WATER?

MrsDudley2002
MrsDudley2002 Posts: 3 Member
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
How many of you count coffee and tea as a water on your tracker? I'm so bad at getting all my water in. Suggestions appreciated.

Replies

  • deadstarsunburn
    deadstarsunburn Posts: 1,337 Member
    If it has caffeine in it you cannot count it as water. Adding flavor packets is about as far as you can go.

    I found crystal lite helps =] raspberry tea is my favorite =]
  • melvac
    melvac Posts: 333 Member
    I count everything liquid but I still try to add in just plain ole water
  • mebegreen
    mebegreen Posts: 37
    I drink caffeine free tea and I count that as my water :)
  • Bankman1989
    Bankman1989 Posts: 1,116 Member
    i do but only because I drink over a gallon a day. And of course I make my coffee with water..lol

    I wouldn't drink 8 cups of coffee a day and count it as 8 cups of water however. Regardless of coffee or tea I drink i will drink 128oz of water also.
  • melianne125
    melianne125 Posts: 90 Member
    I only add real water. I dont add flavored water or soda.
  • moushtie
    moushtie Posts: 371 Member
    My herb/fruit/spice teas I definitely count as water!
  • DietingMommy08
    DietingMommy08 Posts: 1,345 Member
    Umm.... Yea....

    If its got caffiene in it then its not counted towards water at all.

    I dont really count it as water, unless its water.

    I only use half a crystal ligh packet... sometimes.
  • rebeccapolson
    rebeccapolson Posts: 1
    Both coffee and tea have a good amount of caffeine in them which actually makes you more dehydrated. It is not really a good idea to count those towards your water totals. Remember ice cold water burns calories! Any water additives (i.e. crystal light or kool aid) will just dehydrate the body more, and may even contain aspartame (a big no no!)! Stick to the water!
  • jemachharo
    jemachharo Posts: 144 Member
    i count tea, but not coffee. I drink a bottle of zero calorie SoBe water - almost 3 cups right there. It's really good. I also throw in a glass or two of sparkling water with fresh lime for a change.
  • Laineegrrl
    Laineegrrl Posts: 80 Member
    I only add water but I don't like coffee/tea
  • SmugCanucksGal
    SmugCanucksGal Posts: 79 Member
    If you drink a coffee it actually De-hydrates you! So for every cup of coffee you drink, you should be getting 1 extra glass of water.

    Herbal Tea is just fine, if there's no caffeine!
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
    If it has caffeine in it you cannot count it as water. Adding flavor packets is about as far as you can go.

    I found crystal lite helps =] raspberry tea is my favorite =]

    So, caffeine doesn’t count, but fake sugar and food coloring is totally water. Makes sense. In fact, this whole thread is so useful. Thank you. :flowerforyou:
  • afwg1979
    afwg1979 Posts: 170 Member
    Only pure H2O gets tracked; I found that drinking more water decreased my desire to drink anything else.

    H2O = Works great at flushing extra sodium out of the system.
  • jellyfishbones
    jellyfishbones Posts: 123 Member
    What do you feel is keeping you from drinking water (and reaching for a different type of drink instead)?

    Have you tried adding a lemon or lime slice to your water? You can also add a slice of cucumber - a completely different taste than you might expect, very refreshing. I don't know if floating a slice of vegetable or fruit would be bending the rules or not - I guess that depends upon the person you ask - but IMO it would be 1:1 for plain water.

    Try making your water super cold, adding crushed ice, drinking from a fun container or through a silly straw.

    I haven't ever had a problem drinking enough water, but I know more than one person who either doesn't like the taste or doesn't like that it has no taste.
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    I dont count my tea but only have it first thing in morning and before bed.. and have been drinking plain water rest of day.. if have hot choc I count that seperate as I prefer it made with milk. I don't have my tea strong though, only bit of milk and no sugar so I don't bother.
  • PepperMan98
    PepperMan98 Posts: 9
    I only count water as water. I still count it if I add a flavor packet in it, like Crystal Light or something, but that's it. I drink at least 8-12 cups of water a day.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    The diuretic aspect of drinking caffeine is not enough to offset the water intake in the beverage containing the caffeine. I personally only count water itself, but caffeine drinks do NOT dehydrate you enough to say that drinks containing it don't hydrate you well.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    The diuretic aspect of drinking caffeine is not enough to offset the water intake in the beverage containing the caffeine. I personally only count water itself, but caffeine drinks do NOT dehydrate you enough to say that drinks containing it don't hydrate you well.

    What he said.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    Time for me to make my obligatory post...trying to show the truth, only to be shouted down as per usual...

    Your "8 cups of water" is actually "8 cups of fluid". Tea/coffee/soda/juice all count towards it, as does fruit and veg, as they have a very high water content.

    Contrary to old myths, caffeine does not dehydrate you, certainly not to a noticeable extent and is far outweighed by the fluid in the drink. In fact, the more coffee you drink, the better your body gets at extracting the fluid to the point where it becomes the same as water.
    The Straight Talk
    In his review, “Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, and Exercise Performance,” Lawrence E. Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Connecticut disproves the notion that caffeinated beverages rob us of our precious fluids. By reviewing the scientific research on the subject, he concludes that although caffeine, like water, is a mild diuresis (it increases excretion of urine), moderate caffeine consumption does not produce a “fluid-electrolyte imbalance” that can affect health or exercise performance. Furthermore, we retain roughly the same amount of fluid after drinking a caffeinated beverage as we do after drinking water.

    Even more encouraging for habitual coffee consumers is the finding that those with caffeine tolerance have reduced likelihood that a fluid electrolyte imbalance will occur. The more regular your caffeine habit, the more fluid your body is conditioned to retain.

    Other findings support his conclusions. A small study done at the University of Nebraska tested the body weight, urine output, and blood of eighteen subjects after they consumed caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages. They determined that there was “no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males.” The Institute of Medicine expert panel on water and electrolyte intake asserts that the diuretic effects of caffeine are transient, and that coffee, tea, and colas can contribute to total water intake.



    Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what#ixzz1ahO1ShJ2

    http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

    http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

    http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
    Time for me to make my obligatory post...trying to show the truth, only to be shouted down as per usual...

    Your "8 cups of water" is actually "8 cups of fluid". Tea/coffee/soda/juice all count towards it, as does fruit and veg, as they have a very high water content.

    Contrary to old myths, caffeine does not dehydrate you, certainly not to a noticeable extent and is far outweighed by the fluid in the drink. In fact, the more coffee you drink, the better your body gets at extracting the fluid to the point where it becomes the same as water.
    The Straight Talk
    In his review, “Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, and Exercise Performance,” Lawrence E. Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Connecticut disproves the notion that caffeinated beverages rob us of our precious fluids. By reviewing the scientific research on the subject, he concludes that although caffeine, like water, is a mild diuresis (it increases excretion of urine), moderate caffeine consumption does not produce a “fluid-electrolyte imbalance” that can affect health or exercise performance. Furthermore, we retain roughly the same amount of fluid after drinking a caffeinated beverage as we do after drinking water.

    Even more encouraging for habitual coffee consumers is the finding that those with caffeine tolerance have reduced likelihood that a fluid electrolyte imbalance will occur. The more regular your caffeine habit, the more fluid your body is conditioned to retain.

    Other findings support his conclusions. A small study done at the University of Nebraska tested the body weight, urine output, and blood of eighteen subjects after they consumed caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages. They determined that there was “no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males.” The Institute of Medicine expert panel on water and electrolyte intake asserts that the diuretic effects of caffeine are transient, and that coffee, tea, and colas can contribute to total water intake.



    Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what#ixzz1ahO1ShJ2

    http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

    http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

    http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/

    Thank you for making sense of this thread. :smile:
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
    I count my tea! i usually have a cup or two of hot green tea in the mornings and do count it. If I later drink a large 32 oz of iced tea, I will count a glass or two.
  • Ruby11222
    Ruby11222 Posts: 114
    I only count water as water.
  • sostengo
    sostengo Posts: 11
    just water and pure green tea, everything else i log into snacks
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
    I only count water as water. I count my coffee in my breakfast.
  • acstansell
    acstansell Posts: 567 Member
    I track water as water with the water consumption feature. Anything else (coffee, soda, tea, anything) I track in my meals for the day. If I don't want to drink regular water, I have been using that MiO liquid concentrate and I like it much better than Crystal Light...
  • calamitydown
    calamitydown Posts: 101
    i just read an article that stated that you technically can count coffee and tea as water, regardless of caffeine count. it's soda you should be weary of. all in all, it's best to count water as water!
  • keiraev
    keiraev Posts: 695 Member
    I don't actually track water/liquids as I don't really count how many "cups" I've had all day. I have a bottle of water on my desk all day at work and I drink tea & herbal tea throughout the day too. Tea definitely counts as water in my opinion especially herbal tea with nothing added.
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