is there such thing as drinking too much water in a day? i know they say 8 glassses minimum, but is there a maximum? just curious.

Hmm, good question. lol

I think it should not be a problem.... as long as you have no pre-existing kidney or heart problems that would prevent you from excreting that extra fluid.

yep, but it's pretty uncommon. It's called water intoxication (sometimes water poisoning). If you search on water intoxication, you'll find a lot of threads discussing it, and my experience with it (my mother was hospitalized with water intoxication I think two years ago, now).

It is not true that it can't happen to perfectly healthy folk. In fact it was just a couple years ago that that woman died trying to win a wii, she drank I think a bit over a gallon in ten minutes. And after my mom had her bout, her kidney specialist said it was once rare for him to see it at all, except occasionally in marathon runners, and he said he's seeing it more and more, mostly healthy dieters. Particularly, he talked about some of the myths about water being untrue. Myths like coffee doesn't count, or has to be compensated for by extra water - caffeine is not that dehyrating. Another he said isn't true is that you need a half ounce of water per day per pound, he said that overweight people do not need significantly more water than thin folks, or that only water counts toward your water requirements. He said it's even possible to get all of your liquid requirements from food, if you were eating wet enough foods.

If you're on any blood pressure medications, and/or eat a very low salt diet, you're at higher risk, also if you guzzle huge quantities rather than spread out your fluids through the day.

I have a water bottle that holds 32oz of water and I usually drink about 4 of these a day. I have asked if I am drinking to much and they say no. But I am always running to the bathroom, lol!

Enough water depends on your individual body. Your urine should be clear but going more than 5 times a day means your drinking too much water.

I can really see how it would mess up your electrolyte balance

I drink anywhere from 1.5ltrs to 3.5ltrs a day - especially if its been an intense cardio day.

After a quick conversion that is roughly between 50 and 120 ounces of water a day.

Sometimes when it's really hot here and i go for a long bike ride i drink like 5 litres of water.. which is like 200 ounces maybe? I take a colloidal mineral formula for electrolytes though.

hmm I don't think 8 glasses of water is a 'minimum'. It's more a 'recommended' amount, meaning that you can drink less (because all food contains a surprising amount of water), but you don't need to drink more (unless you're working out a lot/ its really hot out).

thanks everyone.
really you shouldn't pee more than 5 times a day? shoot i pee like 15!

Yeah, I personally do not agree with that.

I awlays go with the pee check

If your pee is darker then you should probably be drinking more. Light yellow to almost clear means you're hydrated.

I drink between 62 and 120 oz on a given day.

I pee way more than 5 times a day too, but I always have. I just listen to my body! Some days I crave more water than others. I make sure that my urine stays light yellow to almost clear & I'm good.

Aside from peeing after waking up, I have to pee about 20 minutes after I drink or eat moist foods with a water content of more than 3 or 4 ounces. So if I drink and/or eat more than five times, I'll pee more than five times.

quick addition: vitamins can make urine extra yellow. (just in case that was to happen and someone thinks they need even more water when they've already been running to the washroom however many times)