Water!

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  • Daddy78230
    Daddy78230 Posts: 125 Member
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    Without tracking it, I gauge my hydration by the color of my urnation and the chapness of my lips. If my lips are chapped then I definitely know I'm in the red zone, if my pee is light yellow (like light beer) or lighter than I know I'm on the right track.

    If my urnation color is light, but lips chapped then I know I have to continue drinking more liquids to rehydrate my body.

    50% of what I drink is water, 30% club soda, the rest is coffee, tea, or diet soda.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I do it by counting the cups I drink throughout the morning until I get to 8. Then I stop counting so carefully and keep drinking water often.
  • maurihart
    maurihart Posts: 51 Member
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    I drink water or lemon water during the day because it makes me feel less bloated. I don't know how much it is but I know it's a lot. Sometimes I'll have unsweet tea as well and occasionally a Diet Coke.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    It all counts. Soda, coffee, tea...all good for your water count.
  • BlueberryJoghurt
    BlueberryJoghurt Posts: 67 Member
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    Thanks for all your answers! Main reason of asking was to determine if my dry hands are caused by water intake or washing too much. Since with sodas and coffee my liquid intake is somewhat over 2liters, I guess I need to get some less aggressive soaps.

    No but seriously its good to hear, one of the things you tend to always hear is "drink enough" and I wanted to make sure I am. Thank you guys :D
  • NancyCaz61
    NancyCaz61 Posts: 136 Member
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    So this all reminded me of something I heard while following WW years ago....I remember hearing that for every caffeinated drink you should drink one extra water...do you think that's true as "they" say caffeine dehydrates...?

    Just curious...I don't make it a point to, just had a memory flashback...
  • BlueberryJoghurt
    BlueberryJoghurt Posts: 67 Member
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    NancyCaz61 wrote: »
    So this all reminded me of something I heard while following WW years ago....I remember hearing that for every caffeinated drink you should drink one extra water...do you think that's true as "they" say caffeine dehydrates...?

    Just curious...I don't make it a point to, just had a memory flashback...

    fitzmonkey13 answered this above:
    fitzmonkey13 wrote: »
    domeofstars wrote: »
    OP: I thought that drinks with caffeine in them dehydrated you and did not count towards your water intake.

    The idea that caffeine dehydrates you come from a study in 1928 where researchers found that people who drank more coffee needed to urinate more frequently. The study had a lot of flaws, not least of which was a very small group of test subjects. More recent studies don't find coffee drinkers to be more dehydrated than water drinkers. So go ahead and count your tea and coffee and soda toward your water goals if you want to. Just make sure you track the calories if you add cream or sugar. And make sure you are limiting your caffeine to safe levels for your particular health situation.

  • NancyCaz61
    NancyCaz61 Posts: 136 Member
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    Oh gosh, I didn't see that thank you!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    BlueberryJoghurt wrote: »
    I wanted to ask you all how you make sure to get enough water during the day? Reminders or any certain technique?

    I don't worry about it, since I've always drank lots of water, and I think people aren't likely to let themselves get dehydrated when liquid is available. That said, one reason I always drink a lot is that I fill up a container that I like drinking out of with cold water (we have a cooler at work, I just add ice and use tap at home) and have it next to me at all times, including during meals. I end up drinking it all day long.

    You don't really have to worry about drinking a specific amount of water, but if you make it available or alternate it with soda, perhaps, that will help. (Soda counts too, if you are counting -- it's mostly water.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    One benefit of water over soda or coffee -- and I say this as a major coffee addict -- is that it doesn't have caffeine. I actually find that limiting my caffeine (I still drink coffee, just not as much as I would if I drank it completely freely) is helpful for me and that I sleep better and am less prone to anxiety overall. Obviously everyone is different.
  • Kfont42
    Kfont42 Posts: 14 Member
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    I use a free app called iHydrate to track my water intake. I also use an app called Mango that will send me custom reminders to nudge me to drink more water. On both, you can set goals for how much water you'd like to drink in a day. On iHydrate, you log anything from coffee to juice to soda, and the app will give you credit for the water in it.

    I aim to drink 80 ounces of water a day, and 7.9 - 15 ounces of that is coffee or tea. I try not to drink soda because it's a lot of calories and sugar I don't need (I have enough of a sweet tooth as is, that soda was an easy thing to cut). If I'm having a day where plain water just doesn't sound good, I drink hot tea. I keep lemon tea at my desk. It's Celestial Seasonings, and it has 0 calories, but it's refreshing!

    For me, I notice a difference in my body when I'm drinking more water. I read a while back that sometimes, we mistake hunger for dehydration, so the best thing you can do when you're trying to lose weight or cut back on calories is drink water. It's also better for your skin, and it makes working out easier. On top of that, drinking cold water burns calories because your body has to warm it up to process it (I read that in one of the articles in the MFP HelloHealthy section on dieting myths).

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