So I was just wondering, does coffee count as water, what about chicken noodle soup, I mean I know they're made with water but... Does it do the same thing? Basically I want to know if these things contribute to my water of the day?

Some things ARE going to count as part of your water for the day...but my rule is NOT to count them as part of my daily water if they:

~contain caffeine

~are high in sodium

So, regular coffee and canned chicken noodle soup are both OUT. Caffeine dehydrates you, so a cup of coffee wouldn't count...but a cup of herbal tea with no caffeine would. Make sense?

Makes total sense. Thank you

Pretty much exactly what Aphil said.

The thing is that a lot of what you eat can count towards your water goal - lots of veggies and fruits contain water, too.

But I prefer to consider things like the water content in food, or water from sources like milk, coffee, soda, soup, etc., as incidental. I think very few people consume enough of those things to really make a difference.

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That's true. I am really going to have to work on drinking water. I just wanted to know if those could factor in, but I get how they shouldn't be counted. Thanks

Also, some herbal teas work like a diuretic for me, so I don't count my tea as part of my water. The only tea I drink is Yogi Egyptian Licorice Mint (yummy tea), but it does work as a diuretic for me.

I only count my water I am drinking and that way I know I am drinking enough. It's hard to get it down at first-or was for me. I started with putting lime or lemon into it. Now, I just guzzle it plain.

It took me a long time to drink plain water too. I used to flavor it with a little unsweetened koolaid, for a slightly fruity taste that wasn't quite as tart as the lemon or lime.

If you're going to drink very large quantities of fluids, even caffeinated beveraged do count, because the diuretic effects of caffeine do not completely compensate for the water in the beverage. So 8 oz of coffee may not be equivalent to 8 oz of water, but it still contributes fluids to your body (so maybe it's only equivalent to 6 or 7 ounces of water). If you drink caffeinated beverages regularly, the diuretic effect diminishes even further.

It's not impossible to overdose on water, but it is pretty unlikely, unless you're kidneys are damaged, you're drinking well over a gallon a day, especially in short bursts - OR if you're on diuretic and/or blood pressure medications. If you are on blood pressure medications, you should talk to your doctor about how much water is too much, and whether or not you need to limit or adjust for caffeinated and alcoholic beverages.

If caffeinated beverages didn't count because they had a net negative effect, I wouldn't still be 2 pounds of water over my baseline right now Or maybe it just takes a heck of a lot of caffeine to overcome TOM

Hehe. Well I know I drink enough coffee (or used to - I'm down to 20 oz a day now) that my body was used to it and the caffeine was't as much of a diuretic as it is for some other people.

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I drink the equivalent to almost 4 cups, in one go. I have a giant mug. Usually only have a coffee in the morning, but sometimes in the afternoon I'll have another one, as sort of my "sweet treat" I'll have french vanilla coffee.

It used to make me go to the bathroom, but not much anymore. I guess the diuretic effect faded on me also.

Any liquid contains water... but many also have a lot of sugar, sodium etc.

I've made it a habit to drink 3-1 litre bottles of water each day when at work, then an extra 3 - 4 glasses of water when I get home.