This post started out as a comment on my friend Laurin's blog... but then I just kept typing... and it quickly outgrew the length of an acceptable comment. So here goes nothin'.
Laurin recently posted about drinking water (drinking is a verb there, not an adjective). She said that she fills up a 32 oz. bottle of water in the morning and then tries to finish it by lunch, at which time she'll reward herself with a tasty beverage of choice (for her, a sweet tea... for me, Diet Coke every time!). I think this is an exceptionally good idea. You see, I almost never drink water. Ever. Go ahead and start judging me; I know it's bad. I drink less than 20 0z. of fluid per day, and most of that is my daily Diet Coke, which I nurse from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. It has a special place on my desk at work. Sometimes I don't drink anything after I get home from work, even with dinner. Most of the time I will fill a small glass with water or something, just because it seems like the right thing to do. But most of the time, if it's been touched at all by the end of dinner, it's because Wes finished his glass and was too lazy to return to the kitchen for more.
So. I've been working out lately (totally shocking, if you know me), and I know I'm at a risk for dehydration. But here's where I tell you more about me than you perhaps wanted to know -- when the Lord knit me together in my mother's womb, He only gifted me with about 1/4 of the normal bladder size. I have trained my body not to expect much in the liquids department, because if I do intake even a semi-normal amount of liquid, I am in the bathroom nonstop. But I'm not exaggerating. Non. Stop. It is seriously annoying. So yes, 12 oz. of DC in a day and I'm basically done. Go ahead and murmur under your breath about how horrible I am. I KNOW! I just don't know how to fix it apart from inserting a catheter.
How much do you drink? Is the command to "drink 8 8-oz glasses of water per day" a fad, or is it really necessary to be healthy? Please inspire me. Maybe I'll buy a water bottle....
9 years ago
13 comments:
Beth, I think from reading some of my comments, it's definitely not a requirement to drink 8 glasses of water a day to be healthy. And that, my friend, is wonderful news to me!
I think the new idea is that 8 glasses is too much and can flush out your system...
*shrug*
However,
regardless of the "required" amount, you still need to drink much more water than you do.
<3
beth. i used to drink diet coke ALL day long. like from the morning until i got home from work, and then i switched to caffeine free diet coke. then when one day my friend was telling me how bad diet coke was for my body...not the soda aspect of it, but the chemicals. so i did all this research and realized it really was bad for me. so i stopped cold turkey and only drink water now. so for the last year, i have just been drinking water all day long. i have noticed huge changes in my body...i have so much more energy...especially when i work out, i'm not as tired when the caffeine starts to wear off, even my teeth feel cleaner. :) so i would have to say from someone with experienced diet coke addiction, i feel so much better without it. i tried to drink one a few months ago and felt sick after half a can. i am definitely not one of those people that go around saying how soda is bad for you, but since you asked, i thought i would tell you my opinion on it. :) i would do some research on the negative effects of soda and especially diet soda.
Alllllright. I'll comment on this one :) I love Diet Coke, as you know. Also, I love iced tea. I drink, on a regular basis, about 60 to 80 ounces of water a day. Not including other drinks. I, unlike you, love water. I crave it.
Since you are working out, it's SUPER important that you are drinking water. Your body needs it to replenish itself. You should drink water before, during and after your workout. I'm not saying that to be mean, but because you really need it to care for your body properly. I would encourage you to try, no matter how small your bladder is - just wait until you get pregnant, you'll pee always anyways!, to drink a little water in the morning and in the afternoon. And don't forget to hydrate when you workout. It will make working out and losing weigh so much easier!
OK Beth, as a med student, allow me to clarify a few misconceptions and some facts and maybe you can decide to do what is right for you. After all, it is your body so you need to decide what to do for it and what will work with your daily routine. :)
All bodies are different and require slightly different amounts of everything from specific vitamins and nutrients, to hours of sleep, to volumes of fluids like water. Now, in the TMI range here, everyone needs to look at their pee and their poo to determine the amount of water/fluid they need to be consuming. If your pee is yellow, you are not getting enough fluid (it should be a light yellow to clear color). If your stools are hard you are not getting enough fluid (they should be large brown, solid and soft'ish).
As for the type of fluid, that is up to you. Water is the obvious choice because our bodies are more than 70% water (amazing I know) but you get water from lots of places (like fruits and veggies and yes, there is even some in your DC) aside from just chugging down a big glass. Now, I myself am an avid water drinker, and I attempt to consume about 3 liters of water on a normal day and 4 if I have an intense work out. But that's right for me. What's right for you is up to you and the easiest way to tell is to look at the color of your pee. (I'm being completely honest here too!)
As for DC being bad for you - well, that's a coin toss. I do not consume soda/pop on a regular basis. I quit that in high school. I too believe (aside from the high number calories in regular beverages) that the chemicals are bad for you. Also, aspratame the sweetener in Diet Coke in contraindicated in pregnancy so if you are looking to pop out a wee one anytime soon, I might try to ween myself of the habit now. On the other side, if Diet Coke is how you get fluids in then you should drink that. The choice is completely up to you.
So, pretty much the amount of water you drink should be based on the amount of water you need. I hope that helps! :0)
Beth, I hear you on the bladder thing. It's nuts! I pee A LOT (even during the night)-- so I know where you're coming from. I try to alternate between water and a sweet treat (it's a start, right?)-- I do it at work and so far it's been pretty good going. I should drink more water (shouldn't we all?)-- but being aware of the need is half of the battle! g'luck!
you crack me up beth!
you've probably got your bladder trained into thinking it has to go pee every time you take a sip because you don't normally drink enough throughout the day...just like a person can train their stomach into thinking that they require more food than they really do.
you should really consider drinking more water though...esp. since it's summer and you're working out. you don't want a trip to the ER because of dehydration!
here's my advice: move to a foreign country, especially if that country is Venezuela. I've started to take care of my body so much more since being there. You know I used to Looove DC. But it always made me feel terrible about myself- my teeth felt gross, i was always hungry after, and i hated the color of my pee. Ew I think yellow pee smells disgusting.
So after being in Venezuela I just kind of started to see how nasty all the sugary crap I was eating was. Especially since all of their drinks are so sugary. They have Coke and Coke light, and then they always drink powdered mix drinks (fruity flavors like strawberry or passionfruit). And they always tasted so fake because of aspratame. So i couldn't stand drinking those things and started to drink water. I started to eat tons of veggies too.
Now that I'm back in the US I just see how bad that stuff is for my body. And I drink a lot of water now. That's all I drink, in fact. Giant Eagle bottled water. Now my pee is clear and doesn't smell funny, and I just feel healthier. So I would def recommend drinking more water, if nothing else for the smell/look of your pee.
I agree that it doesn't necessarily have to be eight 8-oz of water per day, but the pee color advice is true, too. One other hint I've learned is that we SHOULD be peeing about once an hour! That means we're hydrated.
I've had a hard time getting into drinking water. Milk is my drink of choice, believe it or not. However, it seems easier in the summertime with it being so hot outside and all.
My BEST suggestion would be to purchase a Stainless Water Bottle from www.flylady.net. It's AMAZING! I just bought one for me and one for Scott and we LOVE them! They do everything they say - easy to fill with ice and water, but you drink out of a smaller opening; keeps water COLD for HOURS; doesn't sweat a drop and is leakproof! You can throw it in your purse without worrying. AMAZING. It also comes with a bunch of colored things to attach, and one person suggested putting some on, and each time you empty your bottle, take a band off. That way you know how many you've had so far. I've made it to one down and started on a second so far.
Another benefit - no more buying expensive bottled water, and no more adding to land fills!
Check it out! http://www.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_swb.asp
I pee only 3 times a day, seriously! I drink plenty of fluids (I believe), but I must have the largest bladder ever.
Brian
I drink nothing but a half gallon of peach tea every day and my pee is crystal clear.
I don't drink water at all. I go weeks or months without drinking it, & I definitely don't like it either. I go throughout the day drinking Diet Pepsi, or chocolate milk. I hate regular milk, and I don't drink water so I must be really unhealty. Haha. I don't know, I've probably only drank about a gallon of water in my lifetime and i'm 18. Gag.
Say something...