8 cups a day...

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Jessamine
Jessamine Posts: 226 Member
in Food and Nutrition
It doesn't seem right that everyone should drink 8 cups of water a day. I seriously don't think 8 cups is good for both a tiny 4'11" person AND a 6'5" person. That seems silly!

Shouldn't how much water we drink depend on our height, weight and activity level?

Does anyone know of a formula that takes these factors into account? I once met with a personal trainer who gave me this formula, but I can't find it anywhere.

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  • Jessamine
    Jessamine Posts: 226 Member
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    It doesn't seem right that everyone should drink 8 cups of water a day. I seriously don't think 8 cups is good for both a tiny 4'11" person AND a 6'5" person. That seems silly!

    Shouldn't how much water we drink depend on our height, weight and activity level?

    Does anyone know of a formula that takes these factors into account? I once met with a personal trainer who gave me this formula, but I can't find it anywhere.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Its just a guide 6-8 glasses Im sure if you drink 5 you will be ok..I dont drink a ton of water myself in the cold months but other things count towards it like tea,milk and 100% juice
  • gatkins
    gatkins Posts: 1
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    It's supposed to be about half of your body weight in ounces.
  • CassieNic
    CassieNic Posts: 223
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    It's supposed to be about half of your body weight in ounces.

    ive heard this too.


    ive also read that tea and coffee does not count and you should drink a glass of water for every glass of those. they act as dirueretics(sp?).
  • BMAJK
    BMAJK Posts: 72 Member
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    Yes that's true. Anything with caffiene is robbing your body of water. Have a glass of H2O for every cup of coffee or tea you have. Now if it's decaffinated I'm not sure, technically you would think it would count as H20 because of no caffiene but I'm not 100%
    Anyone know?
    :drinker:
  • ThatDollSally
    ThatDollSally Posts: 473 Member
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    I saw a doctor on some news show that was saying the 8 cups a day was total, including what you get from food and such. As a result of the confusion we're actually drinking too much water. I don't know how much faith I put in that, but since I pretty much only drink water these days anyway, it doesn't really matter.
  • Lizjkp
    Lizjkp Posts: 278
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    I would say that once your body has adjusted to it's own daily requirements it will tell you when it needs or does not need water.
    I have a pint glass of water with me at all times :noway: and drink from it as and when, my body is used to lots of water and asks for it.
    When I used to drink diet soda and/or alcohol :mad: I used to drink a glass of water for every soda/glass of alcohol I consumed it helps to flush the Soda/alcohol out of your system (assists your kidneys) and if it is alcohol you are really diluting it, your stomach will be full and you won't drink so much alcohol:blushing: :bigsmile: .
  • ophedian
    ophedian Posts: 78
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    I think I am drowning myself in water!!! :laugh: Yesterday I drank so much water that I am literally urinating every hour last night and this morning. I counted 40 glasses of water.

    As of this morning since 6am, I have drank 8 glasses already. At this rate I think my cells are doing the back stroke. Now, since we know that not enough water is bad, is there such a thing as too much water!!! :noway:
  • mjj79
    mjj79 Posts: 415 Member
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    In rare instances, too much water can be bad. I remember a year or so ago a woman drank a LOT (I'm talking more than a gallon) in a short amt of time (like a couple hours) and actually died. (She was trying to win a contest for a radio show.

    But, I think that is the extreme, and as long as the water is not in any way contaminated, there's no such thing as too much.

    JMHO
  • Starchaser
    Starchaser Posts: 69
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    Yes, there is such a thing as too much water.

    I won't go into the details too much, but a condition called Hyperhydration can occur. It's most noteable in distance and marathon runners who replace water but not lost salts, which leads to a salt imbalance which at best manifests as dizziness and at worst death.

    Go to wikipedia and look for the article of hyperhydration.

    Not scaremongering, but its something to be aware of.

    As an addition, in the UK we're told 2litres per day.
    And the original scientific research to back this up? Doesn't exist. There isn't any on optimum water intake. An investigation found when deciding on the 2l a day figure, those who were doing so just made it up because it sounded "about right".

    So, um, yeah, an actual figure isn't really backed up by science.

    To tell if dehydrated, use the pee test. The darker your urine the more the body is attempting to retain water. So, if your pee is clear, you're fully hydrated. Simples!
  • pettmybunny
    pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
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    I think I am drowning myself in water!!! :laugh: Yesterday I drank so much water that I am literally urinating every hour last night and this morning. I counted 40 glasses of water.

    As of this morning since 6am, I have drank 8 glasses already. At this rate I think my cells are doing the back stroke. Now, since we know that not enough water is bad, is there such a thing as too much water!!! :noway:

    I went to the doctor a few months ago, because I was dying of thirst. On normal days, I drink about 12 to 16 8oz glasses of water (16 glasses is a gallon). All of a sudden, I was drinking 2 1/2 gallons of water a day. I literally would drink until I could not swallow anymore. My belly would be distended from the water I was drinking. When I went to the doctor, he kind of freaked out on me, telling me I shouldn't be drinking more than a half gallon a day (8 glasses), and that we also get water from the foods we eat. He had me take all sorts of blood tests (also tested for diabetes, came back fine), both that day, and after fasting. His concern was water intoxication or hyponatremia. I had heard about this in atheletes and small children who drink too much at one time. My drinking was spread out over the day, so I was surprised when he said that. But extreme amounts of water over extended periods can do the same thing as drinking a lot at just one time. I don't know all the details, other than it messes with the sodium and electrolytes in your cells, your cells expand, and it is bad...

    Long and short, the doctor told me to cut back to a half gallon a day (I told him I drink that much in an hour sometimes, if I'm working out), and to drink gatorade instead of straight water when at the gym. When he told me to cut back, I looked at him and whined (yes whined) "but I'm thirsty..." He looked me in the eye and said he told me a half gallon only, because he knew I was going to cheat and drink more, but maybe by giving me a limit, I wouldn't go too overboard. He was right... I'm still drinking up to a gallon a day, but I really do try not to go over that amount. But, ya know, I am still thirsty all the time... Ugh!
  • ThatDollSally
    ThatDollSally Posts: 473 Member
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    As far as drinking too much water, your body will let you know when you've had enough. My boyfriend and I were staying at a friend's house and he had these bowls that were perfect to drink out of. We just kept filling them up and after couple hours we started feeling nausious. That's when we realized that we had taken in WAY more than we had expected, so we put the water away, ate a few potato chips for salt and we started feeling better.

    Just pay attention to what your body is telling you. It knows.

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