Water?

The only way that anything can be counted as water is if it has nothing in it that would dehydrate you at all. Tea usually works well, however, there are some tea's that have more caffiene than coffee and caffiene will dehydrate, so that wouldn't work. There are quiet a few things that work quite nicely, you just have to pay attention to what is in them

I count it but if I drink 2 cups of coffee I only count it as 1 cup of water.


If you drink more than 500 to 600 milligrams of caffeine a day that's when it can make you dehydrated.

It's not hard to put down 8 cups in a day if you just spread it out. every 2-3 hours, drink 1-2 glasses. Your body will thank you for it. You'll feel a lot more healthier after being hydrated.

Try Crystal light for some flavor, or the Mios flavor concentrations. They just came out with a natural energy one, which I like cause of my long work days (10hours). Also, I find if I drink it through a straw, I can down 24oz (Medium Pepsi cup) in 2 hours. Hope this helps!

I hate drinking straight water, like HATE it so i usually drink herbal and a few green teas throughout the day

You can argue all day about what counts as water, but it comes down to this: drink enough that your pee is light or clear. Don't stress over it.

yes tea and coffee count as water...so does crystal light, and iced tea and......you get it, but you just opened up a can of worms here, because some die hard peeps believe that only water counts as water...it should be choice #1 but I hate the stuff and always flavour mine,

This is not 100% true. Yes coffee and Tea are Liquids. but you also have to contemplate the caffeine, which can counteract the consumption. IMO, if you want to track, track accurately...Water is water. But, again, MO.

"Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day. "
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

And to provide more evidence...

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

You can argue all day about what counts as water, but it comes down to this: drink enough that your pee is light or clear. Don't stress over it.

AMEN! We could quote articles all night.

Idd, and if people dont want to be proved wrong, they wont read them. However, im hoping that new members will actually want to learn stuff and help dispel myths.

I have a hard time with water....so I cut up lemon wedges and that seems to help. You can count any drink with no caffeine from what I understand.


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