Drinking Water

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This is a thread that was started in our old BlissWeddings.com forums by Lizbet on 5/19/05. Feel free to add your comments by pressing Post Reply.

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posted by Lizbet

I'm on a health kick. And, I was wondering if anyone has heard if there are benefits to stretching the 8 glasses a day throughout the day? I mean, does it matter if you drink your 64oz in 4 hours vs. 12?

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posted by HeatherR

YES! I was just thinking of posting something about this a few days ago. I'm not one to drink water ever. I usually drink iced tea, not a soda drinker.

Well - two weeks ago I bought a bunch of bottled water that was on sale and have been drinking maybe 4 of those a day. It has made a HUGE difference in dry skin, appetite (smaller) and overall feeling good.

Definitely give it a shot - I'll bet you'll notice something...

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posted by cru5h

I hate water unless it's ice cold, but I buy the little Crystal Light packets that are just enough for one 16.9 oz bottle for all the other times and it works out well

It doesn't matter at what intervals you drink it, by the way. Drink up!

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posted by labeadel

I always thought you were supposed to stretch the 8 glasses over the whole day. I'm working on working in at least 4 glasses a day for now! I just always feel like when I drink that much, I'm constantly needing to use the little girls room!! Anyone else have that problem?

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posted by bebe0315

Liz - An even and more consistent level of hydration is better for you than having it all at once. Water has many functions in your diet - flushing out toxins and fat, assisting with digestion, transporting nutrients from the food you eat, regulating your body temperature. If you sip throughout the day, your body also has more time to absorb it, rather than just sending you running to the bathroom every 15 minutes (at least, that usually happens to me when I chug a bunch as opposed to sipping!) BUT - as long as you get your 8 glasses a day, that's great, even if it is all at once! And actually, not everyone needs 8 glasses per day, some need less, some need more. You should aim for 1/2 oz. of water per pound of body weight. So for example, if you weigh 120 lbs., you would be drinking 60 oz. of water, or 7.5 cups of water per day. A 200 lb. person would require 12.5 cups daily. I talked to my Dr. about this about 2 years ago because I have a really hard time drinking water - or anything for that matter, I am like a camel! I was hoping that he would say that I really don't have to drink that much water. I can go through a whole meal and just never even feel thirsty. I find that sipping through a straw helps me drink more for some reason. If I chug a lot of water, for some reason that actually makes me feel kind of sick to my stomach. Sloshy...

Well now that I wrote a book - yes, Liz, there are more benefits to stretching it out through the day.

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posted by Lizbet

Thanks gals.

I hate water, but I know how good it is for me, so I've been trying to get in my 8 glasses. I've been convincing myself to do it by not allowing myself anything else to drink until my 8 glasses of water are done. However, that's caused me to speed up the drinking. Today I finished in just over 4 hours. Maybe I'll have to try to pace myself with mini rewards. I just have to come up with some good ideas. Any suggestions?

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posted by NovemberGal

Would you like the water better if it was flavored? There are lots of brands of "fruit-tinged" (slightly flavored) waters, or powders like Crystal Light you can add, if that makes it better to drink.

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posted by TheaterDiva1

Wait - I thought it was eight 8oz glasses, right? A bottle ow water from the store is usually 20oz - I don't have to drink eight of THOSE, do I? Or is 3-4 enough?

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posted by bebe0315

I keep a ziploc bag of lemon wedges in my fridge here (home sick today - AGAIN!) and at work. Squeezing one or two in the water make it a little bit easier to drink! I don't have any ideas for rewards, but I can tell you what I do to get my water in. I drink one bottle in the morning on my way to work (30-45 minutes) which is actually 16 oz, so that's 2. I make myself drink a full glass of water before or with each meal at work: Morning break at 10, a glass of water and usually some instant oatmeal, lunch at 12 with a glass of water, and another glass with an afternoon snack on my 3:00 break. Refill my water bottle for the drive home, so that's another 2. I have whatever I want to drink with dinner and throughout the evening. I get another glass of water about an hour before I go to bed and make myself finish it before going to sleep. Another way I 'trick' myself into drinking more water - whenever I am craving something I really shouldn't have - chips, fast-food, giant slice of chocolate cake - lol - I tell myself to drink a big glass of water, and if I still want that bad thing, I can go ahead and have it. Generally I feel so full of water, I don't want that snack anymore, and if I still do, I am so waterlogged I can only manage to eat a handful of chips as opposed to the whole bag. It probably sounds stupid, but it works for me!

cru5h - I have the little flavor packet too! I actually don't LOVE the Crystal Light ones, but Target carries a line of them, and the flovor I really do love is Strawberry Orange Banana. Sooooo good, not too sweet.

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posted by munchkin

it's 8 8oz glasses, so yeah Maggie, you only have to to drink 3 or 4, not 8.
I've said this before on other threads, but drinking a lot of water helps you lose weight because it flushes out the system and prevents you from retaining water.
I only drink water and milk, and it's made a huge difference in my skin. Much clearer and better looking.

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posted by bebe0315

LOL Maggie - yes, 8 oz. glasses! OMG can you imagine having to manage to get down 8 20 oz. bottles of water per day??? I would never leave the bathroom.

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posted by Lizbet

I actually am drinking one of the flavored waters after I finish my 64oz of plain. I think my biggest problem is that, overall, I don't drink much, period. Before I started this water thing, I would drink one 12oz soda during work and one at home in the evening, and that's it. So, that along with the fact that I don't like water is why I'm treating it as "medicine." I can't afford all that bottled water to buy the flavored stuff for the whole 64 oz.

Edited to add: I didn't know about the indiviual pack Crystal Light mixes, maybe the're more affordable? I'll have to check my local stores.

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posted by bebe0315

Liz - we have Alhambra at work, and at home I just drink the stuff that filters thru our refrigerator. Tap water in most areas is pretty good, but not here in Vallejo, CA - YUCK - you can actually SMELL the cholrine in it, it's disgusting. The packets cru5h was talking about are actually really really inexpensive, a couple of bucks for a box of 12 or 14, and each packet can flavor up to 20 oz. of water depending on how much flavor you want.

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posted by Shaks18

I know im a little late but when i was doing weight watchers, they had this big travel mug that was 32oz. and you just have to refill it once and you get your daily dosage. (64oz)

I hate water too (i'm so picky w/water that i can taste the difference in bottled water, i know i'm weird) But this mug thing really helped out because again like bebe mentioned, it has a straw so you dont really think about how much youre drinking and ya squeezing lemon does help.

The weird thing i noticed too was that the more water you drink, the more thirsty you feel. Do you guys ever feel like that?

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posted by aug05bride

The weird thing i noticed too was that the more water you drink, the more thirsty you feel. Do you guys ever feel like that?

I thought that was just me. Everyone always says water quenches their thirst. It always makes me feel dry mouthed and thirsty. I think I'll check out the Crystal Light theory. Maybe giving it some flavor will make my mouth not seem so dry like it does with the plain water.

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posted by Lizbet

I'm not fond of lemon, so that wouldn't work for me. I could maybe use limes instead. And, I'm definitely going to look for those individual flavor packs. They sound so handy. I'll bet I would even drink water at restaurants if I had those to carry around with me.

I actually like refilling my 16oz water bottle, because I feel like I'm getting somewhere. I think a 32oz container would intimidate me.

I might try the straw trick, but I actually seem to drink the water faster if I take it almost like a shot. An official shot size is 1.25oz, so less than 7 "shots" of water and one glass down. I doubt I would get results quite as good with a straw. Plus, I would taste it more.

Shaks, I've never gotten thirstier by drinking plain water. But, anything that is artificially sweetened tends to do that to me. That's actually another reason the flavor packets might help. I won't mind drinking the water with flavoring and the artificial sweetener will keep me thirsty.

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posted by Shaks18

I know its weird, the more plain water i drink the thirstier i feel and i actually do end up craving more water. Totally weird!

Actually the 32oz mug wasnt too bad, I was surprised at how fast i was finishing it. I guess cuz the straw width was double the size of a normal straw.

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posted by roseprincess

plain water is almost always the best choice for maintaining a good level of hydration and it's best for y'all to get used to it now so you can help keep your kidneys healthy and those nasty UTIs at bay. The taste of the water is unfortunately affected by your water district's policies on chlorination, fluoridation and many other things. My advice is to get yourself a Pur or Brita filter for home and either buy bottled water (make sure it's either distilled or purified thru a double osmosis process) or get a Nalgene-type water bottle you fill up at home for when you're out and about. That "dry mouth" sensation can be caused by electrolyte imbalances and using lemon or another type of citrus fruit to flavor your water will help (adding a dash of salt & sugar will too).

When you get pregnant it'll be essential that you drink lots of water throughout the day -- I spaced it ONE day and wound up in the hospital with premature contractions and a fever, not my happiest moment.

The flavor packets are helpful, I guess, but be careful with the added sweeteners & artificial colors/flavors that you'll be adding to your diet that way.

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posted by wynelle

cru5h - I have the little flavor packet too! I actually don't LOVE the Crystal Light ones, but Target carries a line of them, and the flovor I really do love is Strawberry Orange Banana. Sooooo good, not too sweet.

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posted by cru5h

I'll try that! I tried the Wal Mart versions and they're ehhh. I also tried the Lipton Green Tea version. That one makes your water look like urine. It doesn't have a real intense color or flavor. Once again, ehhh. But it's better for me than drinking straight water.

Also - incase it wasn't already mentioned, you also consume water by way of vegetables and fruits. It might amount to one 8 oz serving in the course of the whole day, but yeah.

I have to "challenge" myself. Like I'll get a bottle of water before I leave the house to do an errand and tell myself I have to finish it before I get there. I'm just a little weird, that's all.

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posted by maroki13

I need to start drinking water too, I used to drink a lot of soda every day and I was always dehydrated. Even after I broke my soda addiction I can still tell I am dehydrated...I get headaches all the time from not having enough water (liquid?) in my system. I need to start working on it for my wedding too...whenever I feel like snacking I should get a glass of water instead and hope that fills me up.

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posted by Shaks18

I loved bebe's trick about drinking water before you snack to see if you really want it. I'm gonna try that.

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posted by wedbyjean

I have heard that it doesn't have to be plain water, that other drinks such as iced tea count towards your 8 8 oz. glasses per day, since there is water in it. (Makes sense). However, with other drinks (iced tea included) be aware of any caffeine & sugar in it if your are trying to cut down on your caffeine &/or sugar intake.

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posted by krazikrys

I have also heard that it doesn't all have to be water.

i agree with wedbyjean, you do have to watch the sugars/calories/caffine of the other drinks.

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posted by roseprincess

actually, caffeine is a well-known diuretic, and sugar slows down the rate at which fluid is absorbed into the body -- this is why parents are advised against using fruit juice or sports drinks to re-hydrate a sick child.

Here's a link to a short & sweet essay on this subject: http://www.clevelandclinic.org/healt...asp?index=7250

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posted by bebe0315

All I know is that Evian is the most vile tasting bottled water! It tastes - old and musty or something. Yuck.

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posted by emilyclover

Someone may have said this already, but you should spead it out, and drink at least a glass or two with meals to help with digestion. When I was doing eDiets I drank close to 100oz. water a day. I couldn't keep it up because I was in the bathroom so much! People kept saying that my body would get used to it after a while and I wouldn't pee so much, but it never did. After 3 months of drinking that much I had to cut back once school started because I was getting up 2 or 3 times during lecture, which wasn't cool!

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posted by Shaks18

Ya i cant drink Evian either, its nasty. I like Crystal Geiser and Arrowhead. I mainly drink arrowhead cuz i can get a huge case of it from costco for like $6.

Speaking of diuretics, Did you guys know that the sugar free lifesavers can act as a diuretic if you eat too many, and by too many i mean only 4-5. My coworker just told me about it. i was shocked.

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posted by Lizbet

Anything sweetened with sugar alcohols can do that, Shaks. Nowadays, since everything is heading towards sugar free, you have to pay close attention to the labels. I think sugar alcohols are mostly used for sweetening sugar free candies, but I always check to see what kind of sweetener is used for everything I eat now that I'm watching my diet. (I really don't like Nutra-Sweet sweetened items, so I always looked some.)

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posted by feb-bride

You have to be careful when consuming sugar alcohols. Not to be disgusting, but consuming this stuff can give you the runs really bad.

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posted by Shaks18

Wait i'm confused, whats considered sugar alcohol?

Do they put that in the lifesavers candies?

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posted by Lizbet

I don't know how it's made, but it's some kind of extract from sugar that allows them to sweeten foods without the calories. Yes, they use it in Sugar-free Lifesavers and many other sugar-free candies.

Edited to add: If the item contains sugar alcohols, they will be listed as such in either the Dietary info, the ingredient list, or both.

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posted by labeadel

I was wondering that too. I was thinking it was something like Mike's Hard Lemonads or Zima or something...

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posted by feb-bride

You typically find sugar alcohols in foods that are advertised as "sugar free" (e.g., jelly beans, candy, etc.). It will be listed under the "Carbohydrates" section of a nutrition label.