How much water is too much?

kirstinlee
kirstinlee Posts: 152 Member
edited October 7 in Food and Nutrition
I drink water like a fish. Sometimes I'll drink an upwards of 14-16 cups (8 oz, not drinking cups). All was fine until yesterday, when my urine was clear. I thought that was kind of weird, so I searched online and found that it could be a sign of over-hydration (and diabetes, but that's a non-issue). When thinking of over-hydration, though, I've never thought as much as I drink could get you there... I'm thinking like gallons and gallons of water. Of course intake should be different for everyone based on weight, height, and activity level, but again, I don't think 112 oz is too much for someone who's 5'8 and 170, and works out anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half a day.
Am I fine chugging water the way I do? Or do I need to let up? Thanks in advance <3

Replies

  • pretty_ribbons
    pretty_ribbons Posts: 154 Member
    i also drink loooaaaaddss of water so i am very interested in the answer to this
  • Lucyk00
    Lucyk00 Posts: 63 Member
    I'm interested in this as well. (TMI?) My pee hasn't went clear yet, but I know that's b.c I'm taking two vitamins a day. But I wonder what the signs are (other then clear pee) of over hydration. Thanks for asking!
  • kesteele
    kesteele Posts: 127
    I try to drink around 2L or so of water....a day! What we were taught in school (I'm an exercise science major) is when your urine is clear you are hydrated. When it's yellow you're dehydrated. And when it's REALLY yellow you're dehydrated.....ever noticed when you've eaten something VERY high in salt it's really yellow???
  • Lemonaiding
    Lemonaiding Posts: 78 Member
    I drink 160 to 200 ounces of water daily. I feel fine and my body loves the hydration. It really depends on the person. I'm 5'6.5" and 161 pounds. I did find one thing I can't restrict when consuming that much water and it's sodium. When I restrict the sodium I start feeling sick and at one point my lips turned blue. Not a good thing. As soon as I introduced more sodium I felt so much better.
  • bedoozled
    bedoozled Posts: 189 Member
    I drink about the same amount of water, and my pee is often very light to clear, but I'd always read that this was a good thing - that your pee SHOULD be most light/clear as a sign of hydration, not over-hydration, and that most people are dehydrated (which is why most of our pee is yellow/dark yellow. But this is just what I've heard, definitely not a definitive answer or anything : )
  • the_ojibway
    the_ojibway Posts: 1
    I found this. Maybe it will help answer some of your questions. But, Clear urine is a good sign.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
  • mamabear272
    mamabear272 Posts: 268 Member
    I heard that you should take your weight and divide by 2 and that's how many ounces of water you should have. So in your case, it would be 85 ounces but if you're working out for at least an hour, I would think that should go up because you really need to rehydrate a lot when you work out. I don't think 112 oz is too much. My pee is almost always nearly clear. Maybe see if a medical site (like WebMD or something of the like) has information?
  • hminelli
    hminelli Posts: 2
    I have heard the same thing about sodium. When you drink lots of water, you need to make sure you are getting enough sodium because the water depletes this level. :smile:
  • MaryM621
    MaryM621 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm pretty sure that amount of water is fine. Sometimes I drink about 20 glasses of water a day, and I'm fine (except having to pee all the time). And I'm pretty sure having clear urine is alright, in fact I thought is was actually a good thing. My mother is a nurse and I had the same concerns when I was younger, but she always said the clearer the better.

    So as far as I know your fine :)
  • Lucas2676
    Lucas2676 Posts: 2
    Definitely a such thing as over hydration. I've heard of people having health issues with as much as 2 gallons of water per day. The key would be to balance your water and your electrolytes. That's why its always good to get a re-hydration drink like Gatorade or Powerade. They give you the electrolytes you don't get from plain water. The only downside is the sugar.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication - see here for reference.
  • nichole913
    nichole913 Posts: 13 Member
    I'm 5'6" and about 150-160lbs (depending on the year). I've been drinking in excess of 120oz a day for years without issue. I also get regular checkups at the doc's due to my job. I just make sure to keep my electrolytes up with healthy food.
  • amyofftherecord
    amyofftherecord Posts: 64 Member
    I think you only have to worry about over-hydration when it's to the point of water poisoning (basically diluting your body with so much water that the sodium-and-other-stuff ratio gets too low. It's very rare but does happen. One example was a woman who drank roughly what you drink in a day over the course of about two hours. If you've been drinking that much for a while with no ill effects, you're probably fine. Maybe ask a doctor the next time you see one just in case, but I wouldn't stress.
  • mgero212
    mgero212 Posts: 96
    I don't believe there is such a thing as too much water. I drink water all the time because I sweat so much when I work out and its a great way to cleanse your body daily. Water also keeps your body hydrated and helps with your skin. Keep it up just know that when you weigh yourself in the afternoon or evening you will probably be 1-2 lbs heavier because of your water weight. If anything just weigh yourself in the morning after you use the restroom to get your correct weight. I hope this helps.
  • bshedwick
    bshedwick Posts: 659 Member
    I think as long as you are eating a balanced diet, you are fine to drink that much water. Over-hydration only gets dangerous when you are doing some sort of endurance sport, and you are sweating a ton. At that point, your H2O to electrolytes balance goes bad, and it affects your cells.

    Eat fine, drink a lot of water, pee often, and you are alright.
  • chadtruitt
    chadtruitt Posts: 7
    Having clear urine is not a major issue you need to worry about..... actually its a good thing from what I have been taught throughout the years. When you consume too much water you will flush much of the sodium out of your body..... in severe cases people have died for drinking too much water and not taking in alot of sodium. When I say severe i mean people drinking more then 4 gallons during a day. If you start to feel really sick from drinking alot of water I would suggest that you add more sodium to your diet. But on the flip side of that, if you add too much sodium and not enough water you could get severe dehydration. I normally drink enough to make my urine clear and dont consume much more till it starts to turn yellow again. Hope this helps everyone out!!
  • mom111997
    mom111997 Posts: 101 Member
    My doctor told me that in a perfect world, our urine would always be clear. The reason for the yellow coloring is because that is all of the toxins that our kidneys are expelling from the foods/drinks we take in. If we're eating the correct foods and drinking the correct amount of water, then our urine should be clear. And yes, there is such a thing as too much water! It can make you sick because of the imbalance of electrolytes in your body. There has to be a balance - go with what feels right to you. If you feel sick after drinking a lot of water, switch to Gatorade or something like that. Or... just slow down and pace yourself. It isn't a race! :)
  • NicoleLyn1818
    NicoleLyn1818 Posts: 110
    Clear urine is a good thing--it means that you are hydrated. Be sure to consume sodium when you are drinking this much water because it can cause electrolyte imbalances (hyponatremia...aka too much water and not enough salt, etc.) in your body and cause a few things to go wrong.
  • Justien_c
    Justien_c Posts: 9
    A gallon of water a day is too much. It will dehydrate you. Trust me, you will never feel more stupid than when you are sitting in a hospital with an IV rehydrating you because you drank too much water. That said, nearly clear urine is fine. Being extremely well hydrated is a good thing. I've had several doctors coment on how well hydrated I was when I had to leave a sample. Remember when you go in the toilet your urine is being diluted with a fairly large amount of water, which will make nearly clear urine look like plain water. Just be sure to keep it under a gallon a day.
  • christinehetz80
    christinehetz80 Posts: 490 Member
    I try to drink around 2L or so of water....a day! What we were taught in school (I'm an exercise science major) is when your urine is clear you are hydrated. When it's yellow you're dehydrated. And when it's REALLY yellow you're dehydrated.....ever noticed when you've eaten something VERY high in salt it's really yellow???

    Thats what I was taught also...barring vitamin intake that your urine should be clear to a pale yellow.
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
    Unfortunately yes, it is possible to drink too much water. That's why in UK nightclub toilets for a while there was a poster campaign about looking after friends that had taken drugs and watching out that they didn't drink too much water. Apparently some drugs leave you feeling thirsty when you aren't.

    I also know there have been cases of people "addicted" to drinking water, and on occasion, this has lead to premature death through heart attacks.

    I think it has to be an extreme amount for that to happen though.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Clear urine is usually not a problem. If you are peeing too much or too often, then you might want to cut back.

    From the Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283/NSECTIONGROUP=2)
    Generally if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or light yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate. If you're concerned about your fluid intake or have health issues, check with your doctor or a registered dietitian. He or she can help you determine the amount of water that's right for you.
  • 1Timothy4v8
    1Timothy4v8 Posts: 503 Member
    This is so funny cause I had just asked this question yesterday, I think as long as you don't force your self to dink it your o.k. When I was all healthy and only drank water and milk my pee was clear too, I think that means you are like healthy or cleared out of toxins, but I would check with a doc maybe you have a condition that is making you feel thirsty,

    And just to note a couple years back I heard of a girl who tried to win a contest about who can drink the most water, any way she deid cuz she drank to much and like druned herslef so like I said dont force your self if your not thirsty don't drink

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  • NicoleLyn1818
    NicoleLyn1818 Posts: 110
    A gallon of water a day is too much. It will dehydrate you. Trust me, you will never feel more stupid than when you are sitting in a hospital with an IV rehydrating you because you drank too much water. That said, nearly clear urine is fine. Being extremely well hydrated is a good thing. I've had several doctors coment on how well hydrated I was when I had to leave a sample. Remember when you go in the toilet your urine is being diluted with a fairly large amount of water, which will make nearly clear urine look like plain water. Just be sure to keep it under a gallon a day.

    It doesn't necessarily dehydrate you. Dehydration means you do not have enough water or fluids in your body. Drinking TOO MUCH water without replenishing your electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, and calcium), will just deplete your body of those essentials and cause many things to go wrong in your body....which is why they would have to give you an IV--to replenish. Drink some gatorade or electrolyte replacing fluids, or eat a little more sodium and other essentials to replenish the electrolytes.
  • kvhmc
    kvhmc Posts: 33 Member
    I'm a medical student so have been revising this relatively recently. Provided you're not taking illegal drugs, which can affect your perception of thirst, you are unlikely to drink too much water. Having clear urine is not a problem, but is an indication that you're drinking plenty of water. The recommended amount of water is meant to be 2 liters, but a lot of that comes from food you eat anyway. There is such a thing called water intoxication where, if vast quantities of water are drank, this causes cells in the brain to swell and increases the pressure within skull. There are a variety of symptoms but headaches and drowsiness are probably the most common. However, that is really rare! Our kidneys are able to excrete about 1 liter per hour if they are in working order.
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