[bicker]

Stacy: Are you thirsty?

[samanthajosmom_12]

i have been reading the postings and reply about water. Right now i drink 3 64 oz glasses of water. i am getting bored sometimes and when i drink the water it is keeping me from eating to much. i do not do this every day but i do try to drink the water. some days it is 64 oz of water. i used to drink more pop . now that i am drinking the water , i am only drinking 2 cans of pop a day compared to 6 to 8 pops a day. some times i think i am over dueing the water. i seem to pee and pee. my kidneys are doing good . with the pop allways seem to have problems. sue

[stef]

Stacy, you aren't the only one who is confused. I have to give out lots of health, balanced nutrition and weight management info on a daily basis and I am always being met with new ways of asking about water intake.

At the moment there is a lot of apparently conflicting info out there about water intake. Some of this is because various magazines, TV programmes and diet gurus made a huge noise about water consumption and distorted the original message. Now the more scientific bods are trying to correct the situation - and it all gets very mixed up!!!

Try this as a guide: hold out yourl left hand, palm to the floor. Pinch the skin of the back of it, hold for a second and then let go. If the skin snaps back into place immediately then you are hydrated! If you see the skin settle back then you need more fluid. A lack of hydration means the skin immediately loses some of its elasticity, but regains it equally quickly if you regydrate.

If your current water intake means that your skin is always supple then relax, you are doing enough. Perhaps an extra glass a day for good luck! If you think you are a bit dehydrated then add a glass a day for a week then add another the following week and on until you think you are OK.

I had a little trouble with the amount you drink (we do pints and litres over here in the UK) but I worked out that you drink about 2 pints of water per day in bottled form. That would be fine for a none exercise day, assuming that you also drink tea or coffee, milk, juice or soups, or eat fruit, vegetables or other moist foods.

If you exercise then a rule of thumb is to drink a pint of water (34 ounces would be fine) in the hour before and another in the hour after. This will reduce the after exercise hunger pangs and will most certainly keep youwell hydrated and less likely to injure yourself, feel dizzy or any of the other post exercise dehydration symptoms.

Just don't gulp it all down at once!

I hope that helps.

[samanthajosmom_12]

i drink almost 3 quarts of water a day. some times i get 8 glasses a day but i try to drink 3. anytime i think that i am hungry i will drink water to try to fill me up to be able to eat less. sue

[bicker]

I'd never heard of that pinch the back of the hand trick. Interesting.

[stef]

Hi Brian,

I always thought it was my Grannies way of making me drink more milk, water, reconstituted juice or any other strange liquid she had bought at the Cash + Carry.

Imagine my amusement when my nutrition lecturer trotted it out in a post grad seminar many many years later. I just had to question her on it and she did look shocked, but confirmed that, as a guide rather than an absolute, it does give you a perfectly good idea of how hydrated you are.

The only obvious drawback is that as you get older your skin loses its suppleness and wrinkles and takes longer to settle back. However if you repeat it a couple of times you get used to your skin's natural 'speed' and can continue to use it - but I would assume that at some point it becomes a useless exercise!

But until my skin stops moving - or my hand has a perpetual pinch bruise - I will use it as a general guide, or I get the hang of drinking enough water without having to think about it!