stop drinking 8 cups of water (because it's "good"), and get

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  • alyson820
    alyson820 Posts: 448 Member
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    I drink a gallon of water a day because I LOVE water and how it makes me feel. Since cutting out soda, my skin is clearer, I have more energy, and my immune system seems like it's working better.
  • ariant23
    ariant23 Posts: 161 Member
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    I drink diet soda, almond milk (1/2 calories of skim milk, and my brand adds extra calcium), crystal light, and sometimes water. i just drink if i'm thirsty. i never force myself to consume a beverage, esp. plain water. I dont drink coffee, tea or alcohol. i just dont like them. As for the diuretic effect of caffeine, it's there. but it's so small as to be negligible. but like i stated initially, and then again in the middle. this is just an FYI for people who don't like drinking all that water, and don't feel a physical need to do so. when i work out, i drink tons of water because i sweat like a pig, and then i'm thirsty. but if i didnt, i probably wouldn't.
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
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    I asked my nutritionist this question a few weeks ago because I'm always really thirsty! She said to just drink when you're thirsty. If your body wants more water, then give it more water! My apartment is super dry, so I get really thirsty when I'm home a lot. there are a lot of factors when it comes to thirst.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    Tea and coffee do NOT dehydrate you as so many posts claim. CAFFEINE dehydrates you. There's enough water in tea and coffee to more than offset the dehydrating effects of the caffeine. That's why some people count tea and coffee as part of their water intake and it's perfectly legit. I don't but I log all my drinks and try to make sure I'm getting at least 80-100 oz. of liquids every day.

    As to black tea containing more antioxidants that green--depends on the brand. For Lipton decaf, black tea has 105 and green tea has 130.

    Decaf has all sorts of other nasties in. I avoid it like the plague, it gives me headaches. Large leaf loose teas are the ones to go for. Oolong for maximum health.

    My husband used to be a tea taster for years, so there's not a lot I don't know about real loose leaf tea. He must have brought home hundreds of samples over the years.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    Yes, you would have to drink gallons and gallons of water for it to hurt you.

    Not true.

    My husband is 6'1". He easily weighs more than 225. (Probably 250-ish at the time of this story)

    He decided he wanted to drink more water, and so he started using the Macho cup from Del Taco to drink water from. Eight of them a day. 8x44 ounces equals 352 ounces. A gallon is 128 ounces, so he was drinking 2.75 gallons a day. He was also working out, lifting weights for about 2 hours during that time.

    After about a week, his joints started to swell up and get puffy. His whole body got achy. He went to the doctor and they figured out it was all that water. He changed nothing except going back to regular water consumption levels (ie, have a drink when you feel thirsty), and all of the symptoms he created vanished.

    It does not take "gallons and gallons", and this example was with a big man.

    Enjoy your water, people, but do not be lulled into thinking you *can't* overdo it. You certainly can. If your urine is light yellow, you're doing a good job being hydrated.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    Even my son's nephrologist says the water thing is a myth.
  • HorrorChix89
    HorrorChix89 Posts: 1,229 Member
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    I only drink when I'm thirsty and I hate the plain taste of water. It makes my head hurt. I usually get about 6 cups a day
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    If your urine is light yellow, you're doing a good job being hydrated.

    It's gross but this is true. Medium-to-dark yellow urine is a very obvious sign of being underhydrated, but there's no reason at all to overdo it if you pee light yellow (tee hee).

    Think of trying to clean a toilet with Comet and no water. That's what your kidneys are like when they try to get rid of the toxins you consume from other liquids, and a great reason to drink more water than you drink anything else :)

    Don't force yourself to drink if you're not thirsty, but if you're not drinking mostly water, you should consider it.
  • monocot
    monocot Posts: 475 Member
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    My Boyfriend spends a lot of time telling me drinking to much just pushing nutrition i may need out of my body.
    I never get over 6 cups in a day anyways.
  • rebecca_chess
    rebecca_chess Posts: 101 Member
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    Also, for all of you in the Caffeine Dehydrates you and the Coffee/tea/etc. "Doesn't Count" camps, please read: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    Very interesting! Thanks for posting the side of "It Does Count" camp. I'm not from that camp, but welcome the input from the other camp. I'm always interested in reading the "two sides of every story". :flowerforyou:
  • IndigoVA
    IndigoVA Posts: 164 Member
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    I can't comment on whether or not it's a myth, but I wonder about drinking only when thirsty. I used to drink only about 5 cups of water a day--whenever I was thirsty. Then when I became pregnant, I developed high blood pressure, and my midwife told me to drink as much water as I possibly could. So I started drinking more like 12 cups a day. After a couple weeks, my body got used to the 12 cups a day, and I found myself getting thirsty way more often than back when I only drank 5 cups a day. This remained long after I had my daughter. So I don't think that only drinking when thirsty is the best judge of water intake.
  • djkamin60
    djkamin60 Posts: 88
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    We had this discussion on water at a weight loss class I recently attended. To get too much water, they told us you would have to attach your mouth to a hose and drink steadily for 10 minutes. This was proven by inmates in a prison to make themselves sick to get out for a while! Not sure if I could even do it. Water is good for a lot of the reasons mentioned above and I agree a lot of the other stuff out there is not good for you. They also told us gatorade is not good to drink after a workout. It was created as a performance enhancer for athletes. Go figure.
  • Sparkz1920
    Sparkz1920 Posts: 33 Member
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    I drink about 64 ounces a day and I feel great.

    Also, you shouldn't drink water just when you're thirsty. The key is to avoid dehydration

    I think some ppl like to convince themselves that water is not important because they don't like it or would rather have a diet soda. Hey, do you . But U won't see me giving up my water
  • TexasTroy
    TexasTroy Posts: 477 Member
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    I was a bodybuilder for 15-20 years of my life and I would drink 2 gallons of water a day and it never hurt me! No longer in bodybuilding but I still drink a gallon a day. it is definitely true that pretty much everything you eat contains water but you still need "extra " water throughout the day, especially if you are training hard and/or in hot environments. Yes, coffee , tea's, etc are considered water-its the main ingredient-one must look out for extra calories however...especially the coffees-the latte french vanilla frapaccino whatcamacallit you drank this morning could have as much fat and calories as a cheeseburger! Far as im concerned, drink up..its not gonna hurt ya and can only help ya.
  • Phoenix59
    Phoenix59 Posts: 364 Member
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    All I know is when I had blood drawn the nurse said "you drink a lot of water", and I asked why and she said good veins. So I think it helps to drink water.

    I had a nurse essentially tell me the same thing...saying she could see I was well-hydrated, but I don't drink nearly as much water as I "should." I try to get in at least 64 oz., but that rarely happens. I do get fluids from tea, coffee, diet Cokes, food, etc., though.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    Even my son's nephrologist says the water thing is a myth.

    My mom's nephrologist always said the opposite and urged my mom to drink more water and leave the coffee alone, she didn't though.

    My naturopath, endocrinologist, and family Doctors all urge their patients to drink plenty of water also.

    It is also intriguing that my husband started drinking more plain water (only change he made) and was able to get off his high blood pressure medication.
  • dHowe4406
    dHowe4406 Posts: 114
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    If your urine is light yellow, you're doing a good job being hydrated.

    it is as simple as this...You don't need to force yourself to drink 8 cups a water a day as long as your urine is a light yellow. If you like to drink more nothing wrong with that either.
  • polonightmare
    polonightmare Posts: 31
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    caffeine dehydrates your body. and causes you to retain water, so doesn't count, but fruits and veg and stuff definitely count.
    I think how much water you drink depends on what kind of diet you have- eg. if you eat lots of salt and instant food you will need to drink more, but if you live of fruit and veg you don't need to drink as much. I drink the eight glasses because it makes me feel fuller when I know I have hat enough to eat but want more, and because I drink a lot of coffee.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Hmmm... I don't know.... I know I feel more thirsty and dehydrated when I don't actually drink 64+ oz. of water a day... especially when things like Melon are out of season and uber expensive (or just plain nasty)... Actually my goal is to drink (and continue to drink) around 88 oz. a day and I seem to do just fine on it.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    I don't remember where I read, or saw it, but no, you do not need 8 glasses, we don't all require the same amount. The article or show mentioned drinking half your body weight in ounces, meaning if you weigh 150 lbs, you drink 75 oz of water.

    I don't have a magic number, other than my morning coffee I drink water, and it makes me fee better.

    This is the guideline I go buy. The 64 oz is based on a 130 pound individual, so of course many people should be more, some less and some right about that amount.

    The key is that plenty of water is important and drinking water, tea, juice, coffee, etc thinking you are hydrating your body correctly is very incorrect, which is what the OP is implying.

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