DOES THIS COUNT?

I only count water or water with something like mio or crystal light.

well...........I count my decaf iced tea.

Low sodium and no caffiene drinks, I suppose technically no, but life is full of gray areas....Just get some water as well!

just my take on it :glasses:

My thinking on this topic has always been if it starts out from water then it should count toward your total water intake.

That's a good question, i would like to know the answer to that too! I use a lot of those crystal lite packets in my bottles of water, does it still count?

I would say crystal lite would still count toward your goal, as long as your tracking the packets in your journal too.. And it depends on what other drinks you are talking about. Those sugary drinks, sweetened tea, soda, ect. do not count toward your goals.

It is really up to you if it counts. When you drink just plain water it takes only seconds for your body to obsorb it, but when you add anything to it, it must go through your entire digestive system. They say you need 8 glasses a day, but it is actually less than that because most of your drinks and a lot of your food contain a ton of water too. I usually get 6 glasses since I know my food will make up for the rest. I think I read that 40% of that 8 glasses a day is given by the food you eat. Hope this helps!

I count any drink that is water based (like tea, Crystal light, etc) but not soda or coffee (because it dehydrates you).

There is research stating that only water counts as water but there is also research that states you can get water from many different sources. I would suggest doing research via the internet and your doctor and draw your own conclusions, one good place to start is web md...

Best wishes in your journey!!!

If you're using the water goal to ensure proper hydration, I've always been told that anything counts. I was wondering the same thing a while back and I found in my research that anything counts. According to one nutrionalist, even the water from fruits, veggies, etc could technically count towards your goal. Obviously, the water intake from foods is difficult to calculate, but it's important to note that the foods are going in your body and, therefore, your body is going to use everything it can, including the water content.

I personally wouldn't include sugary drinks, such as soda, simply because those should be severely limited, but definitely teas and those flavoring packets would count.

Sorry to be graphic, but I would judge your hydration by the color of your urine. If your urine is dark, you need more water. If it is light or colorless, you are well hydrated. So if you drink non-plain water & your urine is light to colorless, I would say you are fine to count what you drank towards your water intake. If yours is darker, then don't count it since it isn't hydrating you. People seem to react differently to it.

Anything that doesn't have caffeine in it (or a bunch of added chemicals or sugar or crap) counts. Rather than Crystal Light, you might want to try some herbal tea. I brew a pot and then put it into a pitcher and put it in the fridge. VOILA! Iced tea with no sugar, no aspartame or other chemicals, and it tastes GOOD! Use any herbal tea... I also get at LEAST 50% of my water as plain ol' H2O. Just my two cents.

I drink alot of vitamin water and teas, I record it as water but I also record the calories

I only count plain water. I never include my daily green tea.

Whereas caffeine is a diuretic, and can dehydration...
Whereas green tea contains caffeine...
Whereas 1/2 of the caffeine is removed from decaf coffee and teas...
Whereas 1/2 of the caffeine is left IN decaf coffee and teas...
Therefore, decaf and green tea should not be counted toward your water goal.

When you consume a diuretic, fluid is being removed from your body cells through your kidneys. The volume of urine is higher, but it's removing the same amount of waste. Therefore it is lighter in color. If it remains light over time, you're probably hydrated. But if it is dark occasionally, your dehydration day may have been yesterday, not today. Your body is making up for yesterday's water loss by retaining fluid.

Due to other health issues, I avoid caffeine in all forms. I react to even green or decaf tea, so I avoid them. I keep 2 20-ounce water bottles. One I drink half on my way to work, and leave it in the car. I drink the other half on the way home. It doesn't take long to sip 10 oz. of water. The other goes in my lunch bag. I take it out when I get to work and sip on it all morning. When I empty it, I fill it at the water fountain, and sip on it all afternoon. If you're counting, that's 60 oz. of water by the time I get home. That's 7 1/2 cups, and I don't feel waterlogged. Plus a cup with my vitamins in the morning, and a cup with my dinner, and I have 9 1/2 cups of water a day.