How can you drink so much water!?!?!

I drink to thirst and typically stay in the 3 to 4 range on that chart. I am healthy and my bloodwork, blood pressure, resting pulse etc all look great. There is no reason to force yourself to drink more than a gallon of water a day (1 gallon is 128 oz) and it could even be dangerous to do so if you are not replacing salt and potassium appropriately.

I drink 100+ ounces of water a day. Plus coffee and 1 soda. I fill three water bottles with 70 ounces every morning and refill them when 2 are empty. And I usually keep one with me at all times. It started as a way to drink less soda and save money and became a habit that I did because it was supposed to help me eat less.

Yes by the end of the day, 100-150 ounces in, I do feel like I'm in the bathroom a lot.

"Approximately 80 percent of total water intake comes from drinking beverages and water. While consumption of beverages containing caffeine and alcohol have been shown in some studies to have diuretic effects, available information indicates that this may be transient in nature, and that such beverages contribute to total water intake.

While the AI (Adequate intake) is given in terms of total water, there are multiple sources of such water, including moisture content of foods, beverages such as juices and milk, and drinking water. While all of these can contribute to meeting the adequate intake, no one source is essential for normal physiological function and health"

Page 8: Suggested Citation:"Summary." Institute of Medicine. 2005. Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10925.

"Recommended intakes for water are based on median intakes of generally healthy individuals who are adequately hydrated; individuals can be adequately hydrated at levels below as well as above the AIs (adequate intakes) provided. The AIs provided are for total water in temperate climates. All sources can contribute to total water needs: beverages (including tea, coffee, juices, sodas, and drinking water) and moisture found in foods. Moisture in food accounts for about 20% of total water intake. Thirst and consumption of beverages at meals are adequate to maintain hydration.

Selected Food Sources: All beverages, including water, as well as moisture in foods (high moisture foods include watermelon, meats, soups, etc.)

Adverse effects of excess consumption: No UL (upper limit is specified) because normally functioning kidneys can handle more than 0.7 L (24 oz) of fluid per hour; symptoms of water intoxication include hyponatremia which can result in heart failure and rhabdomyolosis (skeletal muscle tissue injury) which can lead to kidney failure."

http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Activity Files/Nutrition/DRI-Tables/9_Electrolytes_Water Summary.pdf

accessed via: https://www.nap.edu/read/10925/chapter/1#xix


Yes, your normally functioning kidneys will have you up and about peeing often in order to handle excess fluids. Gives you extra steps and a reason to move. FOR MOST PEOPLE, it is also probably not necessary to set goals and desperately try to add huge quantities of water to what you are already consuming. It is unlikely that you were severely out of whack in terms of hydration in the first place and still healthy enough and around to read this. And yes, a quick gut check as to whether I am hungry or thirsty before consuming calories has helped many an overweight person. But downing liters of tepid, or warm, or cold, or lemony, or acv, or fruit flavoured water over and above what you would normally drink? Not so much so!

Evil_Queen43 wrote: »

I am currently on 2000ml and it's only 5pm. How do I do it? I put the water in the glass, I put the glass to my lips, I drink the water...uth-h-ello
Yes I pee frequently but how do you think waste products (like fat) leave your body?! Pee and poop.l.akelnd if you have a good amount of fibre, as you should, then you need the water to help the poop too.
Cut out the salt, drink the water.

To the bolded: Nope-It-A-Nope-Nope-NOPE.

Fat leaves mostly via C55H104O6+78O2 --> 55CO2+52H2O+energy.

Um, wot?

You exhale about 84% of it (like @quiksylver296 said), and the other 16% is water.

Here's a consumer-friendly version of the story, but it's consistent with cold, hard science:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/12/16/371210831/when-you-burn-off-that-fat-where-does-it-go

Drink enough to achieve pale urine as mentioned above (or, if you get lots of water-soluble vitamins, it'll be neon-bright yellow, but not darker brownish-yellow), and you're likely fine.

If you're actually under-hydrating, and stressed by frequent urination, then increase intake (and output) gradually over a few weeks. Make an effort - as long as you're near a bathroom - to "hold it" as long as reasonably practical, then go. Your tolerance (and holding capacity ) will increase.

I drink at least 104 oz of water a day. It's my preferred drink. I only have to urinate once every 2-3 hours.

I drink when I'm thirsty.
I drink if my urine is dark.
I drink if my kidneys are acting up a bit.

I don't know how much I'm drinking although I did track it one week some time ago, and it amounted to about 3 litres ... slightly more than "recommended" but that included activity drinking, like drinking water when cycling.

How much water you ‘need’ a day thrown out as a hard and fast rule is a load of nonsense, in my opinion.

Far too many variables and to make people think they’re ‘doing it wrong’ if they aren’t adhering to some arbitrary amount is wrong!

The climate you live in, how tall you are, how much you weigh, your exercise level, your work habit, how much of your food is high in water content etc etc. All these things have impact on what your body needs to function at optimal hydration.

Drink when you’re thirsty. Drink whatever you want to drink. Doesn’t have to be plain water.

I’m not a believer in the mantra you see bandied about ‘if you’re thirsty, it’s too late, you’re already badly dehydrated’. What a rubbish survival system that would be! The human body is better designed than that!