How much water is too much water?

michelle_vankat
michelle_vankat Posts: 59
edited September 30 in Food and Nutrition
I've been averaging 14-20 cups of water lately. Is it possible to consume TOO MUCH water and derail your weight loss efforts?

Replies

  • felly07
    felly07 Posts: 43 Member
    Water's a great tool in weightloss but be careful of drinking it in the extreme - water intoxication is really dangerous.
  • binkybaby1
    binkybaby1 Posts: 188 Member
    Yes you can drink too much water but its a lot of water. I've read that its recommend that you drink 1/2 of your weight in water. I usually drink between 100 and 128 ounces a day.
  • mrsmartin5
    mrsmartin5 Posts: 9
    I dont think you can have too much water michelle......
    As long as you are apssing urine well then it wont hamper your weight loss. I drink possibly 3 litres of water a day. The diet I am folllowing requires me to drink 2 litres but especially with this warm weather I drink more most days, it help stop you feeling hungry and flushes your system, plus helps increase metabolism especially if it is ice cold.
  • jbretz
    jbretz Posts: 43
    I sure hope not. I drink 1-1.5 gallons of water a day.
  • GypsyRose25
    GypsyRose25 Posts: 407
    The only way water could truly make you sick is if you drink 100 ounces in one sitting. Don't do that. Otherwise, you are fine.
  • k2quiere
    k2quiere Posts: 4,151 Member
    I think the issue may be in sodium intake. I drink at least 12 glasses of water a day (96 ounces), but usually more. I know that if I have had a high sodium day, I will still see weight gain the next day due to some water-retention swelling. I have never had a problem ridding myself of the water I drink :laugh:
  • kochany
    kochany Posts: 32
    Do you force it or your body tells you to drink that much, if you exercise a lot than its ok.
  • rebecca9341
    rebecca9341 Posts: 66 Member
    Read this...Too much of ANYTHING can become problematic.

    http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm
  • flutterqueen04
    flutterqueen04 Posts: 278
    The rule of thumb to follow is this: Take your weight divide it by 2 and that is the amount of ounces you should be drinking.

    EXAMPLE:

    160lb woman would drink

    160/2 = 80 ounces or 10 glasses of water (8 oz of water = 1 cup)

    You can drink more if your body can handle it. If you are sweating more, working outdoors, taking in a lot of sodium then it is totally ok to go over. If you start to feel nauseous and are not noticing a good out put of water (from sweat and urine) then you are probably drinking too much. It is very rare that you can consume too much water, but just pay attention to your body. Just like when you know you've done too much exercise, you'll know when you have had too much water :)
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=water+intoxication&hl=en&btnG=Search&as_sdt=1,5&as_sdtp=on
  • felly07
    felly07 Posts: 43 Member
    Spread out the water, and don't force yourself and you'll be fine. Scary though that some slimmers have died from the water speeds metabolism hocus:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1093811/Slimmer-died-tragic-accident-drinking-water-controversial-diet.html
  • cjlapier
    cjlapier Posts: 29
    You can drink too much water. You have to drink alot, but you can flush out your electrolytes and could end up going to the hospital. I know this for a fact because I have an I/M at work that does it all the time and has come close to death on more than one occasion. But it is ALOT of water.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
    You absolutely CAN drink too much water, and there's no magic number to say what is too much. It's all about the amount of water versus sodium in you blood. Too much water can cause your brain to swell. If you only drink plain water after exercising (you loose a lot of sodium through sweating) it can be very easy to drink too much water. At youth soccer nationals this year a referee di exactly that. He drank water instead of gatorade so he didn't replace his electrolytes, and he spent the next three days in ICU.

    Google Hyponatremia for more information on what can happen and how to avoid it.
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