Water
 

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?

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.

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.

Tealeaf's correct...I posted about this just recently - check this post out as it contains some valid links about the subject.

Normally I would have 5-6 Cokes a day. Ive quit drinking them and changed to water.

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.

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.

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! :dizzy:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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". :shrug:

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 :o ) 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... :carrot:

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).

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.

Originally Posted by Tealeaf:
You say it works well for most people. From where do you get that information?

I get that information from the large number of people I have encountered (online and in person) who start drinking this larger amount of water and say that they feel better (whether they are trying to lose weight or not). A lot of people don't get enough fluid from food alone to sufficiently keep themselves hydrated, so water is important. No one will ever convince me that water is NOT important (and by water, I don't mean only plain water--other beverages count as well, although PERSONALLY, I feel much better when I drink pure water than diet soda since too much carbonation makes me feel more bloated :dizzy:).

A good rule of thumb I was given to determine if I am drinking enough water is to check urine color. If your urine is dark yellow (vitamins can cause this too...so use your noggin! :) ) you might need more water. Urine should be pale in color if you are properly hydrated.

i could never go by the dark urine rule,the vitamins i take makes it very dark yellow

I think, like many things, the reason a lot of people follow a certain number of servings or ounces or whatever of water per day is that it's measurable. It's much easier to have a specific guideline or set amount that to just say you need to stay hydrated. It might take someone only 2-3 glasses of water a day to stay properly hydrated while it may take someone else 8-10 depending on level of activity, food consumption, chemical consumption, and just uniquenesses of each individual human body. I aim for at least 9 servings of water day (water--not soda or juice or whatever, just water). I do this because it make ME feel better as compared to when I wasn't drinking plain water even though I was having 9+ servings of fluids a day. Everyone is different, but since so many people look for a measurable amount, I think the 8+ servings standard (however made-up it may be :dizzy: ) gives people a set amount to aim for. I'm not saying it's the exact right amount for everyone, but it's not something that's as easy to figure out as, say, calories, which you can get an estimation for by doing equations with your weight and activity level and whatnot. If you tell someone to just drink "enough," they will always ask how much that is, and so we pick a specific amount. Does that make sense?

Jules--I know you realize that water isn't a magic bullet and that cutting out the sugar/calories from the sodas has done your body a WORLD of good, so I know you know that drinking more water HAS helped you (whether the amount be 4 glasses a day or 40 :dizzy: ). I think the rapid weight loss won't last much longer, but you could still be losing steadily depending on your current caloric intake. If you had been maintaining your weight and have since cut, say, 500 calories a day from your intake by cutting out soda, then you should be losing about a pound a week :) Of course, if you've made any other changes (healthier foods, lower calories, more exercise, etc.), that will continue to boost your weight loss as well.

Thanks Jilly for being so supportive.
I get what you are saying about your "specific" amount theory. There are some of us that need to have those set guidelines to help get us back under control.
I am beginning to believe there are two schools of thought on water.
The first are like us and drink it. I know that I feel 100% better. It can't hurt that the water does help keep me feeling fuller and I truly believe that I was thirsty and not hungy. Reaching for a drink or two of water instead of going to one of the many candy jars in the office has to be much better for my hips. I also believe I was truly dehydrated. I can't drink more than 8-10 8 oz servings of water a day so I don't think I am going overboard.
The second group doesn't like water and if whatever they are drinking works for them great--just don't discount what works for those like us.

I have read many postings and there is not one program that is working for everyone because what works for one person doesn't always work for the next.

Originally Posted by jules1216:
I can't drink more than 8-10 8 oz servings of water a day so I don't think I am going overboard.

I agree that too much of even a good thing can turn bad. From my readings and understandings, it's VERY rare that people drink a harmfully high amount of water. It happens most often, for example, when someone is playing a sport and gets hot/thirsty, so they chug like a gallon of water all at once. I drink anywhere from 9 servings to over a gallon of water a day, depending on how I feel and what my surroundings are (I find I drink a LOT of water when I'm at a restaurant, for some reason), and I've never drank "too much." I've never even known or heard of (other than reading about it online) anyone who drank a harmful amount of water. So I guess I'm just sort of saying that I'd rather have the 8 servings a day even if it's possibly a little too much for what I actually need since I know it's not going to do me any harm :dizzy: