors Recommend" that because that's been the standard for decades, and nobody knows where the rule came from. Therefore, not based in science any more than astrology.

    And for JStarnes: NO, I'M NOT putting a limit on pee breaks. That would be ludicrous. What I AM saying is that if you have to pee more than 4 times a day, you can safely decrease your fluid intake.
  • larsonp
    larsonp Posts: 55 Member
    Ok, for anyone who is still convinced that 8x8 rule is true, please read this:

    http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-08/dms-al080802.php

    Dartmouth professor finds no scientific evidence for '8 x 8'
    Hanover, NH -- It has become accepted wisdom: "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day!" Not necessarily, says a DMS physician Heinz Valtin, MD. The universal advice that has made guzzling water a national pastime is more urban myth than medical dogma and appears to lack scientific proof, he found.

    In an invited review published online by the American Journal of Physiology August 8, Valtin, professor emeritus of physiology at Dartmouth Medical School, reports no supporting evidence to back this popular counsel, commonly known as "8 x 8" (for eight, eight-ounce glasses). The review will also appear in a later issue of the journal.

    Valtin, a kidney specialist and author of two widely used textbooks on the kidney and water balance, sought to find the origin of this dictum and to examine the scientific evidence, if any, that might support it. He observes that we see the exhortation everywhere: from health writers, nutritionists, even physicians. Valtin doubts its validity. Indeed, he finds it, "difficult to believe that evolution left us with a chronic water deficit that needs to be compensated by forcing a high fluid intake."

    The 8 x 8 rule is slavishly followed. Everywhere, people carry bottles of water, constantly sipping from them; it is acceptable to drink water anywhere, anytime. A pamphlet distributed at one southern California university even counsels its students to "carry a water bottle with you. Drink often while sitting in class..."

    How did the obsession start? Is there any scientific evidence that supports the recommendation? Does the habit promote good health? Might it be harmful?

    Valtin thinks the notion may have started when the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council recommended approximately "1 milliliter of water for each calorie of food," which would amount to roughly two to two-and-a-half quarts per day (64 to 80 ounces). Although in its next sentence, the Board stated "most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods," that last sentence may have been missed, so that the recommendation was erroneously interpreted as how much water one should drink each day.

    He found no scientific studies in support of 8 x 8. Rather, surveys of fluid intake on healthy adults of both genders, published as peer-reviewed documents, strongly suggest that such large amounts are not needed. His conclusion is supported by published studies showing that caffeinated drinks, such as most coffee, tea and soft drinks, may indeed be counted toward the daily total. He also points to the quantity of published experiments that attest to the capability of the human body for maintaining proper water balance.

    Valtin emphasizes that his conclusion is limited to healthy adults in a temperate climate leading a largely sedentary existence -- precisely, he points out, the population and conditions that the "at least" in 8 x 8 refers to. At the same time, he stresses that large intakes of fluid, equal to and greater than 8 x 8, are advisable for the treatment or prevention of some diseases, such as kidney stones, as well as under special circumstances, such as strenuous physical activity, long airplane flights or hot weather. But barring those exceptions, he concludes that we are currently drinking enough and possibly even more than enough.

    Despite the dearth of compelling evidence, then, What's the harm? "The fact is that, potentially, there is harm even in water," explains Valtin. Even modest increases in fluid intake can result in "water intoxication" if one's kidneys are unable to excrete enough water (urine). Such instances are not unheard of, and they have led to mental confusion and even death in athletes, in teenagers after ingesting the recreational drug Ecstasy, and in ordinary patients.

    And he lists other disadvantages of a high water intake: (a) possible exposure to pollutants, especially if sustained over many years; (b) frequent urination, which can be both inconvenient and embarrassing; (c) expense, for those who satisfy the 8 x 8 requirements with bottled water; and (d) feelings of guilt for not achieving 8 x 8.

    Other claims discredited by scientific evidence that Valtin discusses include:

    * Thirst Is Too Late. It is often stated that by the time people are thirsty, they are already dehydrated. On the contrary, thirst begins when the concentration of blood (an accurate indicator of our state of hydration) has risen by less than two percent, whereas most experts would define dehydration as beginning when that concentration has risen by at least five percent.

    * Dark Urine Means Dehydration. At normal urinary volume and color, the concentration of the blood is within the normal range and nowhere near the values that are seen in meaningful dehydration. Therefore, the warning that dark urine reflects dehydration is alarmist and false in most instances.

    Is there scientific documentation that we do not need to drink "8 x 8"? There is highly suggestive evidence, says Valtin. First is the voluminous scientific literature on the efficacy of the osmoregulatory system that maintains water balance through the antidiuretic hormone and thirst. Second, published surveys document that the mean daily fluid intake of thousands of presumably healthy humans is less than the roughly two quarts prescribed by 8 x 8. Valtin argues that, in view of this evidence, the burden of proof that everyone needs 8 x 8 should fall on those who persist in advocating the high fluid intake without, apparently, citing any scientific support.

    Finally, strong evidence now indicates that not all of the prescribed fluid need be in the form of water. Careful peer-reviewed experiments have shown that caffeinated drinks should indeed count toward the daily fluid intake in the vast majority of persons. To a lesser extent, the same probably can be said for dilute alcoholic beverages, such as beer, if taken in moderation.

    "Thus, I have found no scientific proof that absolutely every person must 'drink at least eight glasses of water a day'," says Valtin. While there is some evidence that the risk of certain diseases can be lowered by high water intake, the quantities needed for this beneficial effect may be less than 8 x 8, and the recommendation can be limited to those particularly susceptible to the diseases in question.
  • SavannaN
    SavannaN Posts: 148
    24 down so far :)
  • Nessarose1
    Nessarose1 Posts: 1,324
    33.8 for me :drinker:
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
    22oz here. only 55 more working minutes for the potty so I'm cutting myself off til after I get home. :drinker: :tongue:
  • CarissaNew
    CarissaNew Posts: 223 Member
    I am up for this challenge! I have been slacking a bit on water lately! I have already drank 32oz :)
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    I drink @ 60 - 80 oz of water a day (mostly during work) because that is the amount of intake that I need to feel good. I've played around with the amounts I need to feel healthy and hydrated and this level is right for me. It's different for everyone, just like exercise and calories. I never force myself to drink more than feels right and I have never had any syptoms of water intoxication or even mild side effects besides that sloshy feeling occasionally. :laugh: I post on this thread for my own accountability and to support others that are of the same mind set. :flowerforyou:

    Just worked out! 60oz down :)
  • FORKDOWN
    FORKDOWN Posts: 1,754
    Rule of thumb: If you're peeing more than 4 times a day, you're drinking too much
    Seriously? You're putting a limit on pee breaks?! :huh:

    Just get past the first week and you will be a whiz at it.

    Got only 48oz yesterday.
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
    16oz! :drinker:
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    20 oz. Slow morning so far. Lol.
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
    64oz :drinker:
This discussion has been closed.