Water Consumption Question
 

Do drinks like hot/cold tea (sugar free) and coffee count towards daily water consumption? When you add those calorie-free flavor packets to water does that count as a glass or water?

I would count them, the only thing I drink of those outside of water though is tea.

It depends on their sodium content. Soda, whether it's diet or not has sodium in it which makes you retain water and leads to more thirst. I don't use flavor packets so I wouldn't know but look on the label and see if there's sodium in it. I do not count drinks with sodium towards daily water consumption.

I'm personally of the belief that water isn't something that needs to be tracked. After all, water retention fluctuates only a daily basis anyway and it's not water weight we are interested in but changes in fat stores which can only be successfully reduced by burning more energy than you consume.

Geraldine!

My dietician says to count any zero calorie non caffinated beverage. However she knows I do not drink soda of any kind so she may have a different view of soda and just not be sharing it with me as it is a moot point.

Since the caffeine contained in coffee and tea can act as a mild diuretic... this can be mildly dehydrating so you would need to probably compensate for that...

And as far as calorie free flavor packets that you add to water... As long as they didn't contain caffeine I would count them...

That being said... I don't track water... The rule of thumb that I go by is... If I'm peeing every couple of hours while I'm awake and it's clear and relatively pale yellow.... Than I know I'm well hydrated...

I guess we all go by our own set of rules then. You say that you wouldn't count them if they contained caffeine, I say I don't count them if they contain sodium. I don't need my drinks to have salt in them so speak for yourself about how "harmless" a few diet soft drinks can be. I know for a fact how negatively they affect me (make me thirsty, make me want sugar) so I was speaking about my own experience.

I do not track water either but I can definitely see how someone who has come to realize that they are chronically dehydrated might want to make progress on that in their own life.

I hear we should always drink a cup of water after coffee...so I wouldn't count coffee.

Fortunately, all fluid counts. The recommendation was originally for fluid, not specifically plain water. Doctors simply started referring to water because it was easier than explaining what counted as fluids. It didn't help :lol: The body recognizes the water in coffee, juice, flavored drinks, etc. Some beverages do contain caffeine or sodium, but it's been shown to have nearly negligible effect on the amount of fluid we consume or lose, so the fluid still counts. Most soda contains very little sodium, about 20 or 30mg.

To say that flavored water doesn't count would be the same as saying the water we drink with a meal doesn't count, since it all gets mixed up once we swallow it. The flavor doesn't change the water, it's simply something else in your glass in addition to the water.

Also, most foods contain a fair amount of fluid, and it counts too!

According to the Institute of Medicine, 80% of our fluid needs usually comes from water and other beverages, and the remaining 20% usually comes from food. Your percentage may vary, of course. Fruits and vegetables can be as much as 80% water or more. Even bread contains some water.

Thanks so much for this... It really goes to show how many things people think about weight loss aren't always based in pure facts, but more on what we've heard or happen to believe...