How much Water

[kevkevkev]

Simple Question, as part of diabetes control how much water should I aim to drink a day. I drink hardly any at the min (apart from lots of coffee!)

 

[TorqPenderloin]

Well, diabetes or not, you definitely need to be drinking more water than that. In fact, the coffee consumption may actually require you to drink MORE water as caffeine is a diuretic (causes you to retain less water).

I'd say that 1oz of water per kg of bodyweight would be bare minimum. I drink about 1.5-2 gallons of water a day, but that's largely because I sweat so much and can easily drop 4 pounds after a workout

 

[kevkevkev]

I know thats nowhere near enough and just wondering how many litres i would need to drink on average a day, i've searched the internet but get mixed results

 

[abi-tbh]

See, I'm in the same situation as you and am a bit stuck on how much to drink aswell. What I've done is set myself a daily target of drinking so many glasses a day. It seems to help me a lot, you could have a go and see how it goes for you?

 

[kevkevkev]

See, I'm in the same situation as you and am a bit stuck on how much to drink aswell. What I've done is set myself a daily target of drinking so many glasses a day. It seems to help me a lot, you could have a go and see how it goes for you?

I need to do something like that cos although I know I should drink it I never get the fancy for it. All I ever drink is coffee. Will give your idea a try.

 

[abi-tbh]

I need to do something like that cos although I know I should drink it I never get the fancy for it. All I ever drink is coffee. Will give your idea a try.

Water never tickled my fancy either but what are you gonna do? aha I'm sure once you've done it for a while you'll just be doing it automatically. Hope it is somewhat helpful for you!!

 

[JohnEGreen]

Experts say you should not wait until you are thirsty to replenish your body’s water supply, as dehydration may have already set in by the time you notice. Instead, begin drinking water early in the day, when it helps your body get moving.

People with diabetes should strive for at least eight glasses, or up to 12 or more (as much as a quart an hour) if you are physically active or exercising. If you need a reminder, drink a glass after every trip you make to the bathroom. You can detect whether you’re consuming enough water, as your urine color should be pale, almost clear. A dark yellow color means you need more fluids.

I am unsure as to which particular experts say it, but is seems reasonable to me.

 

[TooManyCrisps]

Experts say you should not wait until you are thirsty to replenish your body’s water supply, as dehydration may have already set in by the time you notice. Instead, begin drinking water early in the day, when it helps your body get moving.

People with diabetes should strive for at least eight glasses, or up to 12 or more (as much as a quart an hour) if you are physically active or exercising. If you need a reminder, drink a glass after every trip you make to the bathroom. You can detect whether you’re consuming enough water, as your urine color should be pale, almost clear. A dark yellow color means you need more fluids.

I am unsure as to which particular experts say it, but is seems reasonable to me.

I agree that you should aim at 8 -12 glasses a day, but if I only drank after I'd been to the loo I'd be dead of dehydration I think! I leave home at 7.30am and don't usually need to go to the loo until lunchtime, so about 5 hours later. I've usually drunk a couple of coffees and a couple of glasses of water by then. I'd be gasping without a drink in the morning (and a ratbag without coffee!).

It's about fitting it into whatever routine you've got. I drink 2 glasses of water with every meal, so that's 6 a day to start with. Then I have a couple in the morning and a couple in the afternoon at work, whenever anyonr in the team does a coffeee round i refill my water beaker as well. Once you get into the habit of drinking lots of water it's easy. Plus it fills me up so I'm less likely to snack on rubbish

 

[Brunneria]

 

[JohnEGreen]

Err my post did not say only drink after being to the loo but doing so to remind you to check the colour of the urine to see if you are drinking enough.
Refer to the chart kindly posted by Brunneria.

Any way don't blame me blame the experts who ever they are

 

[abi-tbh]

If you're still struggling with the water intake - try these. You can find them at Tescos and they come in a range of interesting but lovely flavours with absolutely no carbs or sugars in.

I struggled to find drinks like this and when I stumbled across these I was in awe, you should try them! Definitely recommend

 

[RoseofSharon]

I tend no to give myself a task of x glasses of water, as that has never worked for me. However what I do is generally just have a bottle of water around at all times and just have a few mouthfuls here and there. I usually manage to drink around a litre or so (two litres always has been rare for me to drink so much).

 

[AndBreathe]

For a long time, I have been conscious of my fluid consumption, as I spend parts of my year in a hot climate where dehydration can happen very quickly and can be extremely unpleasant, at best. Since being diagnosed diabetic, and trimming back my carbs, I upped my fluids further.

Here, where it's hot, I have quite a structured regime to ensure I don't get dehydrated. Bottom line is I front load some of my fluid intake, in that I make sure I have a load to drink in the earlier part of the day. I do this by using a 750ml (safe) drinking bottle of water, and I ensure I have one before breakfast and another almost immediately afterwards. That sets me up for the day and lays a fluid foundation.

I found using x number of glasses a day to be less helpful in that I could never recall if I'd had 3 or 4, or 5 or 6 or whatever. Using a larger vessel, needing fewer it's easier to know whether you're on track or not.

I definitely function much worse, overall, if I don't drink enough.

 

[JohnEGreen]

You could always fill a jug in the morning with the amount you need to drink and pour your drinks from that when it's gone you know you have had enough water, in the summer keep it in the fridge.

 

[Jotter84]

I aim to drink a minium of 2 litres day, I have a 750ml bottle for bed so got something in the night and I have a 1 litre bottle I take around with me, I drink two of the 1 litre a day now plus if I'm at work for 12 hours I'll have that plus around plus around 3 or 4 cups of tea (about to back to Green tea).
But I now may look at what @abi-tbh has recommended as normal water can be quite bland and some days hard to drink lol.
I always check my pee as I wee so I know by the colour if I have drunk enough, think that for my is always a decent indicator. Once I get back in the gym I will probably double my water intake due to losing so much water through sweating.

 

[Stallen]

I tend to see it as liquids, rather than just water as food can also contain a lot of water. Broccoli is over 90% water. I found this link listing fruit and veg, http://www.rrtcadd.org/resources/Ad...n-Fruits-and-Vegetables---Handout-Week-10.pdf

I tend to drink around a litre water only, then I have around 500-750ml unsweetened soya milk.
I have dissolvable vitD3 and calcium tabs x2 a day, thats another 500ml, plus 2/3 cups of pu-erh tea, x2 glasses of water, cider vinegar.

I also have green smoothies most days, I think if I set myself a goal of just drinking water I'd fail, I'd be bored after awhile, as I'm normally on auto pilot at certain times of the day, I drink/eat without thinking.

 

[Dark Horse]

MYTH 1: "We need to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day."

- It is thought that this myth arose when scientists wrote that people need around 2.5 litres of water per day. Although the text was clear that most of this water is contained in food, somehow that message got lost and people interpreted the advice to mean that people needed to drink 2.5 litres per day. The amount people need to drink varies depending factors such as what they eat and whether they are sweating a lot.

MYTH 2 : "By the time you feel thirsty, you are already seriously dehydrated."

- There may be a few exceptions (e.g. an elderly person with dementia) but in general thirst is the best guide to when you should drink fluids. Millions of years of evolution have resulted in a very sensitive system for keeping body fluids balanced and any degree of dehydration at the time you first feel thirsty is trivial.

MYTH 3: "Drinking coffee won't rehydrate you because it contains caffeine which is a diuretic."

- Although caffeine is indeed a diuretic, the diuretic effect of the small dose contained in a cup of coffee is far outweighed by the rehydrating effect of the large volume of water contained in the coffee.

 

[upintheear]

I keep myself hydrated by always carrying a flask to work and having a glass water jug at home. The flask is 284ml and I start with tea and then refill with water often consuming 3 fills. The glass jug is 900ml and I tend to fill it when I'm at home and before bed averaging two fills per evening. For me it allows me to stay away from sugary drinks and have more tea.

 

[get2rog]

Simple Question, as part of diabetes control how much water should I aim to drink a day. I drink hardly any at the min (apart from lots of coffee!)

I used to work within nutritional therapy. Regardless of T2 or not everyone should aim to drink 1.5 - 2 litres a day. I drink a 2 litre bottle of Evian. Evian has one of the lowest ph values of all mineral water on the market, which is important for regulating ph balance within the body and also makes it more effective at quenching thirst. Something to note is that the less water you drink the less your brain tells your body you need it. The more regularly you drink the more pleasing and habitual water becomes at quenching thirst.

 

[PenfoldAPD]

It wasn't until I took hydration seriously that I realised the effect not drinking had on my body. Around 3 litres a day, I pee like crazy but am alert at all times!