Too much water ??

[booklady]

I had posted a thread asking for help with sleepiness and it came up that I drink 25 glasses of water a day. I used to drink two liters of diet soda and had a large, four cup size cup that I would stuff with ice and then fill with soda and did that every time I filled up. Once I wanted to see how much ice I used and it was most of a gallon zip bag of ice, so I am used to drinking a lot of fluids and have for years and have never tested positive for diabetes, I just drink a lot of fluids.
So, is 25 glasses too much ?? It is just a habit for me, to sip out of my cup all day long and when the day is over I have had up to 25 cups, sometimes less but usually at least 20 glasses.
I have been off the soda, and caffiene and sweetners for 11 days now, and have only been drinking the water in all that time. I am losing about a pound a day right now and have lost 17 pounds and today is day 12 low carb.
Thanks !!
Stephie

[SunnySmile501]

As long as you are sipping and not chugging a gallon an hour, it shouldn't be a problem. I drink about that much and I weigh 176 pounds, now. I drink 128 ounces of pure water and 32 ounces of green tea and 2 cups of coffee and sometimes more water and more tea.

The one thing you need to be careful of is washing out the water soluable vitamins and minerals. Make sure you are supplementing potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and vitamin C at the very least. Since you should be eating very few processed foods, make sure to use some salt on your food.

Sunny!

[booklady]

HI Sunny, I am very excited to hear from you. I had just read your post on the who has lost weight over 50 thread and was so impressed with what you had done. At 48 I am close to 50 so really was interested in what everyone had to say !! Your post had really caught my attention so I was so surprised to see you here tonight !!!
I am making sure I take my suppliments daily. I take a potassium and a calcium magnesium and zinc, and a womans multi . Should I take addictional C as well ? Should I take an additional b complex maybe a differant time of day as the multi or do you think what is in the multi is fine. I know most of them are pretty low on everything.
I just bought some organic sea salt today, unbleached with all the trace minerals in it and I put a bit of salt on everything I eat, not too much,but a little pinch on my green beans or eggs, and salt my chicken when I roast it !!
I am not eating any processed foods except for some bacon a few mornings a week. No dairy either because I think dairy is an addiction issue for me but I do use butter on my veggies .
I sure appreciate you taking the time out to give me some input, I am so motivated to do as well as you did !! Thanks !!
Stephie

[SunnySmile501]

I take B-50 every day and it helps a lot. In a multi, there are not enough B vitamins. B vitamins help with stress and stress causes us to retain fat, especially belly fat. Since we don't eat a lot of citrus fruit or potato skins, you probably should supplement your C. I eat a lot of tomatoes and red bell peppers, both of which are loaded with vitamin C. The one thing about the water soluable stuff--it's hard to OD on them when all the excess washes right out of your body.

[carbless_in_seattle]

I heard that to get the full benefits from water while trying to lose weight --ie: the flushing effect, increased metabolism...(calories are burned 3% faster), etc. One should drink a ounce of water for every two pounds of their weight. So essentially cut your weight in half. So if you weigh 231, your ideal water intake while losing would be 115.5oz...which is about 14.5 8oz glasses per day.

Also if you drink all ice water you burn an extra 50-100 calories a day, because your body uses energy to heat up the water to a usable temperature. and energy expenditure= calories burned.

[booklady]

I will start to drink more ice water, that is a good point, thanks !! I am usually just lazy and get it from the tap, but maybe if I expend the effort to get the ice water instead that will burn a few more calories too, lol, hey , it is a thought !!! I sure need to start burning some so I love the ice water idea, that sure can't hurt and will taste better anyway !!
Okay, I will pick up B- 50 tomorrow. I know with all my belly fat that stress does play a role in my weight gain so that is a great idea.
I will pick up a 500 C vit as well.
I am making a point now to eat a healthy salad of romain and green leaf and red leaf with some avocado and tomato and onion and garlic in it, I know I need the raw veggies too. I have a nice helping of protien in it.
I will have my hubby take them too, he works as a maint mechanic in a large plant and the heat and humidity are awful, he comes home with salt stains on his shirts from sweating so much so I am making sure he takes the calcium and mag and zinc but he refuses to take additional potasium because it is in his mens vitamin. He will take the B and C if I ask him to though. He does drink a lot of water and always has.
Thanks both of you for your kind advice, I really appreciate it so much !!!
Stephie

[SueSue1212]

I know that you CAN DRINK TOO MUCH WATER!!! If you drink an abnormal amount of water you flood your electrolytes and it causes you to go into a state known as "Water Intoxication" and it can be fatal. I think anything under 2gallons a day may be ok if it is drank slowly and over the day, but I would not personally drink over a gallon a day of water just because I have dealt with the WI first hand and it is ugly. The person loses cognitive abilities, the eyes jiggle like jello, and the water can even come out of their skin. That said WE ALL NEED WATER just remember EVERYTHING IN MODERATION! Losing weight is important to me, but wether I lose it in a year or a year and a half is unimportant to me in contrast to dying for it. Just be careful.
SueSue1212

[booklady]

Wow, that was very interesting so I did google it and read up on it and that is scary. At 200 ounces that is around six liters. I did read that half your body weight in water is good, which was also mentioned earlier by carbless in seattle, so I think I am going to cut my water down to about 160 ounces. I will still be getting a good amount. It will be hard as I do not drink this much on purpose, but the cold water seems to take me longer to drink, so that may help a lot !! I still want a gallon at least, so I will work on getting it down a bit. I will never go over the 200 ounces for sure, but need to get it down at least a bit. Which most days I am around 175 ounces if I roughly average the high days and low days, high of 205 and low of 162.
Very interesting, I appreciate everyones input and I learned a lot !!
Stephie

[APanthesilia]

Wow! And I thought I drank a lot of water! Most people have the opposite problem from you so you are ahead of the game! This post made me smile, thanks for it!

[moniegail]

bump!!!