Do I count soda as part of water intake? If so, what % of it?

[JohnClaudy]

Does soda count

[Odyssey13]

I count it, since it's liquid. Read this thread.

[CourtB]

I don't count it. I only drink diet soda but I don't want that in my fluid intake count. I do count hot tea and crystal light tea versions. Dunno I just view soda as more of a 'treat' then 'good' fluid intake. The fitbit has definitely got me drinking more water now!

[Cybertekkno]

Soda is loaded with all kinds of things including sugars, food colorings, preservatives, calories, etc. and should be listed on your food log so that those numbers will be reflected in your calorie intake. Fruit juices should be listed under your food log as well for the same reason.  If you are logging soda on your water intake log then you are not accurately logging your caloric intake.  Water and tea should be logged on the water log as they do not contain calories, and any sugar or milk you add to your tea should be entered under your food log.  I hope this helps.

[CCox]

I personally would not count soda as part of your water intake. Yes water is used to make soda however soda has calories and is filled with sugars and syrups. Your better off logging it as food because of the caloric intake. Just logging it as water will give you a faulty read out of how many calories you have taken in during the day.

[JodyMcDe]

No, dont count soda. Water should mean water (my opinion)

[Roseman]

Apparently the original study recommending the volume of water for a healthy human to consume daily was conducted in the 1940s when soda was not nearly as common as it is in our society today. Hydration is the objective, and many sodas (also coffee/tea) contain caffein which is a diuretic and the exact opposite of the hyrdation goal. BUT, current research shows that almost any liquid can help with hydration, and caffein appears to be something the body aclimates to such that the diuretic effect is minimized over time.  So if you normally consume a soda, cup of coffee, etc in your daily habits, you could go ahead and count the liquid as water for hydration - Be sure and put the sugar and fat content into the food log if the soda, tea, coffee contains them.

[slysam]

If it is non-diet soda, definitely count it in your food log (maybe even for diet, when I am logging food I do log black coffee even though it doesn't really add to the calorie count because I think it is helpful to see a record of how much of it is consumed). When I use the water tracking, I tend to include any drink that does not contain caffeine or alcohol. The reason is, that you don't absorb all the fluid caffeine and alcohol as mentioned. Apparently you get some, but I am not sure how to figure how much hydration from these so I don't count them as hydration. In fact, I think consuming alcohol or caffeine means I should drink more water. I do count anything not containing alcohol or caffeine though. If the drink has calories in it, I think you should log it in food. People often don't realize how many calories they drink in a day--some people are able to lose weight just from ceasing to drink anything with calories (it can happen if you drink a lot of calorie rick drinks like regular soda, fruit juices, beer, etc). I know someone who drinks a beer or two frequently in the week and one month a year he does not drink any beer--and always loses weight that month with no other changes. And if you are wanting to improve your overall health, I think it is helpful to keep track of how many coffees, teas, diet soda's, etc you drink even if they are not adding to your calorie consumption. I.e. you might find you feel or sleep better on days with less caffeine, less of certain sweeteners, etc.

[gerrymcd]

I second regular sode being included as a food.  A single 12 oz can of regular coke has 140 calories.   If you are trying to loose weight and only aiming to eat 1,400 calories a day then 2 cans of coke would equate to 280 cals or a whopping 20%! 

[Pril]

I know most of it is water so what percent of a 20 oz soda can count as water.. I'm not sure of the formula.  I wonder if it has to do with comparing a bottled water's and soda's Nutritional Values maybe the difference is the percent you use. 

Here a the nutritional value label of water. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/9238/2 

I am sure some are different values for water i just found this. I think more times then not with zero for the nutritional values it's going to be hard to count it as water. 

Keep in mind i'm a very literal person so if it's not water i don't list it on my account.

[baby_valiant]

I only count water if it's actually water on my water tally - but if I drink tea, coffee or anything else I log it seperately (Ie: as a snack). I do this because a couple years ago I wouldn't drink water at all but I drank heaps of coffee and cola - then ended up very fatigued and sick. So now I keep track of what 'pure' water I drink as a bit of a reminder/motivation to keep drinking it! The health benefits have really spoken for themselves with me.

So I believe that only log water - if it is water!

[Bdamouth75]

I just read an article stating that non-diet soda contains 90% water and diet soda is 99%.

[essieL]

Here is a simple solution from someone who doesn’t care to drink water. I don’t count my soda intake as water; because the caffeine in it is a diuretic but I drink flavored water and count it 100%. 

[Esya]

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@Rosemanwrote:

Apparently the original study recommending the volume of water for a healthy human to consume daily was conducted in the 1940s when soda was not nearly as common as it is in our society today. Hydration is the objective, and many sodas (also coffee/tea) contain caffein which is a diuretic and the exact opposite of the hyrdation goal. BUT, current research shows that almost any liquid can help with hydration, and caffein appears to be something the body aclimates to such that the diuretic effect is minimized over time.  So if you normally consume a soda, cup of coffee, etc in your daily habits, you could go ahead and count the liquid as water for hydration - Be sure and put the sugar and fat content into the food log if the soda, tea, coffee contains them.

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I just want to say that I fully agree with this post.

[SunsetRunner]

I ONLY drink Diet 7up, as it has no calories and no caffeine. But I do not count it in my water intake. For me it's my daily indulgence/treat. But that's just me.

[bcalvanese]

All fluid counts as fluid.

[SunsetRunner]

I wouldn't count coffee or anything that contains caffeine as it is a diuretic and will cause dehydration rather than hydrate you.

Also over hydration using just water can cause some serious issues even death.  If you are working out hard for several hours and are sweating a lot drinking too much water can do more harm than good and it will flush out essential minerals that you need to function properly, instead you should drink an electrolyte drink to replace potassium and sodium and other essential minerals that are lost due to sweat.

If it's just a light workout then water is all you need, but for anyone doing intensive workouts esp in hot weather need to replace those electrolytes just as importantly as they need to hydrate.

[CJ-R]

So would you consider Powerade or Gatorade as part of water intake? Just got a hand me down Fitbit and reading this i'm realizing I drink way too much pop😅

[WendyB]

@CJ-RIts your choice. I only count water as Water

[Yanzi83]

Yes you got it, ofcourse you would count soda As part of your water intake. Regular soda is 90% water, diet soda is usually 99% water. Just bc its soda does not mean you dont count it. Its the same thing as eating a pineapple, or pear, or any fruit theres water im there. Thats water intake, the body separates that and sees water. The body doesn’t care that the water came from a cole can. The body has no idea what Coca-Cola is lol!! It just pulls the water from water ever you drink or eat. So it would be inaccurate not to count a beverage that is made of 90% water. Simply bc people feel soda is unhealthy. It is and can be for obvious reasons, but the facts are theres stil water in there. You put in your body so now thats called water intake. Soda Is 90% water. Just like soup, soups main ingredient thw body of soup is water!! Lol!! Even eating soup is considered water intake. So yes other than some questionable ingredients, 90% of regular coke is water. 99% of diet coke is water also. Pretending you didn’t just put water in your body bc it came out of a soda can is silly!! 🤣🤣 noy saying you are doing that but others on here make me laugh. Wether we wanna believe it or not doesn’t matter its a fact, soda is about 90% to 99% water. No matter what anyone says the fact is the body will pull that water and utilize it. So if you were to drink one 16oz coke that almost two glasses of water. If its diet coke it pretty much is 2 glasses of water. Bc if you don’t count that and you drink 8 glasses of water plus two bottles a soda well than your now getting too much water. Just an example. So yes you would count it not counting it is silly considering that almost 100% of it is water