Does Fresh Brewed Ice Tea count towards water

Valera0466
Valera0466 Posts: 319 Member
edited December 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Subject say's it all. Can I count the ice tea I drink towards my daily water goal?
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Replies

  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    I don't unless it's decaf, because caffeine dehydrates you. Personally, for every serving of caffeine I have, I consider that -1 serving of water, so I up my water intake by 1 serving for every glass of tea/coffee/diet coke I have.
  • DebbieMc3
    DebbieMc3 Posts: 289 Member
    yes
  • mrsjennifermaffei
    mrsjennifermaffei Posts: 469
    I count water as water, thats it.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    I count everything I drink as water, just log it as well if it has calories.

    As all drinks are made of water it would be silly to think that it doesn't count really... :/

    & caffeine doesn't dehydrate you, it's a diuretic, it causes you to pee more but doesn't dehydrate you unless you're drinking insane amounts of caffeinated drinks everyday... (like 7-10 cups)
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Yes. Absolutely.

    Caffeine is a diuretic, but its effect is directly proportional to dosage, and (surprise, surprise) so is the water you take in from it. The little bit of caffeine you'll find in most coffee or tea will have a negligible effect in proportion to the volume of water you are taking in.

    Just because you CAN count it doesn't mean you HAVE to. A little extra water never hurt no one.

    Honestly, though, the only real way to know if you're drinking enough water is to ignore the numbers and check the toilet after you water the flowers. Urine should be a pale yellow, dissolve readily in water, and be completely transparent. If your urine is completely clear and colorless, you're overdrinking water (harmless, by the way). If it's pale yellow, you're good. If it's bright yellow or darker, drink more in proportion to how dark it is.
  • oldmanstauf
    oldmanstauf Posts: 202 Member
    According to Mayo Clinic and WebMD, caffeine doesn't dehydrate nearly as much as people believe, with WebMD even saying it doesn't cause it at all. I'd count it personally. Urine color really tells you how hydrated you are.
  • Hawkian
    Hawkian Posts: 87 Member
    Hahaha. You can absolutely count Tea toward your water count. It's a huge exaggeration to suggest that the dehydrating effect of caffeine (especially the quantities present in freshed brewed tea) would counteract all the water you're drinking to CONSUME that caffeine.
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    Is that kind of like saying "aspartame isn't as carcinogenics as most people think it is, so really it's ok"

    or wait no..........this is more like "can I count french fries as veggies?"

    Tea (or coffee or soda or juice) isn't water. You can count whatever you want as whatever else you want, I suppose, but the bottom line is if you have to ask..........if you have to make excuses to justify it......... that's your answer right there. Count WATER as water. Because water is water. Just cause Mt. Dew has water in it doesn't make it count toward water.
  • mandaleigh26
    mandaleigh26 Posts: 18 Member
    You can count it for sure!

    What I do is if there is sugar in it ... it is NOT WATER! Haha! So Fresh Brewed Sweet Tea wouldn't count. It is just a way to get me to go for the water and not the sodas or juices.

    There is no real basis for picking sugar free drinks when it comes to hydration. I But I am not into drinking my calories so I opt for sugar free stuff when possible. I do have a real sugar problem though...

    So if you are anything like me...it is just a good little trick to get me to opt for sugar free "water-like" drinks. Because if I have that Juice I will have to drink more actual water if I go for unsweet tea then it counts as water! 2 birds, one stone...yay!!
  • Valera0466
    Valera0466 Posts: 319 Member
    Thanks for the input guys. I am still drinking lots of water. Only about 16 oz of ice tea a day. It is my morning coffee, my replacement for Diet Pepsi. Some days it is just a struggle to get that last couple glasses of water in I think I will count my tea but still strive for the 8 cups of plain water. <><
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Yes. Absolutely.

    Caffeine is a diuretic, but its effect is directly proportional to dosage, and (surprise, surprise) so is the water you take in from it. The little bit of caffeine you'll find in most coffee or tea will have a negligible effect in proportion to the volume of water you are taking in.

    Just because you CAN count it doesn't mean you HAVE to. A little extra water never hurt no one.

    Honestly, though, the only real way to know if you're drinking enough water is to ignore the numbers and check the toilet after you water the flowers. Urine should be a pale yellow, dissolve readily in water, and be completely transparent. If your urine is completely clear and colorless, you're overdrinking water (harmless, by the way). If it's pale yellow, you're good. If it's bright yellow or darker, drink more in proportion to how dark it is.

    This. All of it.
  • DebbieMc3
    DebbieMc3 Posts: 289 Member
    Tea (or coffee or soda or juice) isn't water. You can count whatever you want as whatever else you want, I suppose, but the bottom line is if you have to ask..........if you have to make excuses to justify it......... that's your answer right there. Count WATER as water. Because water is water.
    [/quote]

    So, if I drink a bottle of water, and eat my crystal light powder seperately, it would count as water but if I mix the powder into the water, then drink it, it doesn't count. Hmmmm, not sure I can agree with your theory of what counts as water.
    Any unsweetened water base drink can be counted as water.
  • oldmanstauf
    oldmanstauf Posts: 202 Member

    So, if I drink a bottle of water, and eat my crystal light powder seperately, it would count as water but if I mix the powder into the water, then drink it, it doesn't count. Hmmmm, not sure I can agree with your theory of what counts as water.
    Any unsweetened water base drink can be counted as water.

    Bingo
  • Valera0466
    Valera0466 Posts: 319 Member
    So, if I drink a bottle of water, and eat my crystal light powder seperately, it would count as water but if I mix the powder into the water, then drink it, it doesn't count. Hmmmm, not sure I can agree with your theory of what counts as water.
    Any unsweetened water base drink can be counted as water.
    [/quote]

    I like that reasoning. Makes more sense than anything I've read. That's what I was thinking. I fill a bottle with water and let a bag of spices leach flavor into it. Why is this not water?
  • yentess
    yentess Posts: 167 Member
    So, if I drink a bottle of water, and eat my crystal light powder seperately, it would count as water but if I mix the powder into the water, then drink it, it doesn't count. Hmmmm, not sure I can agree with your theory of what counts as water.
    Any unsweetened water base drink can be counted as water.

    So if I take a pitcher of water and stir in a packet of koolaid and sweeten it with sweet n low, that would be considered water too? Basically water flavoring packets are the same as koolaid just with aspartame instead of sugar.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    So, if I drink a bottle of water, and eat my crystal light powder seperately, it would count as water but if I mix the powder into the water, then drink it, it doesn't count. Hmmmm, not sure I can agree with your theory of what counts as water.
    Any unsweetened water base drink can be counted as water.

    So if I take a pitcher of water and stir in a packet of koolaid and sweeten it with sweet n low, that would be considered water too? Basically water flavoring packets are the same as koolaid just with aspartame instead of sugar.

    It will still serve the purpose of hydrating your body.
    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.

    Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
  • cbevan1229
    cbevan1229 Posts: 326 Member
    I seem to remember that Weight Watchers allowed you to count various drinks (milk, crystal light, coffee, tea) as water intake, but only for half of the recommended 8 glasses.

    I have one of those re-usable plastic cups with a lid and straw, and I keep it filled up on my desk. It's pleasant to drink from, and blue, so the water always looks appealing. (These silly things matter to me.) I find I easily drink 6 - 8 of my recommended glasses during work just by keeping it full on my desk all day.
  • Valera0466
    Valera0466 Posts: 319 Member
    I seem to remember that Weight Watchers allowed you to count various drinks (milk, crystal light, coffee, tea) as water intake, but only for half of the recommended 8 glasses.

    I have one of those re-usable plastic cups with a lid and straw, and I keep it filled up on my desk. It's pleasant to drink from, and blue, so the water always looks appealing. (These silly things matter to me.) I find I easily drink 6 - 8 of my recommended glasses during work just by keeping it full on my desk all day.

    I do the exact same thing. Mine has blue waves on it. The straw helps me to drink it faster and its double walled so it stay cold longer. It holds 16 oz so each time I fill it it is 2 glasses of water.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
    Just a point, extra water CAN hurt you, if it's too much.

    I count iced tea as water. If you think about what tea is made of, it's 99ish percent water probably. Depending on how strong or weak you make it, the caffeine is not enough to worry too much about.

    Most any drink is mostly water, and many fruits are mostly water, etc..etc... As long as you are getting enough liquid overall I think you're fine.
  • Royaltvii
    Royaltvii Posts: 160 Member
    I count it as water. Make sure you drink more water than tea though.
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
    I personally count mine as water. But I also drink about 80oz of water by itself on a given day.
  • Sox90716
    Sox90716 Posts: 976 Member
    Yes.
  • reese66
    reese66 Posts: 2,920 Member
    Just a point, extra water CAN hurt you, if it's too much.

    I count iced tea as water. If you think about what tea is made of, it's 99ish percent water probably. Depending on how strong or weak you make it, the caffeine is not enough to worry too much about.

    Most any drink is mostly water, and many fruits are mostly water, etc..etc... As long as you are getting enough liquid overall I think you're fine.

    This x2
  • mfp_junkie
    mfp_junkie Posts: 359
    I've got an idea. Drink when you are thirsty. The 8 cups a day thing is a crock too.

    I drink coffee, water, pop, milk, whatever. I log the stuff with calories, and I don't increment my water counter, mostly because I got tired of "friends" bugging me for not drinking my 200 oz of water a day or whatever.

    You can get water from your food too. As food passes through your large intestine, water is extracted from it. Your body, at this point, could care less if that water came in a bottle from France, and if that bottle contain Evian or red wine.
  • ahealthy4u
    ahealthy4u Posts: 442 Member
    I count water as water, thats it.

    Water is water not tea anything you mix into it or add to it is no longer plain water. If you have lemon water you should add a slice of lemon. If you have tea even if it is brewed.
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
    Is that kind of like saying "aspartame isn't as carcinogenics as most people think it is, so really it's ok"

    or wait no..........this is more like "can I count french fries as veggies?"

    Tea (or coffee or soda or juice) isn't water. You can count whatever you want as whatever else you want, I suppose, but the bottom line is if you have to ask..........if you have to make excuses to justify it......... that's your answer right there. Count WATER as water. Because water is water. Just cause Mt. Dew has water in it doesn't make it count toward water.

    I agree with this... Essentially, I guess the water content could count towards you water goal but if there is any type of dehydrating effect from the caffine, wouldn't it be better to just drink an extra glass of water anyway? It won't hurt and the more the better really - within reason - I think excessive amounts of water can unbalance your salts and electrolyte levels.
  • Erica002
    Erica002 Posts: 293 Member
    Wow..some of these respones...anyways, I only count WATER as water. Everything else I drink gets logged under "snacks" because I typically don't drink anything but water.
  • scloyd
    scloyd Posts: 327 Member
    I count 8 oz. water as 1 serving and hot green tea, unsweetened ice tea as 1/2 servings. That's all I drink.

    So if I drink 2 cups of green tea in the morning I will count that as 1 serving.
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    Of course it does.

    Anything with LIQUID does, but a lot of purists here ONLY count 'water' as water.

    :)
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
    http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/05/12053524-let-go-of-the-water-bottle-youre-plenty-hydrated-people?lite

    There you go. Don't even need 8 glasses and everything counts.
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