Do Cups of Tea and Coffee count towards 8 Cups a Day ???

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  • Rain_Howard
    Rain_Howard Posts: 155
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    I was just coming to post this same question. If i drink 3 glasses of (unsweet) iced tea .... i really struggle to ALSO get in 8-10 glasses of water on top of that. I feel miserably full with that much liquids.

    i really only drink about one 6 oz cup of coffee a day ... but i LOVE my unsweet iced tea. ( i stopped drinking sweet tea long ago, the sweetness started making me feel nauseous!!). I only have about 1 soda every 3 or 4 days, and I dont count that in my liquids... but i do tend to count unsweet iced tea as part of my fluid intake.

    A slightly gross question, but how many times a day are you urinating? If you're not doing it enough but feeling water logged, you probably actually need to drink more water.
  • misty5976
    misty5976 Posts: 45 Member
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    A slightly gross question, but how many times a day are you urinating? If you're not doing it enough but feeling water logged, you probably actually need to drink more water.

    Not as many times as I should, honestly. There are days I KNOW I've drank 100 oz of water, but may only pee 3 times. I tend to retain water badly. I dont really know why, but I can drink until I feel sick, without having to use the restroom some days. As an example, I've had a 6oz cup of coffee and about 4 glasses of water so far today... and I've only urinated once since about 6:45 this morning.

    I've tried cutting out excess sodium (and sodas containing much sodium) because Id been told that sodium makes u retain water. Im open to any suggestions! Its hard to feel like ur making progress when ur bodys holdin onto extra water.
  • Rain_Howard
    Rain_Howard Posts: 155
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    A slightly gross question, but how many times a day are you urinating? If you're not doing it enough but feeling water logged, you probably actually need to drink more water.

    Not as many times as I should, honestly. There are days I KNOW I've drank 100 oz of water, but may only pee 3 times. I tend to retain water badly. I dont really know why, but I can drink until I feel sick, without having to use the restroom some days. As an example, I've had a 6oz cup of coffee and about 4 glasses of water so far today... and I've only urinated once since about 6:45 this morning.

    I've tried cutting out excess sodium (and sodas containing much sodium) because Id been told that sodium makes u retain water. Im open to any suggestions! Its hard to feel like ur making progress when ur bodys holdin onto extra water.

    You may want to think about consulting a doctor about it. Could be medical reasons for the water retention. Bladder or liver problems.
  • withervein
    withervein Posts: 224 Member
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    In the end, you can always just look at your pee. If it's clear, you're in the clear. If it's yellow or darker, you need to buddy up with your kitchen sink.
  • twirwin
    twirwin Posts: 10
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    In the end, you can always just look at your pee. If it's clear, you're in the clear. If it's yellow or darker, you need to buddy up with your kitchen sink.

    That's silly. So you're telling me those nights that I have a lot of alcohol and have to pee several times in a few hours and the pee is clear that I'm getting enough water?
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/drinking-enough-water-topic-overview

    An extract from that article:
    Do you have to drink only water to stay hydrated?
    All liquids help you stay hydrated. Water is usually the best choice, because it’s free (if you’re drinking tap water) and has no sugar or calories. But most healthy people can get enough fluid through the beverages they consume every day. These can include water, fruit juices, coffee, sodas, iced tea, and other drinks.

    Experts say that it's not true that beverages that have caffeine-such as coffee, tea, and cola drinks-always dehydrate you. Healthy people who consume moderate amounts of caffeine don't lose more fluid than people who don't have any caffeine.1 A moderate amount of caffeine is about 200 to 300 milligrams a day. That's about two to four 8-ounce cups of coffee.

    Milk, tea, coffee, even some fruits counts towards your intake of water.
  • mmuzzatti
    mmuzzatti Posts: 706 Member
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    If it's anything but pure water I don't count it.

    ^^^^^^This!^^^^^^^
  • jk_proonps3
    jk_proonps3 Posts: 34
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    You'll get conflicting answers,

    After reading them all i really im none the wiser ! lol

    Its just i drink coffee 4 times a day and tea twice a day

    Aswell as up to 6-8 glass's of water a day

    If i could cut down on some of those liquids it would be great!
  • tseecka
    tseecka Posts: 90 Member
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    Did some research. Tea and coffee both count. The diuretic effect of an average cup of tea or coffee is nowhere near enough to require you to "make up" for those drinks, especially if you're drinking it plain.

    Right now you're getting about 1.5 as much water as you need, according to what you've said. I would keep half of your fluid intake as pure water, just to be on the healthy side, but coffee, tea, alcohol...you can get your fluids from any of those.
  • Yoopermom13
    Yoopermom13 Posts: 22
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    What about Crystal Light? Does that count?
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
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    Good Lord! How does this keep coming up?

    The only thing that doesn't count is hard alcohol. Coffee, tea, even beer and wine have way more than enough water in the beverage to make up for the small diuretic affect of the caffeine or alcohol.
  • appleseeds
    appleseeds Posts: 212 Member
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    My mum used to be on weight watchers - on their program you are allowed to count ONE cup of coffee as water - but if you drink more than that you cant add them into your count.

    I think this is basically good advice.

    Now I am also remembering that other diet programs might have that same advice, like some of those low-cal shake diets you can do with the same rule.

    PS. The amount of caffeine in tea will never dehydrate you because it is so minimal in comparison to the amount of water you are also drinking.

    I don know the facts about coffee, but Iḿ positive an article I read about tea was that in order to actually dehydrate you you would need to drink 35 cups of tea in a day. (or some ridiculous number like that)
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    I've read that herbal teas are fine to count as water. Don't know about coffee or anything else!
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    Here we go again!

    You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

    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/


    As for coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

    di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
    adj.
    Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
    n.
    A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

    Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


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

    http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

    http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

    http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

    http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

    http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

    http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

    http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo
  • jk_proonps3
    jk_proonps3 Posts: 34
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    Here we go again!

    You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

    Thank You !
  • jk_proonps3
    jk_proonps3 Posts: 34
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    Today i swapped Tea for Coffee and didnt drink as much Water as usual and after running i still feel alot better than before

    While i havent drank as much water as yesterday i feel alot better havent drank tea instead
  • elmsallmissile
    elmsallmissile Posts: 86
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    if it contains water it adds to your hydration status even the demonised coffee, the diuretic effect is miniscule, your body takes fluid from all available intake sources, a steak for instance is 70 -80 % water! Your body does not care!

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