Water Intake

Learn your body's thirst signals and drink when you are thirsty.

The only people who need to worry about drinking more water are those people who have trained themselves out of liking water somehow. Otherwise, don't fall for the weird hype about drinking a certain amount of water.

Are you thirsty and is your pee not clear are the only two indicators that should prompt you to drink more water.

MamaNessa228 wrote: »

How much water should we be drinking everyday? I've read half your body weight. I read 100 oz. I need some guidance here

There is no universal amount of water to be consumed. You should stay hydrated which you can tell by the color of your urine. Hydration needs are going to vary by individual. For example, as a very active person living in the desert with high summer temperatures and over a mile high in elevation, I'm going to need more fluids to keep hydrated than someone who is sedentary and living in a temperate climate at sea level.

yeah like for me, im a small person lol only 5'2 and sometimes like i barely get all my water.. but my pee is really pale yellow... and i dont think it makes much difference drinking more.. but its good for you.. you should drink more water because feels good.. but its up to you.. just check your pee that should be good enough.

lillyy23 wrote: »

yeah like for me, im a small person lol only 5'2 and sometimes like i barely get all my water.. but my pee is really pale yellow... and i dont think it makes much difference drinking more.. but its good for you.. you should drink more water because feels good.. but its up to you.. just check your pee that should be good enough.

If you're hydrated, you're fine...being hydrated is good for you...there isn't any benefit to more water if you're hydrated. Overhydration is also a thing and leads to electrolyte imbalances.

yirara wrote: »

perryc05 wrote: »

I drink about 5 litres per day without counting the coffee and tea I also consume. In reality I would probably be getting 6.5 litres of fluid on an average day. I tend to go the the toilet about every hour.

Why are you drinking so much? Are you working outside in a hot environment? There's really no need to drink too much, and actually it can also be harmful.

It's hard to know what's right for each person. I do live in a hot climate. I haven't researched it heavily but, in the main, the human body (if it's functioning correctly) just excretes excess water:
https://www.msdmanuals.com/en-au/home/hormonal-and-metabolic-disorders/water-balance/overhydration

In the MSD Manual source above they say that "a young adult with normal kidney function would have to drink more than 6 gallons of water a day on a regular basis" in order for it to be an issue. That's what about 20 odd litres? I'm 47 but in good health overall (touch wood). I also do have a salty palate so there's no shortage of sodium in my body at any time either.

I have been doing what I'm doing for 12+ months or so. I feel fine. I just go to the toilet a lot. On days where I only have 2 or 3 litres of liquid such as some weekend days I tend to end up being pretty thristy in the evenings. Having a lot of water has also contributed to me eating less, eating better and losing a lot of wieght (about 20kgs over a 12 month period). Gone from 105kgs down to 85kgs.

whmscll wrote: »

Drinking water is associated with weight loss in overweight dieting women independent of diet and activity
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18787524/

Effect of 'water induced thermogenesis' on body weight, body mass index and body composition of overweight subjects
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24179891/

Based on a quick read of full text, and assuming I did the math right (always chancy):

Study 1: Methodology was 3 24-hour unannounced recall self-reports over the course of a study in which participants were randomized to 4 different weight-loss diets, 3 of which encouraged drinking more water. Average increase in weight loss from drinking more than 1 liter (about 33.8 fl. oz., 4.2 US cups) of water per day was 2.3kg (5.06 pounds) at 12 months, so average of just under 0.1 pounds per week, which equates to around 47 calories per day. Actual rate may've been different because of the way the time points were reported, i.e., don't distinguish loss that happened quickly and was maintained vs. loss spread over the whole time interval between reports. (I feel like my summary of this one is particularly chancy - there's a lot going on there.)

Study 2: Theoretical 47 calories per day; weight loss a bit over 1/3 of a pound a week in the study, so seems observed result > theoretical calories (plausible for other reasons, to me); no control group. (For 1.5 liters (50.7 fl. oz, 6.3 US cups) of water extra above their usual routine, 500ml before each meal.)

I'm not going to argue that that's not worthwhile: It's an easy intervention, so why not? Those look like small result numbers, and relatively moderate amounts of water.

Would more be better for more weight loss? Maybe, based on the presumed mechanisms of action, but not tested. And certainly not to the point of water toxemia (which does take quite a lot, but it's situational - timing and context matter).

Please do correct me if this seems wrong. It's interesting. Thanks, @whmscll!