How much water do you drink?

[eytonxav]

The old advice used to be 8X8 oz glasses of water per day, but as I understand it, one should probably be drinking .5 to 1 ounce per pound of body weight. I am trying to do better, as Dr says I need to raise my eGFR which was in the mid 70s on my last blood test.

I am now probably drinking between 64 oz and 80 oz per day, so not really at the .5 metric, but I do have a protein shake and cup of coffee so that might get me there if those two can be counted. I used to drink a lot less water

 

[Big_Hitter]

does beer count? i think it's 95% water

 

[Totoro]

Only below 4% or so alcohol. Beyond that it stops hydrating

40 to 60 oz. typically I think.

 

[braumeister]

The big thing many people forget is that you get quite a lot of water in the food you eat. That counts just as much as a glass of water you drink.

The simple rule of thumb is drink if you're thirsty, otherwise don't bother thinking about it.

You can easily monitor yourself to see if you're adequately hydrated by simply observing the color of your urine. If it starts getting darker, you're not drinking enough.

Really, that's all there is to it.

 

[aaronc879]

The simple rule of thumb is drink if you're thirsty, otherwise don't bother thinking about it.

I'm not sure that's accurate. I have heard that if you are thirsty then you are already dehydrated.

 

[aaronc879]

I drink half a gallon or just over which is about 2 liters or ~70oz. I'll drink more if i'm being more active in warm conditions. At least 90% of all days, water is all I drink.

 

[Walt34]

You can easily monitor yourself to see if you're adequately hydrated by simply observing the color of your urine. If it starts getting darker, you're not drinking enough.

Really, that's all there is to it.

That's all I do. For me water consumption varies quite a bit by weather (less in winter obviously) and a lot more in summer. In high school I had a job pumping gas, cleaning car windows, check the oil, etc. back when they had people do that for you. In the summer I'd drink an entire gallon of cold water brought from home in an 8-hour shift and hit the head once.

It was a lot cheaper than the Cokes everyone else bought out of the vending machine. I'd started LBYM even then.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I'm not sure that's accurate. I have heard that if you are thirsty then you are already dehydrated.

Check this study -

"Using the innate thirst mechanism to guide fluid consumption is a strategy that should limit drinking in excess and developing hyponatremia (low blood sodium) while providing sufficient fluid to prevent excessive dehydration," according to recommendations developed at this year's 3rd International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference. Tamara Hew-Butler, DPM, PhD, of Oakland University, Rochester, Mich., is lead author of the updated report.

'Drink when thirsty' to avoid fatal drops in blood sodium levels during exercise

 

[Big_Hitter]

i drink a quat of gateyaid when I'm working out

 

[W2R]

At least 85 oz of plain water each day. It's hot! It's summertime! Good time to drink ice water and stay cool and hydrated.

 

[MRG]

I always have drank a lot of water. Last I kept track at least a gallon daily. I recall a conversation with my sister, I related a doc told me maybe I wasn't drinking enough water. Had to wait a while before she stopped laughing.

 

[aaronc879]

Check this study -



'Drink when thirsty' to avoid fatal drops in blood sodium levels during exercise

Clearly this is one of those issues where experts disagree with one another.

Drinking Water Before You Get Thirsty

"Signs of Dehydration

When you don’t drink enough water, your body may trigger a signs of thirst. Although thirst signals the need to drink water, you actually need water long before you become thirsty. This is especially important for seniors, children, and for anyone during illness, hot weather or strenuous physical activity. Waiting until you feel thirsty to drink, is simply not wise. It means that you’re already deficient by two or more cups of water."

 

[bclover]

I'm the worst. Does coke count.
I did not have any water today.

 

[eytonxav]

Staying properly hydrated is very important to your kidney function, and thats why I am paying more attention with respect to my intake. Certainly fruits and vegetables do contain water, but I'm not sure how much one can derive from them.

Are you all aware of your eGFR results from your blood tests?

 

[Tortoise]

2 liters per day.

 

[AllDone]

You need to drink as much water as you need to drink. There's no "right" number. The old recommendation of eight 8 oz glasses comes from a calculation of the amount of water needed to digest your food and the person who made the calculation stated that a person will get most of that water in their food anyway.

The amounts of water that you need depends on your activity level, ambient temperature, ambient humidy, clothing, fitness, etc. If you are sedentary and live in a moderate climate, 64 oz of fluid is more than you need, if you work as a landscaper in Phoenix, it's way less than you need. For most healthy people (not everybody!), there's no need to either force fluids or restrict fluids and no particular health benefit either. If you're prone to kidney stones, take certain medications, etc., then the advice may be different.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Clearly this is one of those issues where experts disagree with one another.

Of course,
The source I quoted came from the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, your source appears to be 'Health Alkaline' water ionizers?

P.S - I am easy-going, I don't mean to come across as confrontational.

 

[aaronc879]

Of course,
The source I quoted came from the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, your source appears to be 'Health Alkaline' water ionizers?

P.S - I am easy-going, I don't mean to come across as confrontational.

That was just one of many sources I found saying to drink water before you are thirsty. I also found sources that favored the link you posted about drinking only when thirsty. Clearly there is not a consensus.

 

[braumeister]

Clearly there is not a consensus.

In all fairness, I don't think there is complete consensus about anything in the wonderful world of health.

 

[easysurfer]

I drink about a gallon. Anything less and I feel a bit dehydrated.

Of course, this means several trips to the bathroom, I'm mostly home anyhow and not like I'm in Rio at a gas station .

 

[6miths]

Plain water? Seldom any.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

In all fairness, I don't think there is complete consensus about anything in the wonderful world of health.

To borrow from science writer David Berreby -

science is never completely decided; it is always in a state of change and self-questioning, and it offers no final answers. There is never a moment in science when all doubts are gone and all questions settled, which is why ‘wait for settled science’ is an argument advanced by industries that want no interference with their status quo.

 

[Sanstar]

I drink 2 liters a day minimum of water, 3 if I'm outside a lot in the summer. The rare day I don't, I wont feel as well the next day. No sodas for me.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[ERD50]

I've never measured it, but it seems like I drink a lot of water.

As far as the view that you get the water you need from food, maybe - but I tend to think that drinking water can cut down on some of the food cravings. Perhaps some of those cravings for food are cravings for water. You could satiate them with just water, no extra calories.

To borrow from science writer David Berreby -

science is never completely decided; it is always in a state of change and self-questioning, and it offers no final answers. There is never a moment in science when all doubts are gone and all questions settled, which is why ‘wait for settled science’ is an argument advanced by industries that want no interference with their status quo.

Along those lines, I read that you know when a scientific issue is settled - no one (with actual knowledge in the field) bothers to seriously question it anymore. So claiming something is settled is unneeded, as no one is disagreeing with you!

I guess there are exceptions though - wasn't it accepted that bacteria could not survive in the stomach, and it took some strong-willed scientist to disprove this? OK, found this:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Marshall

It has been claimed that the H. pylori theory was ridiculed by the establishment scientists and doctors, who did not believe that any bacteria could live in the acidic environment of the stomach. Marshall has been quoted as saying in 1998 that "(e)veryone was against me, but I knew I was right."[10] On the other hand, it has also been argued that medical researchers showed a proper degree of scientific scepticism until the H. pylori hypothesis could be supported by evidence.[11]

I guess the bacteria itself reduce the acidity so they can survive -

A symptom of Helicobacter pylori infection which neutralizes and decreases secretion of gastric acid to aid its survival in the stomach.[2]

-ERD50

 

[Persn]

As I recall, several years ago a number of marathon runners were suspected to have gotten hyponatremia from drinking too much water, and some of them died. At the time the advice was to drink a certain number of ounces per hour while running. For some people, mainly women of smaller stature who run slowly (and therefore are on a marathon course for a long time) following this advice resulted in over hydration, raising the risk of hyponatremia. At the time I ran a lot of marathons, and being a slow female runner, I followed the story. Before too long the advice on how to hydrate for the marathon changed, and I began seeing the advice to drink only when thirsty.

It seems to me that people running races dehydrated are (a lot) more common than those running over hydrated, but since the consequences of over hydration can be so severe, it is important to be aware of the problem.