This has probably been asked before...
 

:dizzy:

Hi guys - I'd really like some input here. Am I drinking TOO much during the day?? I regularly drink 6 liters of water(ed down Crystal Light) every day - and I mean REALLY watered down - I use one of the singles packets and mix it with 2 liters of water instead of 500ml - just enough to give the water a little flavour. I keep two 2-liter jugs in the fridge at all times, and make one up as soon as I finish one.

I tried to look this info up online, but most of the info out there seems geared towards 'a healthy adult' - ummm, yeah. Not me - Not YET! :p So, I did read that you should try to drink a half ounce for every pound you weigh... that works out to about half of what I drink in the course of day. Some days I even drink 8 liters... and days when I only have three or four, I feel a little - well, 'dry'.

I don't FEEL like I am drowning myself - in fact, I feel pretty good! It isn't a thirst issue, really, and I am not diabetic. According to my calorie tracker online, I do often go a bit over my suggested sodium amount, so I doubt very much if I am diluting my saline enough to do damage.

For background, I do not exercise excessively either - quite the opposite!! ;) and I drink this amount throughout the course of day - not all at once! :D This from the girl who didn't drink ANY water at all during the day three months ago - no kidding! I'd have coffee, maybe a diet soda and a cup of tea, and that would be it.

So - I'm looking for some input. How much do you guys drink? Is there something I am missing, or should know? :( I want to think, 'hey - this feels okay, so it can only be a good thing', but you guys are so knowledgeable on here, I'd like to hear what you think.

Thanks,
Heather :D

Well, that IS a lot of water... I think only a professional who can do a work up can truly tell you that you are drinking too much water. All we can tell you is the reccommended daily intake (which you already know and is arguable between studies) and what we as individuals prefer for ourselves. I will say that I don't know many people who can drink 6 liters of water in a day- are you in the bathroom a lot?

As for me, I drink on average 70 ounces on most days. I am working in an office setting for the summer with an endless supply of coffee and diet soda and at first my water intake trailed off. I am back to normal though, but I pee all morning, it seems!

My personal opinion is that water intake varies from person to person, not necessarily dictated by weight or activity level. I drink however much water I need to keep me hydrated (gotta save some for the fishies, ya know ;)) and I know if I'm getting dehydrated by my pee color (TMI, I know), and sometimes I get a headache if I have too much caffeine and not enough water as well.

EDIT- I was just looking at my water bottle and I calculated my water wrong- I typically drink around 90 oz a day, not 70... FWIW.

Thanks Jen - I guess I'll ask my doctor and see what he says. Will let ya'll know!

Heather :D

I've never heard of being able to drink too much water. Hmmmm...I'm an interested to know, so please get back to us when you hear back from your Doc!

I, personally, drink about 100 ounces a day....that is definitly not an ounce per pound and I can't imagine drinking 300 ounces of water....I'm ALREADY in the bathroom enough as it is. I base whether or not my water intake is good by the color of my pee as well. I exercise a LOT too, and if I drink TOO much, I'd be stopping ALL the time to go potty. Hmmm...

I should ask my trainer..

Honestly, water poisoning requires drinking a similar quantity in a MUCH shorter period of time - if you feel good, keep doing it. Your body will let you know if there is something wrong. You may find yourself craving salt, and that would be a sign to slow down on the water a little, but other than that... It may also be one of those things that will settle down to a more normal pace eventually. You said you used to not drink ANY water, so your body is used to taking whatever it can get. If you continue to drink like this, it might well realize that it doesnt need all of it, and start regulating your thirst better.

Originally Posted by BabyBrownEyes:
I've never heard of being able to drink too much water.

My mother tells me that if you drink too much water, you start to flush all the nutrients from your system, which isn't good. But I imagine that "too much" is a pretty individual value.

I'd say, don't wait for your body to tell you something is wrong. Our bodies try to make do with whatever circumstances arise, until they can't anymore, and then we are really sick.

You are drinking too much water. The amount you listed is 2.4 to 3 times more than the 8 to 10 8-oz. glasses a day that most sources recommend. You may deplete your body of the salts it needs for proper functioning. Cut down on the water, is what I would tell you--stay with 64 to 80 ounces a day. That's a liter to a liter and a half. No, I am not a doctor or health professional, so you still need to ask your doctor.

Jay

There is something called Water Intoxification. You can Google it to find out more. When I asked a registered Dietitian this very same thing, she told me she has only known of one person who had this happen. That person drank like 160 ounces of water AND like a 6 pack of diet soda in a day.

Yes, well, 6 liters of water is over 6 quarts, which comes to 192 ounces a day! :yikes:

Jay

Good question, one I was wondering as well. I don't drink nearly as much water as you do, I'm only drinking 5 bottles a day, 17 oz each, so that's about 85 oz a day (and truthfully, about 1/2 of that last bottle often goes to the plants on my kitchen windowsill at night ;) ).

But do our bodies ever get used to this much water, as far as the need to urinate so often? I drank this much one other time for about a month and never got used to it (being in the bathroom so often, that is), but maybe after awhile our bodies regulate themselves with that much water intake? Just wondering.

(I'd type more but I gotta run to the loo again! ;) )

This has been very educational to me, thanks guys. I'm glad people make these kinds of threads, because maybe it was asked before, but some of us would never think of searching for a thread asking this question.

I might cut down on a little bit of my water intake as well, although my body seems to be getting used to it. I guess if one exercises a lot, it would be different too, right?

I mean...you get rid of a LOT of water while working out, and you're supposed to replenish your body

You asked what others do, so here's the answer for me: I drink about 8 oz. of water before I go to bed and then again when I wake up. Other than that, I drink a small amount of water all day long, between meals, when I am thirsty and when I exercise. Usually I refill my water bottle 2 times daily (it's a great stainless steel water bottle, that holds 1 liter). Occasionally I have sparkling water or a mix of juice and sparkling water. I also often eat soups and juicy fruits and that contributes to my fluid intake for the day.

Originally Posted by HeatherAngel:
It isn't a thirst issue, really,

If you aren't thirsty, why are you drinking as many as 8 liters of Crystal Light a day? :?:

I wouldn`t worry about water intoxication, since that takes about as much water as you`re drinking but like, in an hour.

I would also suggest asking a doctor because it does sound like a lot. For example, on days when I`m in the field I take in between 4 to 5 liters, but that`s because it`s really hot and I sweat tons when I`m out. If I don`t get at least 4 liters in me on those days I get a headache. On days when I`m in the lab (like today, weeee!), I guess I`m around 2 to 2.5 liters, because I run and still sweat a lot because it is HOT here. Good luck!

Typically, my day starts with 8-10 ounces of water followed by 12 ounces of coffee. I take my .5 liter bottle of water to work and I'll drink and refill it several times (probably 2 liters during the day). Once home, I'll have a cocktail followed by about 20 ounces of water. So all in all, my daily water consumption is about 96 ounces (plus coffee and cocktail). On the weekends, if I don't have my water bottle, I find that by mid afternoon, I'm terribly tired, but if I have a good 10-20 ounces of water it rejuvenates me!

I'm no doctor either, but that seems a little too much, yes, especially since you mentioned you don't exercise a lot. For information, my doctor considers me a heavy drinker, and that amounts to between 3 liters and 4 liters a day (the latter being on summer days with exercise; I tend to drink less in winter, partly because I drink hot tea, which takes more time to be drunk than fresh water). If you're not really thirsty, maybe it'd be best to not drink as much?

Besides, I hope you're not like me in that regard, because if I'm not careful and drink too much in the evenings, I need to get up twice a night to pee, and I tell you, this makes me tired, since the quality of my sleep isn't exactly good in those cases. :D

I've not heard of drinking that much hurting you. The water intoxification deal is usually when someone consumes a massive amount of water in a short period of time. Sometimes downing a lot of water while working out can cause some problem...though I don't remember what it does. Yet drinking it throughout the day...I've never heard of anyone having a problem from it. HOWEVER...it COULD be indicative that you ALREADY have a problem. Most people just don't or can't drink that much. Perhaps you're more thirsty than normal because of some other medical problem and I think THAT is why you need to see a doctor. Diagnose any possible problems early.

For myself, I refill 25 oz. bottles that I keep on hand. I drink 3 to 5 a day, depending. If I'm out in the park for several hours, jogging, etc. and its 85+ degrees, I can usually go through a couple bottles just from that. And then I consume my usual 3 throughout the rest of the day.

If you ask a doc let us know what you find. I drink a lot of water also but always have except for during the diet Pepsi phase in college...

I do workout a lot but this is my water breakdown pretty much minus other drinks like coffee or wine

2 16 ozs glasses of water before work
5 16 oz bottles at work, really try not to drink more than that as I don't get anything done otherwise
1 16 oz bottle at the gym
3-4 16 oz glasses of water throughout the evening

I do always end up getting up at least once during the night.

so I would estimate I go through around 12 16 oz containers of water which is um something like 192 ounces, probably more or less depending on the day, less on the weekends I guess because my day is much less structured. I'm generally always pretty thirsty but am not diabetic as I was actually worried about that last year when I wondered why the heck I drink so much water.

For what it's worth I have no health problems that I know of, blood tests last year were all within normal ranges. How would someone even go about finding out if they have mineral deficiencies?

Heather do you know WHY you're drinking so much water? Is your body craving it? Or maybe you've convinced yourself that more is better? Do you have a high-salt diet?

It's almost winter here, and our day starts at around 8ºC (46ºF). At the moment I drink between 2 and 2.5 litres (67 - 84oz) per day - and my body feels like it functions well at that level.

During summer, when the temperature gets up to 40ºC (104ºF) I have no problem drinking 3 litres (102oz). Any more than that and I begin to feel bloated. I also find that the scale reflects water weight for me after drinking more than that - so I've worked out that's my optimum level of hydration.

I also space it out through the day, and try to drink small amounts regularly. As other people have said, the problems of water intoxication happen when you drink too much in a short period of time.

Your body only needs about half of what you're drinking, so maybe if the urge to keep drinking 6 litres/day continues it would be worth having a chat with a doctor.

:)
Ani

I usually drink between 5 and 6 liters a day also, with no diabetes, all normal blood tests, no problems with water intoxication. I've been doing so for a year with no negative side effects...my body likes to be very well hydrated! I lose better, have clearer skin, and feel better than the days when I drink less. I checked with my doctor, and he said it wasn't a worry, so I think its ok. Do check, though, to see if your own doctor agrees with mine.

Thanks everyone, for all the input thus far - I have a doctor's appointment, but not until next Monday :( I WILL let you know what he has to say, though :)

As for my saying it is not a thirst thing - I didn't mean that I am not thirsty at all, I just meant that I know it isn't diabetes - I was checked towards the end of last year.

I'll be sure to post with the doc's comments on this!

Heather :D

If you're drinking that much water, I think you should at least be able to recognize the symptoms of water intoxication, so that if you experience them you will know to go to the emergency room immediately, because water intoxication is possible for many people at much lower amounts of water than otherwise expected.

If you're on any blood pressure medications, or diuretics or if you're prone to low electrolyte levels (or if you are a serious runner) or have any kidney problems, water intoxication is possible on a lot less water than you think. My mother was hospitalized with it last year, and she was drinking about 6 quarts of liquid (including water, milk, and coffee). Like a lot of dieters she was told that coffee doesn't count or even that she needed to drink additional water to compensate for drinking coffee.

I am on relatively low doses of 2 blood pressure medications, and my Mom's kidney specialist said I could be at risk for water intoxication as well, and probably shouldn't ever drink more than 3 quarts a day, especially since my sodium levels are almost alway a bit below or barely within normal levels.
I do sometimes drink quite a bit more than I probably "should," especially in summer, but because of what happened to Mom, I've made sure that both my husband and I will recognize the symptoms of water intoxication should they occur.

My nutritionist recomended 64 ounces a day plus 8 ounces for every 25 lbs. over your ideal weight. Also add 8 ounces for every 15 min. of exercise.
This seemed to work for me. I include everything non-carbonated and caffeine free into my intake.
Terrie

good gracious, i don't think i drink anywhere near those amounts of any fluids all day. i may have a 4 ounce cup of tea when i get up, then i have a 16 ounce cup of coffee at work in the morning, then at lunch i start with water. at work i usually only drink one 20 ounce bottle of water. then i go home and may end up getting another 10 ounces of water or maybe tea before i go to bed. i just don't drink that much. on a work out day, i probably get 2 20 ounce cups of water a day...one a work and one at the gym. i don't even think i end up drinking more than 50 ounces of anything all day long. :-(

Hi again - just thought I'd put this in a context that makes sense to me: this works out to roughly a 16oz glass for every hour I am awake... (eg. 16oz x 14 hours = 224 oz = 6.6 liters)

I will still ask the doctor though :)

Heather

Originally Posted by LindaT:
There is something called Water Intoxification. You can Google it to find out more. When I asked a registered Dietitian this very same thing, she told me she has only known of one person who had this happen. That person drank like 160 ounces of water AND like a 6 pack of diet soda in a day.

A woman just died from this after a radio contest. Although Im sure this is not your issue, they have some interesting facts here.

http://waterintoxication.org/

Because of how close a call Mom had, I tend to stick my nose in (and sometimes get it bitten off) on this issue. Except for arthritis, mild to moderate high blood pressure, and a borderline thyroid issue (all very common to thin and overweight women over 45) she was in good health, and she had no idea what water intoxication was, let alone that she was at risk. The symptoms came on suddenly, and it seemed to be a severe flu, but even so my dad called the ambulance right away because her mental confusion really concerned him. And even though she received treatment right away, she still was in the hospital for a week and several specialists were rushed in.

When my husband and I were called (8:00 pm), we were told to rush down (a 5 hour drive) because she was so seriously ill (they had not yet determined that it was water intoxication, or if so, why her kidneys were failing).

Her kidney specialist said that while it is still rare, he has been seeing alot more water poisoning cases in relatively healthy people, and not just the usual groups (people with serious kidney disease, marathon athletes and OCD patients who drink water compulsively, and drug users trying to dilute their urine to pass a drug screen). He said he thought the increase was mostly due to new medications and dieting-related water myths, encourageing excessive liquid consumption. The one that concerned him the most was not "counting" anything but pure water. He stressed that any food or beverage containing water "counts" so whether you're consuming plain or carbonated water, coffee, tea, fruit juice, sodas and fruit drinks (whether they contain sugar or artificial sweeteners) milk, soup, jello, fresh fruit......
It ALL counts. And that 2 quarts of any liquid over and above solid food, was probably all that anyone "needed" unless they were extreme athletes (who might need to drink more, but also could need to replace electrolytes along with the water). The effects can be sudden (like the woman in the water drinking contest) or cumulative (over days or weeks, your electrolyte balance is tipped into a danger zone).

That doesn't mean that if you want to drink 3 or 4 or 8 quarts you're necessarily at risk, but you should at least consider the possibility. And if you drink beverages such as coffee, that you haven't been counting, you should at least know that your body IS counting them.

Thanks, kaplods, for relating this scary incident!

HeatherAngel, I'm pretty sure you only need to drink an 8 oz. glass of water every hour, and perhaps not even that much. That is what I have been told to drink by my urologist because if I don't drink enough water, I develop kidney stones. But he did not say to go over that amount.

dcapulet, thanks for that link.

Jay