what makes water sooooo great???????

solomonsmom
solomonsmom Posts: 57 Member
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
Everyone keeps saying drink plenty of water....but then doesn't that make water weight??? lol I probably sound stupid with this one. But I just don't understand why it's so important to drink so much, and I wonder where it all goes. If I knew more I would probably drink it more. Would it help if I didn't drink my diet pop anymore??? Ok people let me have it thats what I am here for!!!!!!! Thanks~

Replies

  • solomonsmom
    solomonsmom Posts: 57 Member
    Everyone keeps saying drink plenty of water....but then doesn't that make water weight??? lol I probably sound stupid with this one. But I just don't understand why it's so important to drink so much, and I wonder where it all goes. If I knew more I would probably drink it more. Would it help if I didn't drink my diet pop anymore??? Ok people let me have it thats what I am here for!!!!!!! Thanks~
  • dragonfly81
    dragonfly81 Posts: 272 Member
    Water flushes all the sodium out of your body. Sodium causes alot of your water weight. You may not even realize how much sodium you're eating in a day. Try looking at the sodium intake on the calorie counter here, and you'll be amazed at what you're consuming on a regular day.

    Diet Pop is LOADED with sugary sweet stuff that will help keep the pounds on. Yeah it's diet, but they still sweeten it.

    I have a diet pop addiction too, and it's best to either quit cold turkey or wean yourself down from them. (This coming from someone who drank 4-5 a day.)

    edited to correct a word.
  • jbloggins
    jbloggins Posts: 5
    Your body requires water to run. When your body is well hydrated, your metabolism is maximised.
  • greeneggsam
    greeneggsam Posts: 121
    Water is important for overall health. Not drinking enough water can damage your kidneys and skin elasticity. Plus, drinking water helps you feel full, which is a good weight loss trick.

    That being said, I HATE drinking water!!!:sick: I have a cup of tea or coffee in the morning, and another at night, but that's it. So, I try to compensate for it with lots of fruits, vegetables, and soups. To me, I don't drink water if I'm not thirsty just like I try not to eat food when I'm not hungry!

    Diet pop is a controversial thing, as I'm sure you know. Search the message boards here, and you will find all types of topics with all types of opinions reflected in them. I don't have much of an opinion because, like I said, I don't drink much of anything.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    drinking water also keeps you from drinking high calorie, sugary drinks like juices, sodas, and sugary drinks like koolaid and frutopia. If you're quenching your thrist with good ole 0calorie water, think of the calories you'll save.
  • MisoSoup79
    MisoSoup79 Posts: 517
    First, water is vital to all your organs and muscles, without it, your body has a harder time recovering from workouts and you can become sluggish as your organs slow down.

    Second, drinking 8-10 cups of water per day actually helps you LOSE water weight! Like the first poster wrote, it flushes your system of sodium. If you don't drink enough, your body holds onto it very tightly, but if you drink it liberally, it just does it's job and goes right through you. Along with flushing sodium, it also helps eliminate toxins that build up inside your body.

    Third, the body sends signals to your brain when you need more water that is often confused for hunger because it doesn't do a good job of differentiating the two... so not drinking enough can lead to over-eating because you interpret the need for water as "hunger." Staying well hydrated will ensure you only get hungry when your body needs food, not water.

    I have lost 11 lbs in less than two weeks and I believe most of that was water weight. I make sure I get my 8-10 cups every day and it really has curbed my rampant appetite and I haven't felt bloated since I started tracking my water intake.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    In addition to what Nysa said, drinking water can keep you from eating too much, as often dehyrdation symptoms can be mistaken as hunger. Also, you retain water when you don't drink enough, much in the same way that you can actually gain weight if you don't eat enough. When you don't drink enough water, that is when you retain because your body just doesn't know when it will get water next so it holds onto the water it does have.
  • solomonsmom
    solomonsmom Posts: 57 Member
    what about adding those crystal light singles in my water does it still count for drinking water?????
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
    what about adding those crystal light singles in my water does it still count for drinking water?????

    Yes it does, any fluids can count towards your water. That juice, soda, tea, coffee, even the water that is in foods. There was a recent article in WebMD about it. If I find it, I'll post it in.


    Here's the link:

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/wonders-of-water
  • dragonfly81
    dragonfly81 Posts: 272 Member
    But remember, just because something like sodas can count for your water intake, doesn't mean they will be good for you.
  • akb2006
    akb2006 Posts: 198 Member
    I'll try to find the article but I read an article that said if you drink even a diet pop or crystal light you should try to drink 2 glasses of water to help replace that becuase the articial sweetners are hard on your system too. So even though your not drinking calories your still going to slow your weight loss down from them. Diet soda is ALL I used to drink. Now I only drink 1-2 per week. I can't give it up completely but its okay in moderation.1
  • psyknife
    psyknife Posts: 487 Member
    Considering that our bodies are made up of 55-60% water (and not 55-60% of soda or juice), one would be lead to believe it's an important nutrient ;)
    Water is extremely important for our bodies to work properly. This is because water is responsible for moving nutrients around the body and most of the chemical reactions within our cells take place in water.

    As your body works it produces waste products. Some of these waste products are toxic and the body gets rid of them through the kidneys in urine, which is mainly made up of water.

    We also lose water by evaporation when we breathe and sweat. As the temperature rises and we do more activity, this increases the amount of water the body loses. To stay healthy, you need to replace the fluids that you lose.
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
    MisoSoup79 really said it best. The habit of not drinking water is just like any other bad habit that is obnoxious to overcome, but worth every drop in the end. If you can just train yourself to start drinking more water every day, you would be so amazed at how (in a week) you are actually craving it. Try this: get two 32oz water bottles, then fill both of them up. While you are drinking the first, let the other get icy cold in the fridge. It's so much easier to drink the water if you are carrying it around with you. When the first bottle is done, fill it and exchange it for the cold one. A little trick is to put a slice of fresh lemon or lime into the water for flavor.

    About crystal light (or any powdered sweetener/additive): Think of that as crutches or training wheels or those little floaties they give to kids when they are learning how to swim: as long as you are using them with the goal to get to where you can drink 6-8 glasses of pure water a day, then that's ok.

    Incorporate water in-take goals into your other life changing goals. Today: exercise more, eat less, drink more water.:drinker: :drinker:
  • ChristyMomx3
    ChristyMomx3 Posts: 176
    what about adding those crystal light singles in my water does it still count for drinking water?????

    What I do:

    I have a jug that holds 28 oz. I put one pack of the Crystal Lite energy to go in with 28 ounces of water. It ads flavor, energy, but dilutes some of the bad artificial sweeteners. Plus I like the light taste better. Then I drink 2 more of those 28 oz without anything. I feel great when I get all of my water in. More energy, I can focus better, curves my hungry. And I burn calories in 2 ways. 1. from going to the bathroom so much, and 2 from my body warming itself back up since I drink my water really cold. In a days time I usually get at least 84 oz. I drink the first 28 between breakfast and lunch, the next 28 between lunch and supper, and the last 28 during supper or with my work out. So I am getting around 84 oz. If I get tired of water I drink a glass of nonfat milk with supper. Hope this helps! :drinker: Off to the bathroom!! :bigsmile:
  • meanness67
    meanness67 Posts: 366 Member
    I used to drink 3 Mt Dews a day and hardly any water; its tough going cold turkey but I found that to be better than trying to wean myself off of it. I allow myself one per week now and usually have it on Saturday afternoon.

    3 12 oz water = zero calories:bigsmile:
    3 12 oz Mountain Dew = 510 calories:sad:

    3 Mt. Dews 7 days a week = 3,570 calories :sick:

    3 Mt. Dews 365 days a year = 186,150 calories :noway:

    Need I say more?
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
    3 12 oz water = zero calories:bigsmile:
    3 12 oz Mountain Dew = 510 calories:sad:

    3 Mt. Dews 7 days a week = 3,570 calories :sick:

    3 Mt. Dews 365 days a year = 186,150 calories :noway:

    Need I say more?

    That's so true. And even if diet soda does not have those outrageous calories, it still has caffeine and artificial sugar.
  • lucmclaren381
    lucmclaren381 Posts: 44
    :drinker: The thought of drinking water all day really worried me at 1st its just so.......plain!! but after doing it for a couple of weeks im actually quite used to it now i fill a bottle and chill it then it just goes down through the day. I too was very addicted to Coke - not even diet just regular old fat coke but i haven't touched it for ages now - i do have the occasional coke zero but it takes me all day to drink it lol i just have a sip and put it back in the fridge untill i fancy it again.
    On that note - how bad is coke zero?? I know its only 2 cals per 500ml bottle but how about the other stuff thats in it????
  • AmandaJ
    AmandaJ Posts: 1,950 Member
    Meanness67, that is exactly what I did when I quit drinking Coke. I was drinking at least 5 of them a day though. It is no longer I am heavy! The number of calories I was consuming just in liquid alone was astounding! :noway:
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    Another fun fact... drinking ICE water will make you lose weight. The definition of a calorie is the amount of energy required to heat 1 gram of water by 1 degree celsius. Since none of us have ice cold pee, when you drink water your body has to spend energy to heat that up - burning calories. Now, the calorie they're talking about is calorie with a little c, when the Calories we refer to on here are actually Calories with a BIG C. These are actually kilocalories, or 1000 of the little calories.

    So how much does this come out to a day, potentially? If you drank a gallon of ice water every single day, you'd burn an extra 140 calories.

    Source:
    http://health.howstuffworks.com/question447.htm
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
    If you can't stand plain water throw a slice or two or lemon or lime (or both) in it and refridgerate it for a couple of hours. Also, slices of cucumber or a few fresh berries in it will add flavor, without sugars, artificial sweeteners, or chemicals. All this works well in unsweetened iced tea also, well maybe not the cucumbers . . . :smile:
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    If you can't stand plain water throw a slice or two or lemon or lime (or both) in it and refridgerate it for a couple of hours. Also, slices of cucumber or a few fresh berries in it will add flavor, without sugars, artificial sweeteners, or chemicals. All this works well in unsweetened iced tea also, well maybe not the cucumbers . . . :smile:

    I would have *never* thought of the cucumbers.. that sounds interesting. And quite refreshing :)
  • dewpearl
    dewpearl Posts: 561 Member
    If you can't stand plain water throw a slice or two or lemon or lime (or both) in it and refridgerate it for a couple of hours. Also, slices of cucumber or a few fresh berries in it will add flavor, without sugars, artificial sweeteners, or chemicals. All this works well in unsweetened iced tea also, well maybe not the cucumbers . . . :smile:

    People, you are GOLD! And I mean it!

    I just wonder where FC is at this time of day :glasses: ? I expected a long post by her :wink: .
  • psyknife
    psyknife Posts: 487 Member
    The more you drink water, the more you will start to crave it (it'll happen... I didn't believe it either).
    Before you know it, when thirst hits the first thing on your mind will be, "I need a cold glass of water," and you will just want it... plain... nothing added. I tell ya... over time, it'll happen :)
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
    If you can't stand plain water throw a slice or two or lemon or lime (or both) in it and refridgerate it for a couple of hours. Also, slices of cucumber or a few fresh berries in it will add flavor, without sugars, artificial sweeteners, or chemicals. All this works well in unsweetened iced tea also, well maybe not the cucumbers . . . :smile:

    I would have *never* thought of the cucumbers.. that sounds interesting. And quite refreshing :)

    I've mixed cucumber and lime before - really good, zingy, and refreshing! I don't usually add anything to my water, but sometimes it's like "enough already! I need flavor" :tongue:
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