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How much water?

I am living proof and I have documented results from helping others. In the book, "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" by Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghrlidj, he say's we need 1/2 our body weight converted to ounces in water a day. I weigh 230 lb. I drink 115 -130 ounces of water a day. I took off 130 lb and my body building results exploded. Yes I go to the bathroom quite often. But my urine is very clear and as of my last Wednesday at my Dermatologist, she said my skin was the most hydrated and clear skin she has seen in years. When she asked my secret, no secret here, Water.

People with arthritis did what I did and for the first time in 45 years did knee bends, straightened out their fingers and dared others to make fun of me till they tried it themselves. Doctors refuse to tell their patients the miracle of water for fear of loosing the almighty dollar.

Read the book then question your Doc about it. Watch them back step and start making excuses. I have and it is so funny. Better yet, hand them your copy of the book and tell them to read it then get back to you.

I was unable to do anything for 3-4 years following an accident in the Army. I was huge. My kidneys, liver, digestive system, headaches, blood pressure, everything was out of balance. My BP was 108/62 last week, every test was perfect for my age (46) and family history. The ole Doc just told me to keep it up. Water Baby! Half your body weight in ounces of water. IF YOU ARE NOT PEEING CLEAR, YOU ARE NOT HYDRATED!!! THAT IS FACT

Bink

I 100% agree with you, "Bink". I am a 26 year old female who is (slightly) overweight. After going to my annual check up, I realized I needed to do something to lose some weight, and had heard in the past about drinking half your body weight in ounces of water, so I decided to give it a try.

Previous to this, I had been having a lot of digestive problems, and very irregular bowel movements every day for a few weeks. Within a week of drinking this amount of water things started going back to normal. Now I have been drinking this amount for only about a month and a half, and my stomach only rarely hurts, I feel much more energized, have a better lookout on life, and, although I haven't weighed myself yet, I believe I have lost approximately 5 pounds. And, this is only in a month!

I know part of it is that when I drink this much water, I drink a lot less other liquid, like pop or sugary juice, but if that is what it takes for people, so be it!

I know the article was talking about how people who are healthy do not need all the water, and perhaps that is true. Like I said, I am a little overweight, and on top of this, I only have one kidney. I had to get the other one taken out a few years ago when it stopped functioning. But, I have noticed an almost immediate difference in how I am feeling since drinking so much water everyday. I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

Amy

I have to agree with the other posters. Even though you may not need water specifically, you'll drink fewer sugary beverages if you add more water to your diet.

I don't always practice what I preach, though. In a day I usually drink 3 glasses of water, 2 cups of coffee, a glass of skim milk, and various other liquids here and there. I don't like soft drinks, so that's probably a plus, but I am sucker for fruit juice.

Butterfly

I drink my share of water also. But I like mine flavored. Coffee flavored and Coca~Cola flavored mostly. LOL I drink about a pot and a half of coffee between the time I get up till about 3:00 PM and then I switch to coke. I have 1-4 cokes in the afternoon and evening. They say this doesn't count but I beg to differ. My urine is also nice and light(after I get all the "mega-vitamins" out around 2:00 PM). Think about it. Everything we drink starts out as water. They say only clear water counts but what if I took a caffeine tablet and chased it with a glass of water. That would be OK wouldn't it? Of course it would. Everything starts out as water and we just filter it through coffee or something else to flavor it. Now, I don't drink alcohol, which is also made out of water, and I know that definitely doesn't count and in fact will dehydrate you.(I used to drink) And what about these kids who drink way too much water in a short period of time to get high? Craziest thing I ever heard of but I saw it on the Discovery Health Network. So you CAN drink too much water. I do drink a bottle or two of water every day, along with my coffee and coke.

And I'm just fine.

Rick

I beg to differ Rick. Having that much caffeine in a day (whether tablet or liquid form) is bad for you. Caffeine will actually make you retain water and is very hard on the kidneys. If you don't believe me, just ask kidney patients. My girlfriend used to drink several sodas a day (she wasn't a coffee drinker) like you do and now she only has one kidney and has to be very strict in what she drinks. She now drinks a lot of water and cranberry juice to keep her system flushed and she has never felt better. My soda habit was much more moderate--1 to 2 Mountain Dews a day--and I also feel so much better since I gave them up nearly 4 years ago. You are correct that it doesn't matter what form the water takes but only as long as it doesn't contain caffeine. Bottom line is you may be just fine now but you never know what the cumulative effects of all that caffeine will be on you years on down the road.

I substituted my soda habit for water and I lost 25 pounds in a year without changing anything else in my life.

Donna

I'm 32, a little overweight, and not terribly active - I do try to exercise 3 times/week. I rarely drink soda as it really doesn't appeal to me (I'd be surprised if I could drink a 12 oz can in one sitting). For about the past 5 years I have been drinking about 4 to 6 liters of water per day. It's sort of become a requirement. If I'm below my daily average for some reason, I get very thirsty and sometimes tired. I figure it's a good habit to have!

Hi, this is something that always worries me when I read or hear about all these vast amounts of water other people claim to be drinking : I'm not !

The thing is, drinking more than a few, say two, glasses or cups of water a day makes me feel uncomfortably full and even slightly nauseous (so I usually don't drink any, really).

I drink something like eight cups of other liquids, mostly tea and some coffee, throughout the day, and that usually suffices; I drink water when I'm really thirsty on a warm day or during the night when I wake up and am thirsty. I drink a glass or two of red wine at night.

I always wonder about these (usually young) people I see carrying small bottles of water around with them during the day and actually get a bit irritated by it because I'm sure it's mostly a pose !!

Karin de Groot

Unfortunately, my kids are ones that are never without water. I didn't serve much juice to them when they were babies and always they had water between meals. Even now at 14, 12, 9, they are rarely without water. My 12 year old drinks water constantly-dashing in from outside for water after riding her scooter. My other two-also big water drinkers. I think it may be related to living in a hot area though. They certainly drink the water...sometimes a couple of glasses with dinner even.

If you aren't feeling thirsty-then I wouldn't worry about it.

~Louise

I am late in answering, but I just discovered this post. I used to drink very little water on a daily basis. I am overweight and sometimes have trouble with retaining water. Due to a cardiac arrest which was caused by an arrythmia called Acquired LongQT Syndrome caused by low potassium, which led to a ventricular tachycardia, I cannot take a diuretic. I have found that if I drink plenty of water each day, I no longer have trouble with the water retention. The water has also helped me with appetite control and weight loss and just generally makes me feel better. When I miss the water for a couple of days, I really notice it. I divide my weight in half and drink that many ounces of water each day. I don't know if it would work for everyone, but it really helps me a lot!

My husband went to AF basic training and drank way more than the needed 8 glasses. He was in the best health of his life. Now anytime he gets sick he drinks a ton of water and it really does help him to heal faster. Also, if you drink cold water it absorbs into your body more slowly and can make you feel nauseous.

I don't drink a lot of water, unless I'm actually craving a glass of water (which isn't that often). I mostly drink a variety of juices and if I drink soda, it's typically Sprite mixed in with cranberry juice.

I'm also a huge fan of milk. Most people think it's strange that I prefer to drink my milk at room temperature.

I guess I just prefer beverages that have some sort of flavor...

Question: If you pour those little drink mix packets into a bottle of water, does that still count as drinking water? How about tea??

I live in Southern California. I'm a 30yr old woman. I weight about 115 lbs. according to your suggestions I have to drink about 57-58 onces of water per day. Well, I HAVE to drink a minimum of 64 once per day which equals to half a gallon. Truth is, I drink well over 70 onces per day. If I don't drink at least half of gallon per day I start having the same symptoms of a UTI. Is this normal? I also have other vaginal symptoms, such as discharge, and foul odor. I do like drinking water but even if I skip a day with out it, I get all these uncomfortable symptoms. Is there something else I should be concerned about?

Whenever you have a foul odor from the vagina, you will need to see your doctor. That is not normal at any level of hydration. The odor could be related to your feelings of UTI as well.