Daily water intake?...

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Selah37
Selah37 Posts: 32 Member
in Food and Nutrition
When doing your daily "water consumption" on your food diary- do you include things like green tea or a health shake since they are basically water with things added in them? Or do you only add it when it's plain water? I try to drink 8-9 glasses of water a day but I like to drink green tea too and I never consider it water as part of my 8-9 glasses.
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Replies

  • Dietz27
    Dietz27 Posts: 107
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    I count water only for that part, but it's a good question.
  • pixelish
    pixelish Posts: 54
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    My water is just water. I do include sparkling water that has no sweeteners (artificial or otherwise) and only natural flavorings, but other than that, my coffee, tea, and wine are counted separately.
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
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    When I belonged to WW, they said stuff like tea and coffee and some diet drinks could act as diuretics, so not to count them as they can actually DE-hydrate you. I know from personal experience coffee and tea can definitely cause you to dehydrate.
  • chcoley
    chcoley Posts: 63 Member
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    I only count plain water.
  • kellybean14
    kellybean14 Posts: 237 Member
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    yeah, i do water separately too. i also count a pint of water as one cup of water - do they mean "cup" cups or like, "glass" cups on here?
  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
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    I only count water, flavored water and seltzer water in my water count. Anything else I put into a category I made called "Misc Drinks (anything OTHER than water).
  • jasharp021
    jasharp021 Posts: 54 Member
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    I do both. I like to count just water and then I also keep count of water plus whatever (crystal light, tea, etc). I try to make sure I keep the water plus whatever to one to two glasses though. Not sure if the thought process is right but I get a little nervous with the mios, crystal light, etc stuff. I know they say it's okay for you but there are obviously "ingredients"
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
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    I also just count water :drinker: everything else i have a catagory called beverages
  • JEDIMASTER1
    JEDIMASTER1 Posts: 20
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    I personally add only plain water and I do about 48 ounces per day. It is harder for me on the weekends, but I am striving to get better. I always feel better when I drink plenty of water! Good luck!
  • NKF92879
    NKF92879 Posts: 601 Member
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    My doctor told me to count everything other than alcohol. Coffee, teas, sodas, and the like only become diuretics when you drink "excessive amounts" (i.e. 5+ cups)... but that just one doctors opinion...

    That being said, I usually count water and 1/2 of other drinks.
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
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    yeah, i do water separately too. i also count a pint of water as one cup of water - do they mean "cup" cups or like, "glass" cups on here?





    I beleive its 8 ounces
  • Yes2HealthyAriel
    Yes2HealthyAriel Posts: 453 Member
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    yeah, i do water separately too. i also count a pint of water as one cup of water - do they mean "cup" cups or like, "glass" cups on here?

    They mean cups as in 8 oz.

    I count my coffee separately but count my green tea, no sugar added as water.
  • EchoOfYourPast
    EchoOfYourPast Posts: 459 Member
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    I only log water as water...teas and coffees are diuretics and you will lose hydration.
    San :)
  • JMPerlin
    JMPerlin Posts: 287 Member
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    I heard some dietician on the news say to count it all, but me personally I only count water. My tea, hot or cold, is unsweetened, and I had to take myself off coffee because of the caffeine content.
  • katjo10
    katjo10 Posts: 86 Member
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    I only count plain water. But I do remember a couple of years ago in Weight Watchers the leader said you can count 1/2 of your non-caffeine drinks as part of your total water consumption.

    Also, I have always considered 8 oz as a cup.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    I generally only count water, and a "glass" of water is 8 ounces, so your total water intake based on this site's recommendations should be 64 ounces per day. The only real exception to that rule is non-caffeinated herbal teas, because they are basically flavored water without significant diuretic properties.

    Caffeine (which I drink in coffee form) is a diuretic, and it's a diuretic at any dosage, with its diuretic properties being proportional to dosage. But it also generally comes with a dose of water. For my planning, I count it as "hydration neutral" (in other words, I do not count it as "water", but neither do I feel the need to drink MORE plain water to "compensate" for each cup of coffee). That plan works well for me. If you drink espresso, you might want to add an extra cup or half-cup of water per shot, because you're getting high-dose diuretic with no compensating fluid intake.

    Caffeinated sodas are a little different - they generally come with a small dose of sodium and other flavorings. My personal opinion when I drank them was to add at least half their volume in additional water - I'd at least never replace pure water with soda. But that's me, based on only my personal experiences. If someone you trust more has told you it's OK, you're an adult and you get to choose who your sources are.

    Frankly, if you're getting somewhere close to your 8 glasses, your body has PLENTY of fluid to spare, and you don't need to stress about the last glass or so. So if you want to think of a cup of caffeinated coffee as part of your water, you won't keel over dead. And if you want to drink an extra glass of water per cup of coffee, that won't hurt you none either unless you're drinking gallons of water a day, at which point you should really be evaluating your caffeine intake. :)
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    My doctor told me to count everything other than alcohol. Coffee, teas, sodas, and the like only become diuretics when you drink "excessive amounts" (i.e. 5+ cups)... but that just one doctors opinion...

    Caffeine is a diuretic. Its effects are proportional to dosage, but even the first cuppa has some diuretic properties. There's no "critical mass" dose.

    It's possible your doctor meant that the overall effect would be dehydrating if you replaced more than half your pure water with a caffeinated beverage, and if so I'd consider that perfectly reasonable.

    I simply don't count my beloved caffeinated beverage (coffee) as "water" at all, and I do enjoy a few cups of coffee a day, and that seems to work fine for me. I'm still drinking about 8 8-oz glasses of pure water. Your mileage may vary.
  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
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    yeah, i do water separately too. i also count a pint of water as one cup of water - do they mean "cup" cups or like, "glass" cups on here?

    They mean cups as in 8 oz.

    I count my coffee separately but count my green tea, no sugar added as water.

    The more familiar measure for some will be 250ml, as in a large pub glass of wine (which unfortunately definitely does NOT count!) so the target is 2 litres a day. I drink the carbonated stuff and don't log as it I get through more than that, but I wouldn't count anything other than water as water.
  • WhittRak
    WhittRak Posts: 572 Member
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    I drink about 16 glasses of water per day. And wow...it has made such an improvement!
  • Tzippy7
    Tzippy7 Posts: 344 Member
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    seriously only count water as water. As soon as you add something to water it changes the balance, and when you put it in your body than the water has to interact with the solutes in your water instead of just directly hydrating you.

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