Let's Talk H2O - Water!

[Heather-S]

Every human needs water to survive!  Without water, a human would only survive about 3 days.  Water is important to every need of the human body and our bodies are made up of 50-70% water.  Water keeps our temperature regulated, lubricates our joints, and gets rid of important waste.  

So how much water is needed on a daily basis?  The Mayo Clinic suggests 3.7 liters for men and 2.7 liters for women.  That's about 125oz for men and 91oz for women.  This recommendation also includes water we get from eating foods and other drinks, which usually makes up about 20% of our daily intake. There are also now calculators you can find online that can tell you roughly how much you should be drinking by your sex and weight.  Smaller people obviously need less water than someone who is larger; pregnant and nursing women need more water; and strenuous activity with a lot of sweating should properly replace water and electrolytes.

How much water are YOU drinking every day?  How do you track it?  Are you drinking enough?

Personally, my goal is 50oz of water and I use a water bottle that tracks how much I drink and syncs with an app on my phone and syncs to my Fitbit.  I typically drink more water in the summer when it's hot and on days I do heavy exercise. I probably should be drinking more like 60 or 70oz, but sometimes find that hard to reach and I don't like getting up at night to go to the bathroom.

I know some people carry around a gallon jug to track their water intake or use water bottles that have measurements on the outside.  

Go ahead and share how much water you're drinking, if you feel it is enough for you, and if you track your daily water intake, what is the method you use for tracking.  🙂

[SebWotan]

I drink 2000 ml of water a day (well that is my goal and I usually reach it). Tracking method: my glasses are 250 ml. Travelling I use a 500 ml bottle. 

In Summer I would reach 2500 ml easily, more if I sweat a lot.

[t.parker]

I don't track my water intake but I very often slightly dehydrate myself on purpose so won't need to do frequent "pee-stops" (which became a problem when I started going for longer running distances). I used to drink 2+ litre a day but now I hydrate only when I need it and I think sometimes it's way less than 2L. I treat it like food - I'm hungry - I eat, I'm thirsty - I drink.

[Heather-S]

@t.parker Yes, the bathroom stops for long runs can be really inconvenient and I hate having to get up to go to the bathroom at night, so I don't drink much water at all after 7pm.  I'm mostly the same way: eating/drinking when thirsty, which is why I find 50oz of water to be comfortable for me.  It's probably what I would naturally drink if I wasn't tracking it.  

[Baltoscott]

I'm not tracking it, but I do have a habit of at least one glass of ice water with each meal, and usually several while watching television in the evening -- which has a lot to do with trips to the bathroom at night :-).  

[alphabets]

Well my first reaction is that I'm only drinking 1.8 liters per day, now I'll have to start tracking. I was actually trying to lose weight and I am going to track more closely now.

[DramaQueenDiva]

I am a Weight Watchers user and we recently had a complete revamp of the diet.

For starters, every food you eat has a point value assigned to it.  You're allowed a certain amount of points a day, based on your height and weight.  Not all point values will be the same for everyone: that is based on a survey you take when you sign up.  Some foods have no points, and this list is not the same for everyone.

With that said, you can also add points to your budget.  For every serving of veggies you eat, you get an extra point added to your daily budget.  For every exercise you do, you get points added to your weekly budget, aka, your "rollovers" (these are points you can use however you want, and will be used if you go over your daily budget).  Finally, you get a point added to your daily budget for drinking 60oz of water (this can only be done once a day and it can be tracked right in their app).