Do all beverages count towards your water intake?

24

Replies

  • JayneCW
    JayneCW Posts: 8
    You can always switch to a tea without caffeine, of which there are many. Diuretics do leech water from your body so while the water in the tea might add some it might not balance out right. Don't make yourself feel terrible by forcing yourself to drink plain water though!
  • OnionMomma
    OnionMomma Posts: 938 Member
    i count water only. everything else I log as it is.... tea, coffee etc.

    I do the same. Water as water, everything else as what I consumed it as, tea, coffee, iced coffee....and so on.
  • Pooks1n1Schmoops
    Pooks1n1Schmoops Posts: 199 Member
    I try with the water, but it's just ugh. I need some caffeine to get through my day too lol
  • SandyAnnP
    SandyAnnP Posts: 252 Member
    I don't count it as part of my water intake, but I have 4 or 5 cups of coffee every day. I do count the skim milk I use with it 1.5 cups, and I also have either a can odfdiet pepsi or a bottle of diet ginger beer most days so I guess I am getting plenty of fluids, I do have at least 5 glasses of water too. :)
  • crash_clu
    crash_clu Posts: 359 Member
    I only count one cup of (normal) tea per day in my water intake. While I will have 3 or 4 cups daily, I don’t count them all due to the caffeine, and the milk and 1 sugar that I add.

    On the other hand, I will count decaffeinated herbal tea as water as I don’t add anything else to it. I have trouble drinking water just by itself and even more so in winter (as it is here now) so I try to get in a couple of herbal teas in the evening to increase my water intake.
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
    I count water toward the water intake...all other drinks toward my food intake.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,201 Member
    It absolutely needs to be water, just water, oh and it has to be cold and 1 icecube if there's scotch in the water.......adding lemon voids the water value, the body knows you added lemon, so don't do that....watermelon and cantaloupe don't count either.....and it has to be clean water, nothing right out of the ground......:devil:
  • winniebago
    winniebago Posts: 22 Member
    The diet I'm following lists tea and coffee as being unrestricted, providing you use milk from your daily allowance (300ml semi-skimmed). I find I drink about 8 cups tea and 1 cup coffee on average in a day.
    I was wondering whether this counts as part of water intake, too. Haven't really been counting water, although I try and swallow about 3 glasses per day and keep a 500ml bottle on my desk in case of thirst.

    Haven't time to keep rushing to the loo!
  • TheDreadPirateRoberts
    TheDreadPirateRoberts Posts: 225 Member
    Tea and coffee may be counted towards your daily water intake. Its a myth that they are dehydrating, look it up. Obviously alcohol is dehydrating (as it affects the loop of Henle). Again look it up. Its all out there on the Interweb :)
  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
    Tea and water are the only liquids that count towards my water intake. I have about 3 cups of tea a day, no sugar. The rest is water which can be like 9 or 10 glasses.

    If I ever do have alcohol or diet fizzy drinks, I don't count them as water. They are more of a treat.
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
    I guess it depends on preference, I only count my pure water as water. I don't count my tea as water, or any other water based drinks.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I hate water. My nutritionist said to make diluted Wylers lite lemonade - It's got 2 1/2 calories per cup, but I put it under water consumed.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Only if it has H2O in it.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Yes, its water. Simple as that.
  • phenixred
    phenixred Posts: 26 Member
    I count water as water If i add Mio, crystal light or Powered Iced tea packet to it, its still counts as water. Iced tea from a can or jug(i dont drink this to often), tea and coffee i add as that. If I drink Diet pop I add it as pop.
  • SocWkrBee
    SocWkrBee Posts: 374
    I only count water. Not coffee, not tea, not wine. Water.

    I agree. Counting other beverages seems like a "cheat" to me. Why would you count a diet coke or the likes as WATER?
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
    I only count water, personally.

    Same... I'm a bit of a purist on this one :)
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
    I drink a lot of iced tea and I was wondering if that counts towards your water intake or no because it's a diuretic? I don't really like water by itself :(

    Personally, I don't count it because I want to track how much water (purely water nothing else) I'm drinking. I suppose you could count tea since it's primarily water, unless you put alot of sugar in it, in which case I wouldn't count it. However, I wouldn't drink all tea all the time. If you have trouble drinking water, try putting in a squeeze of fresh lemon, lime, orange, tangerene, or grapefruit. JUST a squeeze, though. It gives the water a hint of flavor without adding a bunch of sugar, artificial color, or preservatives like you find in the little flavor packets.
  • Patovader
    Patovader Posts: 439 Member
    I only count water, I sometimes have soda water though which I also count when I get bored or regular tap juice...
  • pfgaytriot
    pfgaytriot Posts: 238 Member
    I count water as water and everything else as it's labeled, because other drinks are not strictly water.
  • spim
    spim Posts: 31 Member
    A fly fell into my water this morning, so I guess it's no longer water. Most of you must be half dead of dehydration since you aren't having any "water".
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    I only count water. Not coffee, not tea, not wine. Water.

    I agree. Counting other beverages seems like a "cheat" to me. Why would you count a diet coke or the likes as WATER?

    Because diet coke is 95% water.

    Caffeine can be a diuretic, but not in the doses that normal mortals take it in.

    Also, surprise! Food counts as water too. Unless you're eating astronaut ice-cream...

    I don't get the dogma about water here. It literally takes 10 seconds on google to learn the truth about hydration.

    OP- Don't sweat it. You aren't chronically dehydrated because you have iced tea. Being thirsty doesn't mean you're going to turn into dust and blow away. Break free of the crap and the '8 glasses a day mantras' and join the sane side of MFP that isn't drowning itself.
  • ansy96
    ansy96 Posts: 55
    I only count water and tea without sweeteners. I think the other drinks always contain carbs.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Why would something that is mostly water not count?!

    Heck is chicken breast with cheese and tomato sauce on the top still counting as protein?!
  • otrlynn
    otrlynn Posts: 273 Member
    I only count water. Not coffee, not tea, not wine. Water.

    I agree. Counting other beverages seems like a "cheat" to me. Why would you count a diet coke or the likes as WATER?



    Because it is 99% water!
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    I only count water. Not coffee, not tea, not wine. Water.

    I agree. Counting other beverages seems like a "cheat" to me. Why would you count a diet coke or the likes as WATER?



    Because it is 99% water!

    Bravo LOL :bigsmile:
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    No one is probably answering (at first) because it is one of those topics that everyone disagrees on. Some people will say yes log it, others will say to log only water. You do what feels right to you.

    Edit: Personally I only log water as water but in reality I go by the color of my pee. If it is very pale to nearly clear I know I'm getting enough water.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    A drink containing water is frigging water. There is nothing to disagree on.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    A drink containing water is frigging water. There is nothing to disagree on.

    Everyone acts like drinking a diet coke will dehydrate you the same way quaffing a pint of milk of magnesia will...
  • AndrewXB9
    AndrewXB9 Posts: 114
    I only count a glass of water.

    Although, that is all i drink all day, every day.

Categories