LA Weight Loss - water, hydration/dehydration, and sodium questions

I know the general rule is to drink 64 oz of water each day, more if you're exercising (right?).

Is there a formula to what kind of exercise and for how long to how much extra you should get in?


Also, the 64 oz, well, I don't know if I can put type what I mean correctly, so I hope it make sense.

If 64oz is supposed to be the minimum consumed in a day, does it matter when it's consumed? If it's all consumed by 10am, and you go to bed at 10pm, could that cause dehydration? Is there some rule of how this should be spread out?

There are days that I finish my water by 10am, and it just doesn't cross my mind to get more, then by the time I get home, I'm parched, but then get busy, and before I know it, I'm going to bed, and still, the last time I drank anything was 10am.

The last couple of days I've been getting between 64-128oz, spread throughout the day as I'm trying to make an effort to do that because I'm sure it can't be good to be parched, or well, doing it the way I'm doing. But I'm mainly wondering that even though I'm getting in the minimum required 64oz, could this still be causing dehydration?


Also, one that really has me curious is water and sodium.

Sodium obvious can make you retain water, but is there a certain amount that you can/should drink per mg of sodium to prevent retention?

The last two days I've had 1 serving of canadian bacon which has 400mg of sodium (plus some mustard today, which has some). I don't know how much sodium is considered a lot, but is there a certain amount of water that can be consumed to help prevent retention due to the sodium?

a very accurate way to know how much water you should drink becuz you exercise is to weigh yourself right before you exercise, and then right afterwards! Your "weightloss" will be entirely fluids, which should give you a *good* idea what your body needs to stay hydrated!! ALso others say things like an extra 8 or 12 ozs/ 15 of exercise

i would def try to keep the water intake as spread out as possible throughout the day!! Keep up the good work!

Oh, and one thing that reminds me i need to drink more water if maybe i havent had enough for a couple hours.....i look at my pee!! if its yellow i better drink up!!

Thanks, mkroyer!

I was sitting at work thinking about these things today, realizing how ignorant I am when it comes to water, especially with weight loss. It's aggrevating to not be able to know what is and isn't water. So I almost feel if I start to understand the water and hydration behind everything, then maybe I'll understand a bit more what's going on with my loss or lack of (whichever it may be).

I actually don't worry about my water intake much. From the research I've read, while we do need to stay hydrated, our liquid intake can come from many sources, including all liquids and many foods we eat. I do make sure to drink up when I'm working out and/or sweating, but otherwise I just eat and drink what I will...

Many people do drink water as a way to help them keep feeling full, I know. And others like how it makes them feel. But my take on the literature leads me to believe we worry about it a little too much...

^^As far as you know, is there anything in particular that shouldn't be counted as "liquid"?

I've heard so many things about diet sodas and whatnot--some things I have heard that it doesn't matter whether it's diet soda or water, but other things I've heard that even diet soda, it's highly likely to prevent weight loss.

I'm not too sure on that, but water is easiest for me due to strict budget, though I do indulge in diet soda here and there (have a little at least once a week). Every now and then I'll make iced tea (tea bag w/ splenda).

I really do need to learn more about nutrition and whatnot because I know there's a lot that I have no idea about. I was thinking 400mg of sodium was a lot, but then I googled and saw how much average is... so... yeah, I need to brush up on some knowledge because I really don't have an idea. My knowledge is very very basic.

As far as I know, all liquids count for hydration.

There had been a lot of recommendations that caffeine doesn't count as liquid because it's a diuretic, but when people actually did research, they found that caffeinated liquids really weren't a problem.

I think that some people might react poorly to diet soda. I've heard of some research that suggests it might actually make us feel hungrier! But I still drink a diet soda a day. (A lot less than I used to!)

And again, there may be lots of reasons people want to drink water... it's certainly good for you.