water intake - relating to coffee, liquids, salt, etc

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  • tataliciousd89
    tataliciousd89 Posts: 465
    Your urine output is only dark when you arent properly hydrated. Your kidneys produce concentrated urine in the absence of fluids and diluted urine in fluid excess. Some medications can darken the urine also, but that is rare.
  • lorihalsted
    lorihalsted Posts: 326 Member
    I log only water.....not any other liquid. If I know I am over on salt I will try to drink more water.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    I log water as water... I dont drink much of anything else. If I do (juice for ex) I log it under whatever meal Im drinking it with... For those that log coffee under water, do you log the amount of sugar and/or cream you use? Lately Ive become anal about logging in everything!!!! and have logged in even condiments such as butter, olive oil, honey, etc.
    i log everything. i enter coffee with my breakfast, along with my stevia and two creamers (singles). i just also include it in my water count.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    Caffeine is not as strong a diuretic as people are led to believe (in the NYT article, it is about as strong a diuretic as water itself!) and technically you can log any drink as water. PLAIN water however, is best for you as is it calorie/sugar free, so better for weight loss than anything else.

    I personally try to log only water, but if I do log something else, I make sure to log it with my food so that the calories are counted!

    So enjoy your coffee (just beware all the calories from the stuff you put in it!)

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

    This pretty much sums it up. Personally, I don't care what anyone else chooses to drink. I only take issue with the INSISTENCE that because you (general you) want to drink ONLY plain water that everyone else who does it differently is "wrong." There is nothing magic about water. Is it your best choice of beverage? Sure, I wouldn't argue otherwise. But just because you add something to that water to make it taste different, it doesn't suddenly become "not-water." Your body extracts what it needs from everything that you eat and drink.
  • DrG3n3
    DrG3n3 Posts: 467 Member
    So Coffee is very dehydrating, and many of us drink coffee. After reading a post a while ago (I can't remember which one) I thought it was kind of ironic that some people are logging a dehydrating drink like coffee under their daily water intake. I've also noticed that people seem to log juices and soups.

    Coffee is NOT dehydrating, so we log it as fluid intake because it is. Same for juices and soups too. Can you show me some research that says they are dehydrating?

    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



    Our body doesnt need NEAT water, just water. Whatever we drink or eat that has water content, our body extracts it.

    Aw snap, your post is way better than mine. Way better articles too. :)

    I'm glad someone brought this up. Totally log whatever other stuff you drink because if its had calories, carbs, sodium etc then sure you need to know your counts. But even though it says water intake, when you drink tea or coffee you are getting W-A-T-E-R which, yes is a fluid, but it is still water. I just don't get how people can act like the water evaporates and its replaced with some unnamed unknown fluid known simply as 'another fluid' that you've consumed for the day. I understand not wanting to drink one cup of water, 5 cups of coffee, and then saying I've consumed all the water I need for the day, but you still have water in those cups of coffee, plus water in the foods you consume, the 8 cups (quite the myth) doesn't exactly mean 8 cups or pure water, it just means that you need to keep properly hydrated. Heck, if you want to pee 5000 times a day then by all means, but I've got work to do and two workouts I need to get done and a full nights rest, can't be spending all day on the toilet.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I only log water as water. I don't understand why people log their other liquids as water...If it said "Fluid Intake" then okay, but since it doesn't...
    Also, when I have a lot of sodium in a day I always drink a bunch of extra water to flush out the excess.

    Mayo Clinic addresses that on their site
    "Everyone has heard the advice, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day." That's about 1.9 liters, which isn't that different from the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Although the "8 by 8" rule isn't supported by hard evidence, it remains popular because it's easy to remember. Just keep in mind that the rule should be reframed as: "Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," because all fluids count toward the daily total."
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

    ETA - forgot to answer - I dont' log water/fluid consumption, so I don't worry about logging tea or water.
  • Blessedmommy_2x
    Blessedmommy_2x Posts: 419 Member
    I only log water that is PLAIN water... nothing else. Speaking of which I drank 152 oz today!!! :drinker:

    GREAT JOB!!

    WATER is WATER. Soda is Soda, Coffee is Coffee, etc. However I hardly drink anything but water <3 128 oz TODAY =)



    Enjoy those oh-so-unnecessary trips to the toilet, and pee well knowing that all the excess water you drank is just coming straight out again.


    ....Just your opinion
  • MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B
    MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B Posts: 170
    I only log water that is PLAIN water... nothing else. Speaking of which I drank 152 oz today!!! :drinker:

    GREAT JOB!!

    WATER is WATER. Soda is Soda, Coffee is Coffee, etc. However I hardly drink anything but water <3 128 oz TODAY =)

    Enjoy those oh-so-unnecessary trips to the toilet, and pee well knowing that all the excess water you drank is just coming straight out again.

    Well since I weigh approx 264lbs 128oz of water is not going to bother me. I also workout for an hour a day ((in long pants and hoodie). The extra trips just mean that I am getting all the extra sugar/crap out of my system which is A-OKAY to me <3
  • jcr85
    jcr85 Posts: 229
    i log coffee, tea, juice, soda, and water as water. that said, i drink coffee maybe 3 times a week, tea about half that and juice and soda are a couple times a month, if that.
    its all water, and the dehydrating effects arent really so serious that you dont get any benefit at all from the water the drink is made from.
    i never thought to add soup as water intake, but i dont drink a lot of soup either.

    wtf :huh:
  • jmp1031
    jmp1031 Posts: 95 Member
    i absolutely only log water as water- not tea, not coffee. flavored water, ok. i shoot for 8-12 cups of water a day, anything else from other soups or drinks is just bonus. or in the case of coffee and pop- not since it dehydrates you. it's one of the things if you look for the shortcuts, you're only cheating yourself.
  • cuteness81104
    cuteness81104 Posts: 131 Member
    I nly drink water most days but if i drink anything else i do not count it in my water intake
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    i log coffee, tea, juice, soda, and water as water. that said, i drink coffee maybe 3 times a week, tea about half that and juice and soda are a couple times a month, if that.
    its all water, and the dehydrating effects arent really so serious that you dont get any benefit at all from the water the drink is made from.
    i never thought to add soup as water intake, but i dont eat/drink a lot of soup either.

    wtf :huh:
    what about that is wtf worthy? o.O
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I just don't get how people can act like the water evaporates and its replaced with some unnamed unknown fluid known simply as 'another fluid' that you've consumed for the day.

    That wasn't my logic on the matter at all. My logic was telling me that if I drink something with an ingredient that does something to my body, it would probably be a good idea to flush it out. At the same time, drinking the magic 8 glasses of water (or a lot of water) and drinking other liquids like soup and juice, that can't be good for you either. It's like overfilling a water balloon. I'd pop :P

    I guess the golden rule would be drink if you feel thirsty, and if you've had something like caffine or salt you should probably have water after because if you don't you probably will feel dehydrated after, and it's aways nice to keep the toxins out of your body.

    I was more interested in if anyone came upon any tests that monitored the differences between doing one thing or the other. Specifically something with references. I've never stumbled upon anything so far and figured I'd ask 'cause I'm the curious type! Not because I think someones right and someones wrong. People can be very different. I was also hoping for some "I've tried this and that and this is what happened' responses.
  • thisisabbie
    thisisabbie Posts: 521 Member
    Personally, I don't log water in my diary, but I aim to drink a minimum of 8 glasses a day. Of PLAIN water. I always have a glass or a bottle on hand. Every time i'm near the kitchen, I drink a pint! If i'm out, then very time I open my bag, I have a few sips from my bottle.

    Anything else I have throughout the day, be it tea, coffee, cordial (squash for some of you!) or juice, I log them into my food diary, I don't count ANY of them as one of my 8...

    Water is water. Squash is squash. Coffee is coffee. etc etc.

    The only thing that should be counted towards MY water intake, is plain water itself. But that's my opinion... Each to their own :wink:
  • MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B
    MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B Posts: 170
    i log coffee, tea, juice, soda, and water as water. that said, i drink coffee maybe 3 times a week, tea about half that and juice and soda are a couple times a month, if that.
    its all water, and the dehydrating effects arent really so serious that you dont get any benefit at all from the water the drink is made from.
    i never thought to add soup as water intake, but i dont eat/drink a lot of soup either.

    wtf :huh:
    what about that is wtf worthy? o.O

    I think they were just surprised that you count everything as water. *serious question* how to do log soda? 12oz soda= ? oz water
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    i absolutely only log water as water- not tea, not coffee. flavored water, ok. i shoot for 8-12 cups of water a day, anything else from other soups or drinks is just bonus. or in the case of coffee and pop- not since it dehydrates you. it's one of the things if you look for the shortcuts, you're only cheating yourself.

    How is cheating yourself? There are a number of links in this thread to reputable medical sources that state it is fine to count them towards your fluid intake. And for the millionth time coffee does not dehydrate. It was one thought it did, but newer research has found it doesnt.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    i log coffee, tea, juice, soda, and water as water. that said, i drink coffee maybe 3 times a week, tea about half that and juice and soda are a couple times a month, if that.
    its all water, and the dehydrating effects arent really so serious that you dont get any benefit at all from the water the drink is made from.
    i never thought to add soup as water intake, but i dont eat/drink a lot of soup either.

    wtf :huh:
    what about that is wtf worthy? o.O

    I think they were just surprised that you count everything as water. *serious question* how to do log soda? 12oz soda= ? oz water

    12oz soda = 12 oz water.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    i log coffee, tea, juice, soda, and water as water. that said, i drink coffee maybe 3 times a week, tea about half that and juice and soda are a couple times a month, if that.
    its all water, and the dehydrating effects arent really so serious that you dont get any benefit at all from the water the drink is made from.
    i never thought to add soup as water intake, but i dont eat/drink a lot of soup either.

    wtf :huh:
    what about that is wtf worthy? o.O

    I think they were just surprised that you count everything as water. *serious question* how to do log soda? 12oz soda= ? oz water
    id log it as 12 oz water.. but i dont normally drink that much. its usually an 8 oz glass of sodastream (35 calories for regular, 0 for diet).
  • TurtleRunnerNC
    TurtleRunnerNC Posts: 751 Member
    I log water, including if I add Crystal Light. I log coffee in my food intake.
  • CrystalBonner
    CrystalBonner Posts: 39 Member
    I log water as water. I click on the water glass every time I have one. I also log in the other drinks that I may have during the day. Coffee in the mornings and if by chance I have juice with one of my meals that's where I log it.
  • MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B
    MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B Posts: 170
    i log coffee, tea, juice, soda, and water as water. that said, i drink coffee maybe 3 times a week, tea about half that and juice and soda are a couple times a month, if that.
    its all water, and the dehydrating effects arent really so serious that you dont get any benefit at all from the water the drink is made from.
    i never thought to add soup as water intake, but i dont eat/drink a lot of soup either.

    wtf :huh:
    what about that is wtf worthy? o.O

    I think they were just surprised that you count everything as water. *serious question* how to do log soda? 12oz soda= ? oz water

    12oz soda = 12 oz water.


    ok........it just seems weird to me but as one of the above users said "to each their own"
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    While everyone gets peed at each other about how much they pee (because everyone is a specialist when you're on the internet)....I figured I'd share one of the tests that were mentioned in the articles for those not reading them all.

    "Another study, in the same journal in 2005, involved scientists following 59 active adults over 11 days while controlling their caffeine intake. They were given caffeine in capsule form on some days and on other days were given a placebo. Researchers found no significant differences in levels of excreted electrolytes or urine volume."
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html
  • goldielocks_1975
    goldielocks_1975 Posts: 2
    many moons ago I was on WW and they would always say that you can drink a certain amount of water (don't quote me), but I want to say 4 or 5 glasses. If you drink DECAF coffee (no creamer), DECAF iced tea -- you could count (again, don't quote me), but you could drink 3 classes of DECAF and count it as your water intake. Anyone who joined WW know about that and confirm?
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    So, we should be really accurate about this, the water you drink should not be logged as water, because it contains sodium and minerals, not just water....:tongue:
    I log water.
    And the water I add to coffee.
    And the water I add to my protein powder.
    But not milk, juice, soup, etc. I don't drink juice, never have.
    I don't drink more water for any reason other than being thirsty. I just listen to my body. And look at my pee. :blushing:
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member


    ok........it just seems weird to me but as one of the above users said "to each their own"
    the way i see it - is "they" recommend to drink 8 oz a day to stay hydrated. while water is the best choice because theres no calories or added chemicals/ingredients.. that doesnt mean its the only thing that hydrates you. anything i drink (besides liquor) i count as water. its hydrating me, and just because the label here says "water" and not "liquids" doesnt change that.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    many moons ago I was on WW and they would always say that you can drink a certain amount of water (don't quote me), but I want to say 4 or 5 glasses. If you drink DECAF coffee (no creamer), DECAF iced tea -- you could count (again, don't quote me), but you could drink 3 classes of DECAF and count it as your water intake. Anyone who joined WW know about that and confirm?

    Is the same WW thats says you can have as much fruit and veg as you like? Yeah, i wouldnt trust them too much tbh. And if they state decaf, definitely dont trust them. They really have no clue...
  • MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B
    MrsLawsonNavyBrat2B Posts: 170


    ok........it just seems weird to me but as one of the above users said "to each their own"
    the way i see it - is "they" recommend to drink 8 oz a day to stay hydrated. while water is the best choice because theres no calories or added chemicals/ingredients.. that doesnt mean its the only thing that hydrates you. anything i drink (besides liquor) i count as water. its hydrating me, and just because the label here says "water" and not "liquids" doesnt change that.


    **runs to check label of soda in fridge** First ingrediant is water so guess I see where ur going with that. Of course I hardly drink soda but in general I gained some knowledge on this thread
  • bohoatthebeach
    bohoatthebeach Posts: 42
    I only log water as water. When I have coffee, I log it as coffee. When I eat a lot of salty foods, I try to drink more water. I don't know what my logic is behind that; I guess I just want to flush everything out!

    i do that too, hahaha
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    So, we should be really accurate about this, the water you drink should not be logged as water, because it contains sodium and minerals, not just water....:tongue:
    Nice sarcasm. Anyway, that's not what I was trying to imply. If you're drinking or eating things that should be flushed out, you should drink water after. I can't see any side arguing that as a bad thing (given that you haven't had copious amounts of water)
  • jcr85
    jcr85 Posts: 229
    i log coffee, tea, juice, soda, and water as water. that said, i drink coffee maybe 3 times a week, tea about half that and juice and soda are a couple times a month, if that.
    its all water, and the dehydrating effects arent really so serious that you dont get any benefit at all from the water the drink is made from.
    i never thought to add soup as water intake, but i dont eat/drink a lot of soup either.

    wtf :huh:
    what about that is wtf worthy? o.O

    I think they were just surprised that you count everything as water. *serious question* how to do log soda? 12oz soda= ? oz water

    12oz soda = 12 oz water.


    ok........it just seems weird to me but as one of the above users said "to each their own"



    I thought it was warranted... Your body is estimated to be about 60 to 70 percent water, so why would you want to replace that with soda, coffee, juice etc.
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