Question for all of you major water drinkers...

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  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    Since I started on MFP back in early October, I have only had water to drink (gave up Diet coke--which was a little tough, and alcohol--which wasn't tough at all). I feel like I drink water all day and only manage to get in 8 or 9 glasses a day. Here is what I typically do:

    I have a "Tervis Tumbler" which is 24 ounces. I fill it to the top with ice in the morning before I leave for work. Then I add my water. When this first tumbler full of water is gone, there is still a lot of ice so I count it as 2 glasses of water. Then I add water from our "Ice Mountain" thingy and when that is gone, I count it as two more glasses. By then there is only a little bit of ice left so when I finish my 3rd tumbler full, I count that as 3 glasses.

    I also have water with dinner and usually some after dinner which usually comes up to somewhere between 8-10 glasses a day.

    HOW IN THE WORLD are some of you guys getting in 16 glasses of water in a day? I feel like I'm going to barf if I have much more than I am drinking and as it is, I am running to the bathroom several times during the day as well as once during my sleeping time at night (around 5 a.m.). Too much info???

    Do you guys think I'm doing an accurate count of my waters or am I under/overestimating?


    How would you "water experts" count your waters and how do you get in so many each day?????? Any tips/advice you have is very welcomed.....

    Thanks so much...
    It's easy; you just do it.

    Pout it and drink.
  • cloveraz
    cloveraz Posts: 332 Member
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    I LOVE H20!!!! Anywho, I just drink water when I'm eating and when I'm thirsty, which is a lot....Now, once in a blue moon, I will have a hankering need to have a soda, but I just take a couple of sips and that is all I need. I'm usually with my husband when I do and he ends up drinking the rest of the soda....I don't drink Alcohol at all, which is more of a lifestyle thing, I suppose. But, once you get rid of the soda, you're body and taste pallet will thank ya!
  • timadotcom
    timadotcom Posts: 674 Member
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    with my morning workout i usually get in 8 glasses of water - my water bottle hold 32 oz and i drink at least 2 of those while at the gym. I have a 36 oz tumbler on my desk and I try to drink 3 of those between 9-5... sometimes I manage 1 sometimes 4... all i know is i'm allwaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyssssssssssssssssssssssss in the bathroom:bigsmile:
  • MelissaJ6807
    MelissaJ6807 Posts: 64
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    A LOT of people count their cups of coffee and tea as water, which you are allowed to do but that is one of the only ways I can think of :happy:
  • april_beth
    april_beth Posts: 617 Member
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    i have no idea what others do but this is basically how my water day goes:

    i have a 24 oz thing - 3 glasses

    fill it up when i wake up and drink it with breakfast and before heading out to the gym. if im not done, i drink the rest on the way. i fill it back up bfore my workout and should be finished with it by the time im done my workout (an hour). if i'm not done, i drink the rest on the way home. fill it back up before lunch and drink it all with lunch. if i'm not done, keep it at my desk and drink as often as i remember it. refill it about halfway through my afternoon. finish it before i start supper (i work at home) fill it up before supper making, finish it with supper. add another fill up and finish it by the time my evening snack is done.

    add all that up. it's really not as hard as people make it out to seem. now i dont want anything but water and if i have juice, i usually end up cutting it with water cause its too sweet...now, wine, that's a whole 'nother story :)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I think on here one glass is 8oz...if you are using a 24oz glass you are drinking way more than you are logging!

    ^ This. Yes, whenever you hear "drink 8 glasses of water a day" they are referring to an 8 ounce glass. So your 24 ounce tumbler counts as 3 glasses.

    I have one of those large plastic cups from the fast food restaurant, with a straw, 32 ounces. Empty it twice and there is my eight 8 ounces. I drink more with a straw than without one.
  • webdiva1
    webdiva1 Posts: 326 Member
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    I drink a lotta water too ... usually between 14-18 8 oz. glasses a day. Happy to report there are no signs of gills as yet. :)

    The key for me is to keep a bottle within arm's length pretty much all the time. I recycle bottles and always have 10-12 of filtered tap water chilling in the fridge at any given time. Works for me. :)

    I used to drink Coke ... fully leaded Coke, that is ... by the 2-liter bottle. Kicked that horrid habit a few years ago and moved to diet green tea. Not as bad a habit, I suppose -- but still an expensive one, as I used to down at least a six-pack of 16 oz. bottles a day. Both of those are gone now, and it's nuthin' but water for me.

    So now it's just a habit ... and one that I'm pretty happy about. Makes a big difference for me from a hunger standpoint too, esp. in the evenings, which is my toughest challenge snack-wise.
  • Juliebean_1027
    Juliebean_1027 Posts: 713 Member
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    I don't count anything but water and I usually get between 10-15 glasses in per day. (Sometimes more, depending on how intense my workout is) For me a normal day looks like this:

    At 7am I get to work and fill up my water glass (it's a 32 oz glass) I drink this before I allow myself to have any caffeine. Then I drink my cup of coffee or half of a diet coke (neither of these are counted towards my water). Then I refill my glass and drink that before lunch at noon. Then sometime between 1pm and 4pm when I leave for the day I've refilled my glass again and drained it. So by the time I've left work for the day I've consumed 12 cups of water. Anything after that is extra.

    If it helps, add some of the sugar free crystal light packets to your water.
  • savlyon
    savlyon Posts: 474 Member
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    There's no need to be drinking more than 8 or 9 cups of water. Drink until you're hydrated, which you'll know by looking at your urine. If it's almost clear, you're good to go. Drinking too much water on a daily basis can be just as harmful as not drinking enough. It overworks your kidneys. Unless you're sweating a ton at the gym, there's no need to drink so much.

    ^^^^^WTF?????

    This is the most ridiculous advise I have EVER heard. Your body needs a minimum of 8 -8oz cups a day. Almost everybody is dehydrated. So you need to drink over 64oz of water a day until you are hydrated. You also need to drink water when working out to rehydrate from the water lost through sweat. Water is what makes everything work. You would have to seriously be chugging water to get too much as this poster suggests. I think other posters have suggested good ideas. I add Crystal Light if I'm struggling with water intake. Not the best solution, but at least I am drinking.
  • Georganna1962
    Georganna1962 Posts: 38
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    I chug a lug one when I get up - at room temp (16.9 oz bottle) before I go for my 5am deep water jogging.
    I chug a lug one about 7am - because for every cup of coffee I have to have a bottle of water and I love coffee
    I will usually have 2 more bottles before lunch - each time chug a lug. I also chug a lug a bottle after a work out.
    When I get home in the evening I make a big glass of iced water and add a shot of lemon - that is when I sip the water - usually have 2 big glasses in the evening.
    My standing rule - bottle of water before coffee or tea. If I start feeling hungry and it's not time to eat - I chug a lug.
  • rocuf
    rocuf Posts: 157 Member
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    I chug a 24oz with my pills before i leave the house. Usually get 16oz thru-out the work day. After work workout drink 32oz during time in gym. Sometimes drink a little more on the way home. Been getting between 9-13 glasses. Now I am just a pound or 2 over four bills, so I need the water.
  • ymvestal
    ymvestal Posts: 84
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    I went to Wal Mart and bought a jug that holds 2.2 L (or 74.4 oz) of water. Before I leave my house in the morning I drink 3 - 12 oz glasses of water which I guage as about 3 glasses...then when at work I set a goal to drink the jug of water before I leave work...that gives me approximately 11 glasses by 3 pm...before I eat dinner I drink 2 more of the 12 oz glasses, 1 more with dinner and whatever I feel like after that. Sometimes, I have to refill my jug at work because I feel thirsty and then I'll get even more water. I am running to the restroom about every hour to hour-and-a-half, but most times I still have a little yellow (TMI??? sry). If I drink less than the jug itself I find I retain water the next day.

    It's not all plain water...sometimes I heat the water up and make hot tea, especially in the morning when it's cold. Also, I always drink it room temp, never iced, but that's just me.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    There's no need to be drinking more than 8 or 9 cups of water. Drink until you're hydrated, which you'll know by looking at your urine. If it's almost clear, you're good to go. Drinking too much water on a daily basis can be just as harmful as not drinking enough. It overworks your kidneys. Unless you're sweating a ton at the gym, there's no need to drink so much.

    ^^^^^WTF?????

    This is the most ridiculous advise I have EVER heard. Your body needs a minimum of 8 -8oz cups a day. Almost everybody is dehydrated. So you need to drink over 64oz of water a day until you are hydrated. You also need to drink water when working out to rehydrate from the water lost through sweat. Water is what makes everything work. You would have to seriously be chugging water to get too much as this poster suggests. I think other posters have suggested good ideas. I add Crystal Light if I'm struggling with water intake. Not the best solution, but at least I am drinking.

    You are mistaken about everyone being dehydrated and NEEDING a minimum of 8 glasses a day. Please research this with a reputable source.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
  • katrinalynne1213
    katrinalynne1213 Posts: 8 Member
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    One glass of water consists of 8oz. So for each 24 oz. tumbler of water you are drinking, you have had 3 glasses of water. So if you drink 3 tumblers of water each day, you are getting a little more than the recommended 8 glasses of water.
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
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    There's no need to be drinking more than 8 or 9 cups of water. Drink until you're hydrated, which you'll know by looking at your urine. If it's almost clear, you're good to go. Drinking too much water on a daily basis can be just as harmful as not drinking enough. It overworks your kidneys. Unless you're sweating a ton at the gym, there's no need to drink so much.

    ^^^^^WTF?????

    This is the most ridiculous advise I have EVER heard. Your body needs a minimum of 8 -8oz cups a day. Almost everybody is dehydrated. So you need to drink over 64oz of water a day until you are hydrated. You also need to drink water when working out to rehydrate from the water lost through sweat. Water is what makes everything work. You would have to seriously be chugging water to get too much as this poster suggests. I think other posters have suggested good ideas. I add Crystal Light if I'm struggling with water intake. Not the best solution, but at least I am drinking.

    Sorry you find it to be ridiculous, but it's true. *shrug* To each his own. I see no need to drink water by the metric ton any more than I see the need to eat 200 grams of protein every day. Drink until you're hydrated, which for most people is around 8 or 9 cups of water -- which is exactly what you're suggesting, and exactly what I said in my other post. I'm not really understanding where your argument lies considering we're saying the same thing, except I'm just saying there's no need to drink 12-14 cups of water unless you're sweating a lot. Which is true.
  • djdelano
    djdelano Posts: 30
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    I drink quite a bit of coffee, otherwise I would never drink.

    I drink a monster, or a gatorade nightly.

    I know I'm well under what is considered good water intake, hasn't hurt me a single bit.

    My wife drinks enough water to fill a fish bowl three times, and she struggles with weight loss A LOT.

    People are so different, we should only relate what we do for results, as different people have differnet bio needs.

    Water Schmater. Drink when your thirsty. Trust the body clock.

    Pantz
  • bllowry
    bllowry Posts: 239 Member
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    I quite drinking Diet Dr Pepper about 3 years ago. Instead I make pitchers of iced tea in warm weather and pots of hot tea in cold. I do count it with my water intake, and with hot tea I log the little bit of milk I use since it has calories. I have no problem drinking over a gallon of fluids a day, never have. I just make better choices now.
  • nationalparklover
    nationalparklover Posts: 120 Member
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    Thanks for all of your opinions...

    I see some very successful weight loss people on here talking about getting in their 16 cups of water and I just don't see how they do it. I think I'm doing pretty good but always feel like I'm not doing as well as these people who have 100 ounces in before noon.

    I appreciate the help...:drinker:
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
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    I didn't read all of the other responses but I usually try to drink around 12-14 glasses of water a day (not sure if that's how much water I NEED to be drinking, but it helps me have more energy and eat less junk food. Anything over 9 cups and I feel great).

    I have a coffee cup I try to fill up at least once an hour at work with pure water, so I'm drinking at least 8 cups during my working day. If I exercise at the gym, I usually drink between 2-4 cups there. I try to drink at least a cup before/after work sometimes, but I'm horrible about drinking water at home.

    What helps me drink more water is to drink warm water when it's cold out and cold water when it's warm out. Or sometimes I'll mix it up with a herbal tea.

    I wouldn't worry about what everyone else is doing and just focus on finding out what works for you and what makes you feel best.
  • jaxdiablo
    jaxdiablo Posts: 580
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    I have a 1.5 liter bottle I keep at my desk, I set a personal goal of drinking 2 a day (which gets me just under a gallon), when I head home I drink diet decaf green tea (usually 24-32 ounces), and more water if I'm thirsty.

    I'd recommend keeping a water bottle of a decent size in arm's reach all the time and keep it at least 1/2 full.

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