Question about water consumption

kellch
kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
edited September 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok this may be a really stupid question....::ohwell: Can you drink too much water? Will it hurt your weight loss progress? I know it says 8 glasses a day but lately I've been drinking 10-12 glasses sometimes even more....I had a cold and the cold went away but I've had a cough now for about 4 weeks. (I have a dr appt today....and I quit smoking....3 days without a cigarette...:huh: it's tough and I have a long way to go...but I gotta do it....I kind of hesitated for a while because I heard you gain weight if you quit....but I'd rather add a few more pounds that I need to lose to my goal than die of cancer...so here I go...but it is tough :mad: ) Anyhow, back to the point, it helps my cough to drink lots of water. The only reason I ask this question is cuz when I put in how much water I drink it shows the water spilling over the sides...So I think "that cant be good, but can drinking too much water really hurt you???" :laugh:

Replies

  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Ok this may be a really stupid question....::ohwell: Can you drink too much water? Will it hurt your weight loss progress? I know it says 8 glasses a day but lately I've been drinking 10-12 glasses sometimes even more....I had a cold and the cold went away but I've had a cough now for about 4 weeks. (I have a dr appt today....and I quit smoking....3 days without a cigarette...:huh: it's tough and I have a long way to go...but I gotta do it....I kind of hesitated for a while because I heard you gain weight if you quit....but I'd rather add a few more pounds that I need to lose to my goal than die of cancer...so here I go...but it is tough :mad: ) Anyhow, back to the point, it helps my cough to drink lots of water. The only reason I ask this question is cuz when I put in how much water I drink it shows the water spilling over the sides...So I think "that cant be good, but can drinking too much water really hurt you???" :laugh:
  • dulceluva
    dulceluva Posts: 728 Member
    Congrats on quitting smoking.

    Uhm...I think its a tricky answer too. I saw threads on this very topic last week.

    And the conclusion was yes but there was so many reasons why and I doubt you would fal into any of those categories.

    I personally don't see a problem with 10-12...esp if you are exercising and drinking caffiene or diuretics.
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Oh yeah I'm exercising....and I still have my cup of coffee every morning to get me goin...just had to cut down on the sugar...:laugh: Thanks much :wink:
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    Ok, here are some facts from some research I did for all of us, Yes you can drink too much water but....

    Hyponatremia or water intoxication is mostly found in infants under the age of 6 months and that is mostly caused by bottles of formula being too diluted. The other catagory of person that may suffer from water intoxication is athletes. Athletes sweat a lot and in doing so loose water and electrolytes. Water intoxication is brought on by a dehydrated person drinking a lot of water at one time with no electrolytes going back in at the same time (this is why atlethes do drink sports drinks during long strenous workouts)

    What water intoxication essentially does is swells body tissues to the extreme with excess fluids and excess water outside of the cells actually extracts sodium from within the cells, basically you are drowning your own cells.

    The average person going to the gym for an hour or so a day typically does not drink in excess. A healthy adults kidneys produce 15 liters of water a day, so as long as you drink your water over a period of time (like the whole day) you are very unlikely to ever suffer from water intoxication.

    ADEQUATE WATER INTAKE IS KEY TO SUCCESSFUL WEIGHT LOSS...
    if you don't drink enough water you can end up with excess body fat, poor muscle tone, digestive problems, muscle soreness, organ effienciency problems,and believe it or not water retention. WE are made up of 60-70% water.

    ""proper water intake is a key to weight loss, if people are trying to lose weight and don't drink enough water, the body can't metabolize the fat adequately, retaining fluid also keeps the weight up" Dr. Donald Robertson medical director of teh Southwest Bariatric nutrition center in Scottsdale AZ.

    a normal healthy person should consume a MINIMUM of 8-10 8 ounce glasses of water per day. This increases if you exercise, or live in a hot climate. Overweight people should drink an EXTRA glass of water for every 25lbs that exceeds their normal body weight.

    Internation Sports medicine institute says the formula for water intake is half your body weight in ounces of water (the less you weigh the less you need) and if you are an athlete you should consume 2/3 your weight in ounces of water!

    So the short answer is no, you are not drinking too much water in all probability. :happy:
  • jessaweesz
    jessaweesz Posts: 3
    Congrats on quitting smoking!!!! My husband and I quit on Dec 16th of 2007. On the sugar note, my major calorie intake for the day was the sugar & milk in my coffee, plus the fact that I would drink a whole pot. I switched to (*Superose) Sugar Substitute, it is calorie free, started using a low cal creamer, plus I'm gradually weeing myself to just two cups a day. Good Luck:smile::smile:
  • Idiolatry
    Idiolatry Posts: 7
    Another problem with the whole water drinking thing is it can actually change your weight. Whether you're drinking too much or not enough, it'll have an effect on your weight. About 25% of weight loss is water loss, and it's regained almost immediately. If you start retaining water because you're drinking too much, then your weight will go up. If it becomes a problem, or you notice weird changes in your weight, try weighing several times a day.
  • maddie40
    maddie40 Posts: 2
    I drink a 3 to 4 liters of liquid every day (about a gallon). Which is about 135 fluid ounces and 16 of the little "drinking glass' icons. :) don't worry about it.

    The only time its dangerous to drink too much water is if your drink it very quickly (as in, a gallon in less than an hour or two). Then you throw off the sodium and potassium balance in your body and blood and you can die.

    If you're drinking through out the day, you're fine.

    GO for it

    PS Congrats on quitting smoking. You can DO IT!!!!!! Stick to it!!!!!
  • tekrueger
    tekrueger Posts: 85
    Way to go EX smokers! Power to you!!
    Thomas
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    :happy: Thanks everyone for all of your imput. I appreciate it.:smile: I messed up and had 2 cigarettes on Saturday but otherwise, I've done good. As for the water thing, Thanks for that update and all of the facts. It was very insightful :bigsmile: Appreciate everyone's support....Diet, no smoking, its tough....My boyfriend is probably lucky he works nights :bigsmile: I'm kinda on the edge right now....I'm sure or I hope, at least, it'll get easier with diet, exercise, no smoking. I hope I don't gain wait from quitting smoking even though I'm dieting and exercising. I heard u gain like 20 lbs...yuck...that's what kept me from quitting for a while, believe it or not.... :happy: Thanks again....
  • Anna_Banana
    Anna_Banana Posts: 2,939 Member
    If you start retaining water because you're drinking too much, then your weight will go up. If it becomes a problem, or you notice weird changes in your weight, try weighing several times a day.

    I think you end up retaining more water if you drink too little rather than too much.
  • babyhippo
    babyhippo Posts: 247
    :happy: Way to go. It's great you put the cigarette's down. Just think....all the money you will save on buying cigarettes....you can put towards new skinny clothes! Yea!!!:bigsmile:
  • Idiolatry
    Idiolatry Posts: 7
    If you start retaining water because you're drinking too much, then your weight will go up. If it becomes a problem, or you notice weird changes in your weight, try weighing several times a day.

    I think you end up retaining more water if you drink too little rather than too much.

    Sorry. I should've been more clear. I meant retaining as in getting bloated from so much water consumption.
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