Which is best for upping water intake long term?

ellify07
ellify07 Posts: 19 Member
edited August 2024 in Food and Nutrition
It hurts to eat and also have to drink water. Since water is tasteless and so I can feel the fullness more with no distraction from it if this is confusing.

Which is best for upping water intake long term? 1 vote

Normal calorie liquid fast
0% 0 votes
Low-cal liquid fast
0% 0 votes
16:8 intermittent fasting
0% 0 votes
20:4 intermittent fasting
100% 1 vote
Lightly restricted calorie intake
0% 0 votes
Mono dieting
0% 0 votes
Water fasting
0% 0 votes
Caffeine filling? Iykyk
0% 0 votes
Energy drinks as meals
0% 0 votes
Other suggestions...
0% 0 votes

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 7,329 Member
    I don't understand the question. Increasing water intake is done by... increasing water intake. Nothing to do with intermittent or other types of fasting or any other way of controlling calorie intake?
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 38,088 Community Helper
    Personally, I'd go with keeping to a moderate/small calorie cut, and try to develop a habit of sipping water in small amounts through the day, rather than trying to drink a lot of it at one time. Spacing out the food into more but smaller meals/snacks might also help.

    In the circumstances, it seems like trying to eat nutrient-dense foods that have a moderate amount of fluid content (not dry, not super-liquid-y) might be good. You need a certain level of nutrition for best health. If you combine water with the nutrition (like meal replacement shakes, broth-y soups, etc.), you might feel full before getting the nutrition and calories you need? Very dry foods might not sit as well digestively, without some fluids.

    Some of that kind of stuff is very individual, such as what feels most filling, what causes digestive distress, etc. It may take a little cautious personal experimenting.

    If part of your situation is that you feel too full, too fast, I don't think time restricted eating (like the IF variations) sounds that great, since you'd be packing all your eating into fewer hours. Mono diets are usually bad nutritionally.

    If your goal is weight loss, the golden ticket is finding habits that are relatively pleasant and easy to keep up long enough to lose the desired amount of weight, then continue (with a few extra calories) to stay at that healthy weight long term, ideally permanently. The best route to sustainable habits IMO usually isn't some complicated, restrictive thing. It's eating nutritious foods a person enjoys, in calorie-appropriate portions, that keep that person full (but not over-full) and happy the majority of the time.

    Best wishes!

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 7,329 Member
    ellify07 wrote: »
    @Lietchi sorry, I should have kind of said that I have a sensitive stomach and feel intense fullness after drinking water, so I struggle to drink and eat enough together and have to choose one or the other. Thought some people might understand it too and have some good suggestions.

    I'll update the poll if it still let's me. Sorry

    Ah, I understand better now.

    I rarely drink water when I'm eating my meals, I drink water throughout the day.
    I would recommend always having a bottle (or glass or jug) of water nearby so you can sip water regularly throughout the day. I have water bottles and jugs all over the house :mrgreen: and one at work too.
    Perhaps set a timer on your watch or phone if you're not in the habit yet?
    A colleague of mine even has a fancy bottle that beeps when she needs to drink 🙂

  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,475 Member
    Are you drinking fluids of any kind throughout the day or do you mostly drink at mealtimes? I agree with the previous posters that smaller amounts throughout the day would likely be much more manageable. Personally, I drink a lot. Like, a lot a lot. I probably average 4 liters a day plus sometimes coffee or tea. Believe me, I don't drink all of that at mealtimes. I drink very little when I eat, I just keep liquids handy throughout the day. I have water at my desk, I have water in the car, I have water on the coffee table... you get the idea.

    Note: I'm not suggesting you need 4 liters of water by any means. I live at altitude in the high mountain desert and dehydration sets in fast up here. It's just a habit for me at this point.
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  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 7,329 Member
    Honestly, any drink qualifies as hydration, not just water. Even soup!
    I personally drink a lot of water, but others might get most of their hydration from tea, coffee or other sources and that's fine too.
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,475 Member
    ellify07 wrote: »
    @COGypsy I usually class drinks as snacks and have them throughout the day whenever I feel hungry or thirsty and it's not a meal time really. And yeah, I fill up on lots of drinks but just usually not water. Though I've been good with it today which is great. 1.5 L water yayyy

    Also it's really nice to see that you're able to take good care of yourself and know when your body needs water. I have autism and struggle to know the difference between a tummy ache, hunger and thirst.

    Honestly you're a really good person for trying to help out and I think I'll start trying to make healthy choices for my body and cognitive function from now on, rather than having almost constant brain fog and dizziness from dehydration.

    Also I wonder if anyone else doesn't class electrolyte water as water, do you think that's normal to do or not? Sorry

    I count all liquids as water. I often flavor my water with electrolyte powder, fruity tea bags, or a little lime juice. I even like to use different kinds of bitters to add a little "pop" to my water. I consider my coffee to be water, the same if I have a mug of tea at night or a soda in the afternoon. None of those things changes the fundamental fact that the base of what I'm drinking is water. Nothing about the hydrating quality of water is affected by those things, so why would I consider them different than plain water?

    The only way I'd probably count electrolyte drinks as a snack is if I had a full-calorie Gatorade/Powerade kind of thing that has the calorie count of a snack. The flavors I use might have 10 or 20 calories, but usually not even that, so I don't even bother with counting them.

    I totally get what you mean about figuring out the difference between discomfort, hunger, and thirst. I take meds for ADHD that blunt my appetite for most of the day and yet I still need to eat during that time to feel good and productive all day. I found that I have to look for smaller clues to tell my if I'm hungry. For me, I concentrate on how my stomach is feeling. Does it feel a little growly? Does it still feel full from breakfast or does it feel kind of empty? How long has it been since breakfast, should I be feeling ready for lunch? How does the rest of me feel? Do I feel a little foggy or the beginning of feeling shaky? If I were looking for little cues for thirst, I'd probably eliminate hungry feeling first and think more about how my mouth feels. Does it feel a little dry in the tongue or back of your throat? Are you feeling headachy - that's always a signal to me. When is the last time you had something to drink? Then if both of those are eliminated, you might just have a stomach ache. It's all about those little things for me.
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