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Old 01-12-2006, 10:03 AM   #1  
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Ok, those of you with a wealth of information----I have quit drinking regular coke, I have exchanged it for a 80 oz minimum of water a day for the last 2 weeks. I am dropping almost 5 lbs a week...I know this is going to eventually level off--how soon do you see that happenning?
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Old 01-12-2006, 10:33 AM   #2  
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It is completely impossible to predict, far too many variables like your starting weight, metabolic rate, what you're eating, how you're moving.

I can assure you at the moment you are not losing 5lb of fat a week, it will be fluid and possibly muscle as well as fat.

I have never lost 5lb in a week! I lost 3lb the first couple of weeks, then slowed to my snail rate 1/2 - 2 lbs a week.
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Old 01-12-2006, 10:55 AM   #3  
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You're probably losing so rapidly because not only have you started drinking more (enough) water, but you've given up the Coke, which means you've eliminated hundreds of calories a day from your diet! So basically, your body is losing some possible water weight PLUS losing simly because of a decrease in calories. I would guess it would slow down very soon, but you'll probably still be losing without all that extra sugar and calories from the soda. Good job!
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Old 01-12-2006, 12:53 PM   #4  
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There is no evidence that humans "need" 10 8 ounce glasses of water a day. Yes, it is true that the coke you cutting out has saved you a bunch of calories. Great job! And if you are thirsty, then by all means drink as much water as you like. But drink excess water is no guarentee that you will lose weight, that is a matter of calories in < calories expended (which cutting the coke calories will certainly help with!)

I'm not trying to put down water. I drink a fair amount of it myself. I like it. But I dislike the spreading of misinformation. Dieting is stressful enough, without the added pressure of worrying about "Am I being good and drinking enough water?"

You might want to check out what Snopes (the famous Urban Legend resource) has to say about the subject at http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp.
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Old 01-12-2006, 01:04 PM   #5  
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Tealeaf's correct...I posted about this just recently - check this post out as it contains some valid links about the subject.
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Old 01-12-2006, 01:19 PM   #6  
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You're right that there is no set amount for what we need to drink for water each day. It varies from person to person, and we also get a lot of water from most of the foods we eat that is difficult to measure, so who knows how much you're actually taking in each day? However, not getting ENOUGH water IS bad for you, so being well-hydrated makes your body happier (whether you're trying to lose weight or not). I, too, have read that we don't know where this mystery number (64+ oz daily) came from, but it seems to work well for most people, so I don't knock it!
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Old 01-12-2006, 01:33 PM   #7  
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Normally I would have 5-6 Cokes a day. Ive quit drinking them and changed to water.
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Old 01-12-2006, 01:35 PM   #8  
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Thanks for all the answers, I just wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience since in all my years I have never had a loss like I have in the last two weeks. I am having trouble believing my own eyes when I weigh myself.

I was in a funk with turning 40, dealing with the empty-nest thing and being 220 pounds which is more than I ever weighed including my highest pregnancy weight. I finally got myself motivated after gaining another five pounds over Christmas. I have also joined a gym and go at least 3 times a week and hubby and I are eating alot healthier since they kids have left the nest. Lots of fresh veggies. Starting the Sonoma diet this weekend.

I did do a 10 week program at WW several years ago. I lost about 8 lbs in the 10 weeks. I saved 5 points a day for my Coke (which lead to more per day than the allowed point) and didn't exercise at all. I remember that the weeks I drank the water are the weeks that I lost, but never a whole 5 lbs in one week.

I am not forcing the water -I only drink when I am thirsty, so I don't feel that I am drinking in excess. I find myself wanting water now. I also feel that no one should force themselves to drink anything. A nutrition class I took years ago had a formula of how much fluid (not necessarily water) that a body needed to keep itself hydrated based on weight. I wish I could find it, because I do believe anything in excess including thing that are good for you is ultimately bad.

Also after reading the Snopes site--it seems even the "experts"don't agree with what is too little or too much. I think like anything else it varies between people.

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Old 01-12-2006, 01:39 PM   #9  
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well people have said its bad for me,but i drink almost a gallon of water a day,if i dont drink that much i just want to eat instead,so i will take a lot of water over the eating any day.
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Old 01-12-2006, 01:44 PM   #10  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jillybean720
I, too, have read that we don't know where this mystery number (64+ oz daily) came from, but it seems to work well for most people, so I don't knock it!
I'm not knocking the drinking of water at all. I am taking issue with the notion that people have to drink a set, known amount of it to be healthy. You say it works well for most people. From where do you get that information? It is just "common knowledge"? Just because everyone repeats something they've heard from everyone else doesn't make it correct.

The OP says she isn't forcing herself to drink water. Great. And she's certainly doing the right thing in cutting the calories from regular coke. But even so, I don't think that spread misinformation about the drinking of water is going to do her, or anyone else, any good. And I will continue to say so.

Also, some people are happy drinking alot of water. Good for them! But just because they drink alot of water, doesn't mean that everyone should if they want to lose weight. I'm eating alot of radishes. I feel alot better than I did before I started doing this. Are radishes a secret magic bullet? No. I'm eating less and exercising more, and this is making me feel better. I know alot of people are going to come out and say "I drink alot of water and I feel great", but that doesn't really prove anything at all.
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Old 01-12-2006, 02:10 PM   #11  
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Boy...I didn't mean to start a debate.....maybe this was the wrong spot to start this thread......I just wanted to see if anyone else went through the same experience. I am not trying to say that drinking water is a "magic bullett" I am not just drinking water, I have changed other things too, but I do believe that drinking the water helped me stop drinking the calorie laden Coke that I was drinking. I believe that any bad habit can be replaced with a good one and this is one that worked for me.

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Old 01-12-2006, 02:28 PM   #12  
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Debates aren't necessarily a bad thing. I'm not angry at anyone in this thread, and I hope that I'm not phrasing myself badly enough to make anyone else angry with me. This is a perfect place for such a discussion.

No one, not even me, is saying that you're doing anything wrong at all. In fact, everyone agrees you are taking very good, positive steps. But with a title like "water" you can expect that there might discussion about the effectiveness of, well, water. The idea of 8+ glasses of water (in some cases, alot plus, I've seen people recommend drinking 10, 12 or even more glasses a day) is pretty firmly entrenched in the public conciousness. I think this does more harm than good, I and will mention it if someone mentions it.

But again, I'm not attacking anyone at all. Just the idea, that is all. I know that most of the people in this forum are mature enough to know the difference. That's one of things I love about this community. People can have reasonable debates without it degenerating into name-calling and flame wars.
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Old 01-12-2006, 03:09 PM   #13  
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Tealeaf--I guess all I wanted and still want was to see if anyone else had a similar experience and how quickly their weight loss slowed down so that I am not disappointed when it does because I know that it will. I just need to not get discouraged when the pound/per week number drops and quit all the healthy changes I am making.
I have enjoyed many of the discussions on this website and have gotten alot of good info.
I think the water debate will rage, just like what's the best program-WW,SB,Atkins or one of the many others. I think it comes down to what works for the individual, just like one person can take a prescription drug that the next person can't.
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Old 01-12-2006, 03:30 PM   #14  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jules1216
Boy...I didn't mean to start a debate.....maybe this was the wrong spot to start this thread......I just wanted to see if anyone else went through the same experience. I am not trying to say that drinking water is a "magic bullett" I am not just drinking water, I have changed other things too, but I do believe that drinking the water helped me stop drinking the calorie laden Coke that I was drinking. I believe that any bad habit can be replaced with a good one and this is one that worked for me.
I think it was just from the tone of your original post:

Quote:
Originally Posted by jules1216
Ok, those of you with a wealth of information----I have quit drinking regular coke, I have exchanged it for a 80 oz minimum of water a day for the last 2 weeks. I am dropping almost 5 lbs a week...I know this is going to eventually level off--how soon do you see that happenning?
I might have been wrong but I personally interpreted that as meaning that you believe the water is somehow making you lose weight more quickly, especially since you posted this in "Does it Work".

Unless you drink too much, water isn't a bad thing, and I don't think anybody was saying so here - but there are so many theories (I hate to use the word "myths" for fear of getting people riled up ) about water/fluid consumption that recent studies have shown are NOT true that IMO it's important to keep people informed - for instance:
  1. Caffeinated beverages are dehydrating and don't count in your daily water intake.
  2. only actual water counts towards your fluid intake (it has now been proven that liquid contained in food counts towards your fluid intake)
  3. If you're thirsty, it's already too late - your body is dehydrated (not true)
  4. Drinking lots of water supresses appetite and causes you to eat less (per Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritional science at Penn State U, and author of Volumetrics water empties from the stomach too quickly to have an effect on appetite
  5. If your pee is dark, you're not drinking enough water ('alarmist and false in most cases' - see this link )

But hey, if you want to drink water, go right ahead. Drink all you want. It's not a magic weight-loss miracle cure but it certainly won't hurt you, as long as you don't drink too much. But at the same time, don't feel that it's necessary to drink so much that you spend half your life running to the toilet or that you MUST drink X amount of ounces of water each day or that it's some sort of badge of honor to have downed a gallon or more of water on a daily basis...

NOW as far as the switching from regular soda to a non-caloric beverage (water, diet coke, whatever) I didn't see where you mentioned how much Coke you were drinking on a daily basis, but I do recall back in 1985 when "New Coke" hit the stands (those of you who were around then should remember that...it was HUGE news and the company went back to the Classic Coke formula within a couple of months) there was a story in my local papers about a gal who, prior to the formula change, was drinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-12 Cokes per day and stopped when New Coke was introduced, out of protest. I think in that two months or so of not drinking coke (and not getting in all those liquid calories) the woman lost something in the neighborhood of 25 pounds or so...(as I recall from the photos of the time, she was definitely overweight).
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Old 01-12-2006, 04:21 PM   #15  
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How MUCH water we need may be debatable. But we need water. We need to be hydrated. Every system in our bodies needs water to function - to eliminate waste. When water becomes scarce in our bodies, our bodies naturally try to conserve it - they will not process waste as efficiently or breathe as efficiently or sweat as efficiently. Lots of things effect this - dryer winter air, heating systems, exercise, too many diuretics - like caffeine.

Hydrating your body is important. Maybe you think this is some kind of public service to tell people they don't need to drink water. And maybe not everyone needs 8 glasses - but guess what? They will be better off with 8 glasses of water than without it.

Dieting is SUPPOSED to be about getting healthy and supporting your body. One good way to do that is by drinking water.
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