Appropriate Water Intake

[physicaltherapy]

I just want some clarification or at least a consensus on appropriate water intake.

I'm sure there's an oz/lb ratio out there. Is there a chart on activity level and proper water intake?

The reason why I bring this up is, I heard this one doctor saying "drink when you're thirsty, don't overdo it" on NPR the other day.

I thought the thirst mechanism was a poor indicator of your ideal fluid needs. Meaning once you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated to the point where it's going to affect your performance.

How do you guys judge your water intake?

I base mine on the color of my pee: lemonade color = good, apple juice color = bad. I don't know how correct this is.

Any thoughts? I feel like there's some conflicting information out there.

 

[EnjoyKane]

When you are thirsty, drink water....and throw in some milk on some of your meals..

 

[Rowan11088]

Generally drinking when you're thirsty is fine, EXCEPT when you're exercising, in which case you should pre-empt the thirst mechanism. Drink water before a workout and during, you can't really have too much unless you start to feel too full.

 

[T.J.T]

i try to drink water even when im not thirsty, the doctor recommended this too me for dietary reasons.

i dont know if you can over consume water (within reason of course).

im pretty sure if you only drink when your thirsty though thats a bad way to "time" it.

 

[MikeMartial]

There was a study done last week or so on this; I briefly read the abstract, and pretty much dismissed it.

There'll probably be more articles in the mass media coming soon based on a recently done study on water intake and health "benefits"; I stress benefits, because that's exactly what the study was looking for, and found none. The conclusion (or rather, interpreted conclusion) was that there's no benefit from drinking the gold standard of 64oz a day. Because it's just one study though, I'd take it with a whole fucking bag of salt; two main reasons:

• Athletes need more water due to activity level. Period. This can't be argued, especially in light of creatine supplementation and loss through perspiration and insensible loss through respiration, and
• Increased protein intake requires increased H2O to help m.etabolize it.

Drs. Dugas and Ross from The Science Of Sport
did an excellent series recently on dehydration and hydration in sport; it's a multi-part series, but well worth the read. The 64oz urban myth may just be a myth, based on what they found.

I'm still firmly under the impression, though, that athletes need to hydrate more than to their "thirst"; even mild drops in hydration level can have huge effects on performance levels.

 

[physicaltherapy]

There was a study done last week or so on this; I briefly read the abstract, and pretty much dismissed it.

There'll probably more articles in the mass media coming soon based on a recently done study on water intake and health "benefits"; I stress benefits, because that's exactly what the study was looking for, and found none. The conclusion (or rather, interpreted conclusion) was that there's no benefit from drinking the gold standard of 64oz a day. Because it's just one study though, I'd take it with a whole fucking bag of salt; two main reasons:

• Athletes need more water due to activity level. Period. This can't be argued, especially in light of creatine supplementation and loss through perspiration and insensible loss through respiration, and
• Increased protein intake requires increased H2O to help m.etabolize it.

Drs. Dugas and Ross from The Science Of Sport
did an excellent series recently on dehydration and hydration in sport; it's a multi-part series, but well worth the read. The 64oz urban myth may just be a myth, based on what they found.

I'm still firmly under the impression, though, that athletes need to hydrate more than to their "thirst"; even mild drops in hydration level can have huge effects on performance levels.

Thanks :icon_chee.

 

[SnowMongoose]

yeah, my understanding of it is that you need to be drinking obscene amounts of water before your body starts having any problems with it.

I shoot for 4 litres of 'just' water a day, plus whatever is in my shakes/other drinks/etc, and the only downside I have is needing to pee every two hours.

 

[Loomy]

Science says drink when you are thirsty because we don't know of any better way to tell when you need to drink short of doing in depth testing every time you take a wee.

Drinking a bit over "thirsty" won't hurt you either, so if you're concerned about it, go ahead...

 

[Pug Ugly]

I drink at least 2 liters of water a day and on the 4 days a week I train, I double it.. If you drink a lot you get to the point where you crave it all the time. Good stuff..

 

[noobloser]

I've been drinking between 8-12 liters of water a day for the past 3 years.

 

[mustang]

I've been drinking between 8-12 liters of water a day for the past 3 years.

wow thats like 2-3 gallons a day, very impressive but I couldn't see myself drinking that much.

I drink roughly a gallon of water every day as i've been told that its good, im weighing in at about 165 and never had problems and always feel hydrated which is good.

 

[MikeMartial]

I've been drinking between 8-12 liters of water a day for the past 3 years.

So you're saying you're finishing off TWO 4 liter milk jugs worth of water at a minimum? That's a shitload of water. Even some of the guys I knew back in the 90's competing in bodybuilding didn't drink that much. No offense, but that seems like a bit of an exaggeration.

 

[theNuge]

I drink roughly a gallon of water every day as i've been told that its good, im weighing in at about 165 and never had problems and always feel hydrated which is good.

For your BW I'm thinking that sounds right. I drink about 1.5-2 gallons a day and I weigh 235 pounds.

 

[noobloser]

So you're saying you're finishing off TWO 4 liter milk jugs worth of water at a minimum? That's a shitload of water. Even some of the guys I knew back in the 90's competing in bodybuilding didn't drink that much. No offense, but that seems like a bit of an exaggeration.

Absolutely. I mean I can prove it if you _really_ don't believe me, but I have better shit to lie about than how much water I drink. :icon_chee

I used to drink something like 320oz of soda a day when I was huge and fat (I lived next to a 7-11 and would go in and get 4 or 5 of those 64oz double gulps a day). When I started dieting I stopped drinking soda and drank it in pretty much the same amount in water because I felt it would help with my fat loss. I'm in the semi-unique position of working at home so I basically am drinking the stuff all day long.

 

[gogoGomi]

I just want some clarification or at least a consensus on appropriate water intake.

I'm sure there's an oz/lb ratio out there. Is there a chart on activity level and proper water intake?

The reason why I bring this up is, I heard this one doctor saying "drink when you're thirsty, don't overdo it" on NPR the other day.

I thought the thirst mechanism was a poor indicator of your ideal fluid needs. Meaning once you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated to the point where it's going to affect your performance.

How do you guys judge your water intake?

I base mine on the color of my pee: lemonade color = good, apple juice color = bad. I don't know how correct this is.

Any thoughts? I feel like there's some conflicting information out there.

I heard about that NPR bit also. Didnt the doctor say you were just as well off drinking diet coke? He says something to the effect of " your body is made of water you dont need to drink too much of it"
Contradicts what I thought I knew about water consumption...

 

[physicaltherapy]

I heard about that NPR bit also. Didnt the doctor say you were just as well off drinking diet coke? He says something to the effect of " your body is made of water you dont need to drink too much of it"
Contradicts what I thought I knew about water consumption...

yeah that's what set off my bullshit o'meter. a doctor recommending a carbonated beverage. Get the fuck outta here!