Too much water

mollybethjack
mollybethjack Posts: 15 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does drinking too much water make you gain weight? I weighed 3 pounds heavier than I did yesterday and all I’ve had is a little coffee and like 8 bottles of water so far today. Does it also add inches? Kind of like bloating before your period? I thought drinking a lot of water helps you and is good for you. So why am I gaining weight and inches?
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Replies

  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Water retention will certainly make your weight go up in the short term. Drinking a lot of water can also make you feel uncomfortably full or bloated. You need to be properly hydrated for normal bodily function and to ensure that you aren't confusing thirst with hunger. Otherwise drinking water isn't a miracle weight loss technique.
    mollybethjack wrote: »
    Does drinking too much water make you gain weight? I weighed 3 pounds heavier than I did yesterday and all I’ve had is a little coffee and like 8 bottles of water so far today. Does it also add inches? Kind of like bloating before your period? I thought drinking a lot of water helps you and is good for you. So why am I gaining weight and inches?

    Why are you drinking so much? The general recommendation is 64oz of water per day which is 8 cups not bottles. Use this chart as a guide for hydration.

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  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Just to be sure, are you weighing yourself at the same time of day or did you weigh yourself after drinking all of said liquid?
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    Well water has weight. Approximately 1 pound per 16 ounce bottle. That all goes into you when you drink it. Weigh yourself, drink a 16 ounce bottle, then weigh yourself again, and you'll see. The water then passes out through you again throughout the day through going to the bathroom and sweating. There's a whole lot of different reasons your body does or doesn't retain water for water weight. Drinking enough water over time won't make you gain any water weight, because your body will learn to regulate for it and won't store it. However if you drink a huge amount more than normal, it makes sense that it might stay with you an extra day or two until your body evens it out.

    Weight fluctuations due to water weight is a completely normal part of the process and nothing to be concerned about. Some days you will way more than others based on what you eat or drink. It's not bad. The longer you do this, the more you learn not to worry about temporary fluctuations of the scale.
  • mollybethjack
    mollybethjack Posts: 15 Member
    Very true. Didn’t think about that. Good point
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,253 Member
    Note that drinking too much water can make you very ill or even kill you by diluting essential electrolytes.

    (See eg 'hyponatremia' for more information)
  • mollybethjack
    mollybethjack Posts: 15 Member
    elliej wrote: »
    I drink nearly two litres of water a day and only weigh myself every two weeks after a 'dehydration' day. Being well hydrated is good for you, for a number of factors, but the biggest one for me is that it keeps my back less painful. Your spinal discs are a bit like a jelly doughnut, and when you're hydrated they're nice and plumped up.

    By the time you feel 'thirst' your body is already dehydrated.

    That said, 8 bottles is a lot, depending on their size!
    elliej wrote: »
    I drink nearly two litres of water a day and only weigh myself every two weeks after a 'dehydration' day. Being well hydrated is good for you, for a number of factors, but the biggest one for me is that it keeps my back less painful. Your spinal discs are a bit like a jelly doughnut, and when you're hydrated they're nice and plumped up.

    By the time you feel 'thirst' your body is already dehydrated.

    That said, 8 bottles is a lot, depending on their size!

    Yeah I drink around 6-8 16.9 oz bottles a day. I also an actual meal. Is that too much water?
  • mollybethjack
    mollybethjack Posts: 15 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    Note that drinking too much water can make you very ill or even kill you by diluting essential electrolytes.

    (See eg 'hyponatremia' for more information)

    Yeah I read it. But I also eat actual food too lol, I also drink a little Powerade Zero too to help replenish electrolytes
  • awolf2011
    awolf2011 Posts: 265 Member
    My trainer says to drink 1 gallon of water per day.
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,074 Member
    I drink at least a gallon of water every day. Im used to it. It has not killed me yet.
  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 511 Member
    mollybethjack wrote: »
    Really?? I thought you were supposed to drink half of your body weight in water. Honestly??... I used to weigh myself every week or two weeks. The past few days it’s been multiple times a day. And I know weight can fluctuate throughout the day but I seriously only had a few sips of coffee and water before I weighed.

    I just read this statement close to this in a magazine I'm reading, it said weight yourself, halve that number and drink that amount in oz in a day.
    I'm hoping that is wrong, otherwise I should be drinking 125 oz a day....
    I'd be living in the bathroom...
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
    OhMsDiva wrote: »
    I drink at least a gallon of water every day. Im used to it. It has not killed me yet.

    I drink over 150oz a day of fluids if you count my coffee, lol. When you drink a lot, your body adjusts. That is probably why I eat so much salt and sweat so much during exercise.

    OP, water weighs a lot. I have drank 4 bottles of water and weighed myself. Sure enough, up 4lbs as predicted. If you enjoy drinking so much, continue to do so but just understand liquid has weight. If you are forcing yourself to drink so much, its not really necessary as you don't really NEED that much in a day.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,799 Member
    mollybethjack wrote: »
    Really?? I thought you were supposed to drink half of your body weight in water.

    Over what time period??

    In a day? That's a good way of killing yourself.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,799 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    OhMsDiva wrote: »
    I drink at least a gallon of water every day. Im used to it. It has not killed me yet.

    I drink over 150oz a day of fluids if you count my coffee, lol. When you drink a lot, your body adjusts. That is probably why I eat so much salt and sweat so much during exercise.

    OP, water weighs a lot. I have drank 4 bottles of water and weighed myself. Sure enough, up 4lbs as predicted. If you enjoy drinking so much, continue to do so but just understand liquid has weight. If you are forcing yourself to drink so much, its not really necessary as you don't really NEED that much in a day.

    You can do that test with lower amounts ... some time ago, I weighed myself, drank 500 ml, weighed myself again and I was up half a kg.
  • Sharod_BeastFit
    Sharod_BeastFit Posts: 61 Member
    mollybethjack wrote: »
    Does drinking too much water make you gain weight? I weighed 3 pounds heavier than I did yesterday and all I’ve had is a little coffee and like 8 bottles of water so far today. Does it also add inches? Kind of like bloating before your period? I thought drinking a lot of water helps you and is good for you. So why am I gaining weight and inches?

    Download a water tracker app and by adding your weight and age it should tell you how much water you should be drinking a day.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,713 Member
    Drinking buckets of water isn't necessary! That whole, "if a bit of something is good for you, then a whole lot of it is even better!" reasoning can be dangerous.

    As long as you're drinking enough to feel hydrated and keep your pee a healthy shade, you're doing fine. If you sweat more, drink extra. No magical formula needed.

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