water, how much is too much?

Water intoxication or hyponatremia can be fatal. My mom's cousin died from too much water when they were younger, as in young children. They went for a hike in the middle of day and didn't bring any water. They were just kids who wandered out and when they came home, her cousin drank at least a gallon in a span of a couple of minutes. She ended up dying. You can literally wash away electrolytes like potassium and sodium which are necessary for the body to function.

This is an extreme situation and not what the OP is referring to.

I drink between 16 (128 ) to 18 (144 ), 8 oz of water a day, had a doctor appointment and she chewed me out. she said that was too much water for me to take in daily and to cut it down to half my body weight. I explained that i am thirsty throughout the day (feeling dehydrated) and dont drink soda. she suggested sugar free candy, so I tried it and its nasty. So my daily intake has decreased to 12 (96) to 14 (112).

if any one have any other suggestion, I am open

You need a new doctor. Sugar free candy instead of water? WTF?

Hydration is good - and it would take ALOT more to be too much. But the losing 10lb in a week - that is pretty much nonsense so I would ignore the advice of the person who told you that. You MAY lose some water weight as you become more hydrated and as such MAY retain less - but 10lb, highly unlikely.

Actually, I lost about 7 in my first week. It's very possible as most of what you will lose is excess water weight. ^-^ But, that high loss in the first 1-2 weeks didn't stick around and I lost 1-2 lbs a week after that water weight came off.

You lost 7lb - which is not unusual - 10lb is. Also, its unpredictable, so someone telling her she WILL lose it is just wrong.

My friend lost 12. Though, her weight was higher than mine. Of course, guaranteeing for anyone will never be accurate. But it remains possible! ^-^ Just keep up the great work and stay hydrated, I suppose!!

I did not say it was impossible.

^-^ I know, I was just giving an example of someone I knew that had lost quite a bit!
The loss depends on the person, at the end of the day! I wasn't looking for a debate on whether or not you can XD haha.

I've been drinking 4 Liters of water per day for a while now.

I'm deficient in sodium due to a medical condition and I'm also on a diuretic for another medical condition, as well as doing keto - my electrolytes are FUBAR unless I monitor them. My favorite electrolyte liquid is water with lime juice and salt, or Topo Chico with a squeeze of lime (negligible sugar and carbs for both, and if you use TrueLime crystals, none). Over time I've learned that when I'm all electrolyted up the salt begins to taste bitter, so then I switch to plain water until I start wanting salt again. I have a water app on my phone that makes a cute little noise every 20 minutes to remind me to drink, otherwise I'll forget and then it's two hours later and I'm cranky and dry and can't think straight and hate the world. Also, please remember that 1g of edible salt =/= 1g of sodium. Table salt has a different sodium level from kosher salt or sea salt or those fancy colored salts that some people like.

A 32 oz bottle is too bulky for me. I work in 20 oz bottles left over from my former Vitamin Water habit. I fill them about 1/3 of the way and them put them on their sides in the freezer, then when that's frozen I fill them up from the filter dispenser thingie on the fridge and don't have to mess with ice. I like my water cold, LOL. The water app, which probably goes by the formula others have suggested above, tells me to drink about 95 oz a day and I make that goal about once a week (yeah I need to work on it). Over the course of 16 hours there is no danger in this, unless you have a medical condition that makes you susceptible to water intoxication (see your doc for testing if you are worried about it).

I was always told as a kid that if you haven't had anything to drink for a long time, you shouldn't drink too fast, or you'll get water cramps. I have no idea if this is true or not, but it's habit of mine to drink slowly if I'm feeling dry, even though I want to drink all of the water.

My last caveat is that recreational drug use will throw another monkey wrench in the works, and I'm not going to pass judgment on that, but if you're going to do it (general you, not specific you), please take time to read some of the drug-use forums that I know about from my job but will not link here (don't freak out, I work in medical records and often have to look up street names of drugs).

I drink 1 1/2 or more gallons a day. It's rare to overhydrate. If you aren't drinking so much because of diabetes then you should be fine. You might possibly want to add electrolytes, I do about every week or so because of my workouts, if you find that you are dehydrating even while drinking what you are.

I drink when I'm thirsty. This could end up being 1 liter or 5. No need to complicate things. Water will not magically make you lose weight. It's for hydration. The reason you are not seeing results is because you are eating more than you think and no amount of water will fix that.

How much water is too much? Force-consuming water is unnecessary and only complicates a simple thing. There is no good reason to force-consume liquids until you gag unless you are doing it for medical reasons (bladder stones for example).

vade43113 wrote: »

Wow. Do you just sit on the toilet all day too? I drink a lot of liquids but that sounds like a lot. It's usually recommended that you drink 64oz a day, other then that just drink when you're thirsty not because someone told you drinking 4 gallons of water a day will make you lose weight.

4 1/2 gallons... so it only makes 2 gallons.

and the main reason I am doing that is to stop drinking so much pop... but I found the less pop I drank the more water I downed... strange.

Somone just told me that if I continued, I should loose 10 pound in the first week

So of course the kick the ever dead horse already, the electrolytes and sodium especially (sodium --> hyponatremia) are the main things to watch for when drinking too much water. The fall in extracellular osmolality causes water to move into brain cells, in extreme cases. This causes them to swell which increases the overall pressure in the brain. This can cause stroke, coma, and death - even brain stem herniation which is ultimately death. The electrolytes, like someone mentioned can throw potassium and calcium channels out of whack which can cause cramping, and arrhythmias. But those are in the extreme cases of excessive water consumption, especially over a short period of time.

So as long as you have no headaches, nausea, heart palpitations, etc you should be fine. Now I wouldn't keep pushing it. You'll hit a point where you just feel better with the amount you're drinking. For me I'm right around the 128-160 range. Typically, I drink about 144oz/8hr period. It will vary depending on your lifestyle. I wouldn't worry about the drink when you're thirsty, drink til your pee is light...if you feel better, just keep doing what you're doing.

And I think the whole drink more water lose more weight is tied in a little with lipase activation. It mobilizes fat so that your body can be rid of it. I'm sure that it has a diminishing return at some point, however.

---> Not sure your medical background, but if it is safe, i.e not a type 1 diabetic, etc, check out Keto. I hate to be one of those that throws what I'm doing out there, but I've got a body that likes to hold weight. Keto has been about the only thing that has worked for me, and isn't miserable to do!

Anyway, I'd say if you've been drinking that much for this long...7 years now and you're still kickin, keep doing it because it obviously isn't hurting you! Hopefully you found some more modes to help with the weight loss you were seeking!

I love the idea that OP has been doing this for 7 years but needs to switch to keto. 2019 rocks. Sorry 2012. (Pretty sure 2005 was huge Atkins, though. 7 year waves.)