Hello everyone ive NEVER been one for drinking water...and I was a diet coke junkie...big time! Well since I have embarked on this diet journey I have decided to up my water intake...I drink four bottles a day and the odd diet coke here and there per day...I know some people may have there views with aspartame but I have spoken with my Neurologist(I have MS) and she has no issues...anyways, Im curious as to how much water I should be drinking and does it really aid in helping to lose weight?? thanks in advance

8 8oz cups a day. And yes it does help you lose weight as well as prevent bloating and water weight gain. Hope this helps!

If you struggle with water... how about trying some type of tea?

I struggle to drink water in winter but I'll quite happily drink cup after cup of brown rice tea (with added sweeteners ).

Good advice!

I add a splash of real lemon to my water, lemon wedges, cucumber slices, or apple slices with cinammon stick. Drinking plain water makes me feel yucky. I actually don't like the "taste" of plain water...no matter what brand it is.

I got a nalgene 32 ounce bottle and fill it at night, so it is nice and cold in the morning. I add the lemon/cucumber/apple and cinammon at the time I put it in the fridge so the flavor will be there in the morning. Then, I refill it with 32 more ounces of ice cold water from the fridge and drink the rest as the day goes on!

Adding water to my diet has been really hard for me, but now I'm so proud that I meet my water goals daily. And it does keep me from reaching for other things.

Maybe you could try to do these things as well and see if you can add more water in that way?

I drink black tea and black coffee now. If you told me 6 months ago that I'd give up cream/milk and sugar I never would have believed it. I now realized I never even knew what they tasted like before!

I also drink a lot of flavored selzter water (the naturally flavored, not the ones with aspartame flavorings. Nothing again aspartame, it just doesn't work in the seltzer!). It took me a while to get used to the seltzer as I was drinking so much soda but now I love it!

I do 4 x 16oz glasses a day of seltzer, one with each meal and then just an extra somewhere during the day (the easiest way to measure is to drink a whole 2 liter a day or 2 1-liter bottles). I still count the liquid of my tea and coffee but I try not to put them towards my water count. There are battles on the internet of people fighting whether caffeine beverages count, I can't be bothered with those!

My skin has cleared up, my brain is better, overall I feel so much better and I am sure the water has so much to do with it. Nice and hydrated every day!

I was told if you don't drink water your body will hang onto it, that's why drinking water actually helps get rid of bloat.

I just work on getting my water in and don't have room for anything else ('cept maybe some irish cream... ), plus caffeine gets to me, which stinks because I love coffee.

best of luck

I've heard that a good rule of thumb is to take your weight (# lbs), divide that in half, and that's the number of ounces of water you should drink each day. So if you're 200 lbs, that would be 100 oz., or 12.5 8oz glasses a day.

The general recommendation tends to be about 8 8oz glasses a day, but I have seen it as low as 6 glasses.

I realized for me it is easier to drink from big bottles of water and count those, rather than smaller bottles. I have a couple of 24 ounce bottles, and a 64 ounce bottle.

http://www.amazon.com/Klean-Kanteen-...s=64+oz+bottle

I fill that bottle from my Brita and take it to work each day. My goal is to drink one of those each day at work, plus the 24 ounce bottle before and after work. That's 14 glasses a day!

I actually find I drink a lot more water during the week, since I drink so much while at work. I also like to keep water with me in the car. Basically, I drink water when I'm bored or stuck somewhere like work! Then it's less of a chore.

I'm like you in that I have trouble drinking the 8 glasses of water each day. So, I start each meal with a glass of water -- and my glasses hold 16 oz so that's 6 of the 8 glasses right there. Then I have a glass with me while I'm at the computer and a glass if I'm watching TV. The glass before meals helps with appetite control as well.

I saw on Dr. Oz that the drinking water on a diet does nothing. But I know that when I don't drink it as compared to when I do, I lose the weight faster. The other thing that I have read in several places is that you just need to measure your liquid intake -- that it doesn't all have to be water. However, drinking fruit juices, for example, would add a lot of extra calories so alternatives would have to be evaluated.

This past week I had a problem with gaining and re-losing the same pound over and over. It was getting really frustrating knowing I had been exercising and staying OP. I asked around on a few forums for advice and several people mentioned increasing my water intake. I figured I had been drinking enough seeing how I drink at least my 8 glasses every day if not more. Well I increased it by considerably more than that. I drank probably 14-16 glasses that day and sure enough that pound plus some was gone the next day. They always say you need 8 glasses a day, but for what size of person? I don't think that amount applies to everyone seeing how we are all different sizes. Is the 8 glasses per day for a normal sized person. Our bodies are composed of mainly water so wouldn't it make sense that a heavier person would be required to drink more? I have made a real effort to keep up my water intake and it has shown on the scale these past few days. So far works for me!