Water vs. Other Drinks

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Replies

  • Jazziemay
    Jazziemay Posts: 12 Member
    I try very hard to drink all my water. I have two cups of coffee every morning followed with a glass of water. Then I either drink unsweet tea when eating out or diet coke. At home it's splenda tea
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Also, people keep saying that diet drinks dehydrate. Yes, there is caffiene, but the amount of water you ingest by simply consuming them negates any diuretic effects.

    I understand that it's 'cool' to jump on the 'ONLY WATER' bandwagon, but we need to take care to not spread myth/misinformation in the process :)

    I'm not advocating for only water. I love my morning coffee, and a Coke Zero with pizza is the only way to go for me. BUT, the OP stated that they're drinking a LOT of diet soda, and that level of consumption DOES have diuretic effects.

    Here's a very brief article, that supports the coffee/soda/tea as water argument, but it ALSO says that if you're drinking the equivalent of 5-7 cups of coffee a day (which I assume the OP is), you are drinking enough to experience diuretic (dehydrating) effects. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    Why are you assuming that? OP didn't mention drinking any coffee at all.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    There have been many debates on MFP about water, soda and other sources to hydrate our bodies. I drink coffee. I drink diet soda. I drink water. In the end, the best way to know if you are hydrated is to check the color of your unrine. The darker it is, the more dehydrated you are.

    It sure is possible that coffee and/or diet soda could have an affect on your weight loss ... or they could have no affect. Different people report different things, so the best solution is to dry different approaches and systematically determine what affects these kinds of drinks have on you (or don't have).

    Peace! :)
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Drinking anything but water shouldn't count towards the water you've consumed. If that were true, then eating an orange or watermelon should count towards drinking water too!

    Think about it: aside from a negligible amount of minerals, what is in water? Nothing! What is in tea, pop, coffee, etc etc etc? A lot of stuff! The biggest thing here is caffeine or sodium! Your body needs to use water to filter those out, so the water you take in while drinking these things will be used to filter the stuff out. If you drink water without anything in it, then it doesn't need to be used to filter anything out (from when you were drinking it) so it can do it's job.

    Unless it's only water, it isn't water!

    If anyone wants to argue this fact, read this article first!

    http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Fruit-Juice,-Sweetened-Water,-Tea-and-Coffee-Do-Not-Count-As-Water---And-Will-Make-You-Fat!&id=1049956
  • johnnys30
    johnnys30 Posts: 64 Member
    I don't think my results were typical in the past but I've lost as much as 15 lbs by just stopping to drink soda. Regular or diet. I've recently stopped and not had that type of result, but all in all they are empty calories. Even diet low or zero calorie drinks have the sugar, additives, etc.

    I get bored with water and have tried various packs to add in but I'm really liking Mio now. Everything on the label claims to be 0's in terms of calories, etc. I'm not sure I'm convinced because they add too much taste to be true. I recently found a sweet tea flavor and it is awesome. I like straight water during workouts or right after, but the flavor is nice with meals or just as a drink watching tv.
  • sue65ny
    sue65ny Posts: 1
    It has been found per Dr. Oz that diet or sugar free anything with artificial sweetners make you crave more and more sweets as these sweetners are sweeter than real sugar making you crave more. There is alot about this on the internet. If you need the fiz I believe he said seltzer water. You can go on his site to learn more.
    I hatted water also and dont like soda anymore so I decided to try lemon. Worked for me. I wasnt going to go out buying fake stuff to add to my pure water, just didnt make sense. Thats just me. I only drink water w/lemon when I go out as well. My body doesnt crave anything else to drink because its just used to it now. Ive even lowere my coffee to every other day and only 4oz at that. Keeps the headaches at bay and still enjoy a warm drink that sometimes just hits the spot.
  • Spiggytope
    Spiggytope Posts: 10 Member
    I cut out all hot drinks over four months ago and just drink water from a cooling machine at work / a juice for breakfast and a cold milk before bed time. I can safely say I don't miss any of the "stuff" I used to chuck down me, including alcohol, and my concentration / energy levels / stamina all appear to have sharpened up.

    That is just me though, so just my opinion that drinking water in copious amounts influences well being and fitness.
  • gregs887
    gregs887 Posts: 13
    I didn't read the thread so this may have been mentioned, but caffeine is a diuretic which will actually lead to dehydration.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I wouldn't drink so much of that stuff...the sweeteners alone are not good. I love Diet Coke, don't get me wrong, but I stick to the one a day limit. As for the other times, I drink 80% water mixed with 20% crystal light lemonade. Yes CL has sweeteners too, but you are getting barely any if you water it down, just to get a taste. I find that I drink a lot more water this way.
  • aaronf289
    aaronf289 Posts: 50 Member
    All I drink is water.....gave up drinking pop after I saw how many empty calories I was drinking....rather eat my calories than drink them....
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    I didn't read the thread so this may have been mentioned, but caffeine is a diuretic which will actually lead to dehydration.
    It's too bad you didn't read the thread, you would have learned something. Instead, you have thrown out information without any facts around it.
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
    I don't see how something with zero calories can make you gain weight unless there is some type of underlying medical condition.. ?

    The amount of sodium in diet pop is so minuscule, I'm surprised it was even mentioned. There is WAY more sodium in oatmeal, bread, etc. than even a can of diet pop.
  • kaotik26
    kaotik26 Posts: 590 Member
    I'm having trouble agreeing that pop is ok at all. Maybe it's because when I was in Basic Training they wouldn't let me drink it because it was so hot outside and they were terrified of us getting dehydrated (because of the caffeine). Also it was our Drill Sergeants theory that it wasn't going to help us make weight so we could STAY in the Army (get fat=get booted). I know they were not all nutritionists, but they trained a lot of people and half of that training was getting us into shape and helping us make weight.

    I did a little reading to back up my point. All these articles explain why pop is bad for you. One is study suggests that drinking sugary drinks causes people to crave more sugar throughout the day, thus adding more calories. Also there are links to heart attacks, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, kidney problems, and calcium deficiencies. I did find, however, a study on caffeine using coffee showed that it is not a diuretic. The only reason why you would want to use the bathroom more is because you drank so much in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Pepsi and Rum, but I think all of this is proof that Pop even Diet Pop is something to be moderated.

    http://whitney05.hubpages.com/hub/Soda-is-Bad-for-You

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diet-soda/AN01732

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/sodas-and-your-health-risks-debated?page=2

    http://www.americanhealthandbeauty.com/articles/?article=3532
  • ChanniVincent
    ChanniVincent Posts: 188
    Diet pop has tons of sodium? Not according to the nutrition label on the brand I drink (diet pepsi). I'd have to drink 3 litres a day to get 10% of my RDV of sodium intake. 3 slices of whole wheat bread would have a higher sodium content.

    THIS is so true, I had diet ice tea & it was so high in sodium I could barely drink it, then I bought a diet pepsi and looked at it and it was less than a qaurter of what the ice tea was. I was suprised! BUT HAPPY :)
  • MrTypical
    MrTypical Posts: 24
    Urine should be very pale yellow. 8 glasses a day is a generic guide. If you weigh 120 lbs and your neighbor weighs 200lbs your water intake requirements will be different. In addition, your water requirement varies with your activity level and food consumption. Your body obviously needs more water when you sweat. Your body also uses water to digest food when you eat, that's why eating makes you thirsty. Soda's and sugar drinks won't kill you, but they aren't good for you and are really easy to give up. We aren’t talking about chocolate here, it's just diet soda (which really doesn't taste that good anyway). The easiest way to drink more water, if you need it, is to keep a thermos type squirt bottle on your desk at work. Cold water is easier to drink and actually burns a couple calories as your body warms up the water inside you. Also by setting a 24 oz bottle on your desk it makes it easy to take a swig. The goal isn't to down the whole bottle in one shot. Just sip on it throughout the day, you'll find you can drink 2-3 a day easily. It's like forming any habit, do it long enough and it just becomes natural.

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