How Much Water?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

I was wondering if anyone knew offhand the correct amount of water that you should drink on day’s that you are working out, and on your off-days. I’ve been mainly told my life not to drink too much water, for the off risk of water poisoning? (LOL)

So I was wondering if anyone knew how much glass’s of water, or gallons, or whatever the measurement may be of water you need to be sure that you are properly hydrated. Im assuming this is based off of some calculation with your bodyweight, if anyone knows the formula though I would be grateful.

2

A good guide is that you’re fully hydrated when your piss is completly colourless.

Don’t worry about drinking too much water, you’d need 7 to drink 7+ litres(about 2 gallons) of water a day in a cold climate to get any complications.
As an example troops in the Iraqi desert regularly drink 10 litres a day, occasionaly with a bit of salt to maintain mineral levels.

A couple of big glasses of water 20 mins before the gym and lots of small sips between sets will greatly aid training.

CP

3

[quote]Cprimero wrote:
A good guide is that you’re fully hydrated when your piss is completly colourless.

Don’t worry about drinking too much water, you’d need 7 to drink 7+ litres(about 2 gallons) of water a day in a cold climate to get any complications.
As an example troops in the Iraqi desert regularly drink 10 litres a day, occasionaly with a bit of salt to maintain mineral levels.

A couple of big glasses of water 20 mins before the gym and lots of small sips between sets will greatly aid training.

CP[/quote]

I drink about 2 gallons a day
3 on hot days
when I work out I have a 1 liter bottle and before I start my light cardio warm up I will slam that whole thing and refill it then while I am lifting I will take a big swig or 2 after every set

by the time i am done lifting my bottles empty thats also how I time my work outs

4

[quote]RebornTN wrote:
I was wondering if anyone knew offhand the correct amount of water that you should drink on day’s that you are working out, and on your off-days. I’ve been mainly told my life not to drink too much water, for the off risk of water poisoning? (LOL)

So I was wondering if anyone knew how much glass’s of water, or gallons, or whatever the measurement may be of water you need to be sure that you are properly hydrated. Im assuming this is based off of some calculation with your bodyweight, if anyone knows the formula though I would be grateful. [/quote]

Water is much like protein - too much isn’t harmful, but not enough will slow down your process tremendously

So to be ‘on the safe side’, people are generally taught to drink more water than they actually need (which is fine)

A general statement is very hard to give, since it depends heavily on a lot of outside-factors like climate conditions (temperature, humidity etc), non-workout related activities and so on.

A good rule is 1 ml of water for every kcal you consume (per day). So if you eat 3,500 kcal, you should drink 3.5 l of water.

5

i dont think i drink more than 3 litres

6

2,987,65 0 mL exactly. (had to do it; sorry)

how much do you drink now?

3L is a good one to shoot for. I’ve tried having 2-3gal; but that made me feel shitty and i took a ton of shits.

7

[quote]B rocK wrote:
2,987,65 0 mL exactly. (had to do it; sorry)

how much do you drink now?

3L is a good one to shoot for. I’ve tried having 2-3gal; but that made me feel shitty and i took a ton of shits.[/quote]

I drink around a gallon of water of water a day, not including my shake’s etc.

So I guess I’m pretty much in a good spot for it, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t hindering my progress or if more was a better.

8

[quote]Cprimero wrote:
A good guide is that you’re fully hydrated when your piss is completly colourless.

Don’t worry about drinking too much water, you’d need 7 to drink 7+ litres(about 2 gallons) of water a day in a cold climate to get any complications.
As an example troops in the Iraqi desert regularly drink 10 litres a day, occasionaly with a bit of salt to maintain mineral levels.

A couple of big glasses of water 20 mins before the gym and lots of small sips between sets will greatly aid training.

CP[/quote]

Alright, I’ve been drinking my water before working out. I guess I’ll switch it up and have it in between my sets and see how it goes.

9

On a side note, does anyone know how much crystal light or some ice tea would really affect your diet? I’ve read some posts that equate crystal light with not being a huge diet killer, but I don’t have any confirmation for it.

10

If having a substantial protein intake, “colorless” urine may be an unreasonable goal. But dark is bad.

The amount of water needed will vary with protein intake and amount sweated.

Although some say not to do so, it’s reasonable for the purpose of evaluating hydration to consider all beverages which are principally water towards the volume of water.

(As an illustration, it makes no sense that a liter of water taken as water, and a teaspoon or tablespoon of powder taken as powder count as a liter, but if the powder is dissolved in the water then it counts as nothing. Instead, either way it’s a liter of water.)

Personally, not counting water drunk from the water cooler in the gym, which would be at least a couple extra quarts, I drink about a gallon and a half to two gallons a day. But another person could do well with less if consuming less protein and/or sweating less.

In the gym I probably get from the water cooler a pint every 15 minutes if sweating heavily, or per half hour if more lightly.

On the artificial sweetener question: It’s demonstrated that in rats, at least, artificial sweetener wrecks (scientific term there) the rats’ ability to regulate food intake according to caloric content. Rats not exposed to artificial sweetener can apparently, presumably from taste and mouth feel, judge the energy content of what they are eating and thus as foods have more or less energy, correspondingly eat more or less. Rather than having to get fat first to discover they are eating too much, or having to suffer a sugar rush, they can tell as they are eating how much is appropriate.

But this ability is lost in rats exposed to artificial sweetener.

It is supposed that the body has an instinctive “program,” so to speak, from which it expects a given energy input will result, in time, from a given meal based on the taste of that meal. But when this expectation is proven false again and again – meals taste as if they should be high calorie, the body produces insulin in anticipation of this, but then much less sugar than expected reaches the bloodstream – the body throws that out the window and starts assuming meals may have much less calories than they actually do.

So these rats do not regulate their food intake properly and tend to get fat.

The same may be true in man. I don’t know if it’s been demonstrated in man to the extent it has in rats.

11

I’ve been wondering, how does insufficient hydration (two gallons a day) interfere with progress? What/how does it matter?

12

Your muscles are ~75% water. Just like protein, you need to have a surplus for your body to grow efficiently.

I read somewhere, and can’t find it again, that your water consumption should be BW x .6 ounces per day min.

13

I’m sure everyone is different. While it is good to get more than less, don’t try to drink until your sick, you’ll only be less productive.

For instance, I sweat alot, I’m constantly thirsty, and drinking 2 gallons of water a day isn’t really much to me. However, to B Rock, two gallons is obviously way too much.

Judging based upon the color of your piss is not very accurate, while more water will make your piss lighter, vitamins and minerals will have a much bigger impact. Try drinking 4 gallons of water and take a B-50 tablet then tell me what color your piss is.

Although it does seem dependent on your body, JayPierce’s formula doesn’t seem unreasonable at all. This would put me to one and a quarter gallons, which on a cold day that I don’t work out seems reasonable.

14

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
If having a substantial protein intake, “colorless” urine may be an unreasonable goal. But dark is bad.

The amount of water needed will vary with protein intake and amount sweated.

Although some say not to do so, it’s reasonable for the purpose of evaluating hydration to consider all beverages which are principally water towards the volume of water.

(As an illustration, it makes no sense that a liter of water taken as water, and a teaspoon or tablespoon of powder taken as powder count as a liter, but if the powder is dissolved in the water then it counts as nothing. Instead, either way it’s a liter of water.)

Personally, not counting water drunk from the water cooler in the gym, which would be at least a couple extra quarts, I drink about a gallon and a half to two gallons a day. But another person could do well with less if consuming less protein and/or sweating less.

In the gym I probably get from the water cooler a pint every 15 minutes if sweating heavily, or per half hour if more lightly.

On the artificial sweetener question: It’s demonstrated that in rats, at least, artificial sweetener wrecks (scientific term there) the rats’ ability to regulate food intake according to caloric content. Rats not exposed to artificial sweetener can apparently, presumably from taste and mouth feel, judge the energy content of what they are eating and thus as foods have more or less energy, correspondingly eat more or less. Rather than having to get fat first to discover they are eating too much, or having to suffer a sugar rush, they can tell as they are eating how much is appropriate.

But this ability is lost in rats exposed to artificial sweetener.

It is supposed that the body has an instinctive “program,” so to speak, from which it expects a given energy input will result, in time, from a given meal based on the taste of that meal. But when this expectation is proven false again and again – meals taste as if they should be high calorie, the body produces insulin in anticipation of this, but then much less sugar than expected reaches the bloodstream – the body throws that out the window and starts assuming meals may have much less calories than they actually do.

So these rats do not regulate their food intake properly and tend to get fat.

The same may be true in man. I don’t know if it’s been demonstrated in man to the extent it has in rats.

[/quote]

Alright, thanks for that. It seems most people with a protein laden diet go for around a gallon-2gallons per day.

In regard to the artificial sweetener- Is there a site that you learned that, or is it just knowledge that you knew? (If there is some site, can you link it. I would appreciate reading up more on the topic so I can possibly help other people with it if needed.)

15

[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Your muscles are ~75% water. Just like protein, you need to have a surplus for your body to grow efficiently.

I read somewhere, and can’t find it again, that your water consumption should be BW x .6 ounces per day min.[/quote]

A nice, a formula. Gotta love the numbers.

16

[quote]jimmyjamesii wrote:
I’m sure everyone is different. While it is good to get more than less, don’t try to drink until your sick, you’ll only be less productive.

For instance, I sweat alot, I’m constantly thirsty, and drinking 2 gallons of water a day isn’t really much to me. However, to B Rock, two gallons is obviously way too much.

Judging based upon the color of your piss is not very accurate, while more water will make your piss lighter, vitamins and minerals will have a much bigger impact. Try drinking 4 gallons of water and take a B-50 tablet then tell me what color your piss is.

Although it does seem dependent on your body, JayPierce’s formula doesn’t seem unreasonable at all. This would put me to one and a quarter gallons, which on a cold day that I don’t work out seems reasonable.[/quote]

I constantly sweat a lot also, so I need to drink more then most people. I’m going to try basing my water intake on the clear urine rule, and see how many gallons that gets me.

17

water poising, swelled up ankles yeah ive heard it all about the ‘dangers’ of drinking water. Man give me a break, we live in one fucked upped and confused world.

I would shoot for about 2+ litres a day bud, my urine is crystal clear, i cant rember the last time i had a yellow spring, that being said i only drink water and about 2+litres a day.

18

[quote]TRAIN2Failure wrote:
water poising, swelled up ankles yeah ive heard it all about the ‘dangers’ of drinking water. Man give me a break, we live in one fucked upped and confused world.

I would shoot for about 2+ litres a day bud, my urine is crystal clear, i cant rember the last time i had a yellow spring, that being said i only drink water and about 2+litres a day.[/quote]

True, we do have a lot of ignorant people out there. At least this one tries to learn.

19

[quote]RebornTN wrote:
In regard to the artificial sweetener- Is there a site that you learned that, or is it just knowledge that you knew? (If there is some site, can you link it. I would appreciate reading up more on the topic so I can possibly help other people with it if needed.)[/quote]

I learned it from an article in a medical or medical-related journal. I can’t presently find it by online search but will continue to try to do so.

In the meantime, trying to find that turned up this:

Appetite. 1988;11 Suppl 1:5-11.
How do non-nutritive sweeteners increase food intake?
Tordoff MG.

Of which the abstract is:

In short-term tests, rats given saccharin solution to drink eat 10-15% more food than when given only water. This is due to the combination of a cephalic-phase neural reflex that influences liver metabolism, a favorable osmotic environment and learning. It is hypothesized that sweet taste increases food intake by producing biochemical changes in the liver that increase fuel storage and consequently decrease fuel oxidation.

To give a more balanced picture, other somewhat different studies have not found that effect, so it should be kept in mind that results in this regard may depend on conditions and on exactly what is being tested and what is being compared to.

20

Ah, here we go – for some unknown reason one of the search terms needed to be “rat” instead of “rats.” This is the exact study I was talking about:

Behav Neurosci. 2008 Feb;122(1):161-73.
A role for sweet taste: calorie predictive relations in energy regulation by rats.
Swithers SE, Davidson TL.

Of which the abstract is:

Animals may use sweet taste to predict the caloric contents of food. Eating sweet noncaloric substances may degrade this predictive relationship, leading to positive energy balance through increased food intake and/or diminished energy expenditure. These experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that experiences that reduce the validity of sweet taste as a predictor of the caloric or nutritive consequences of eating may contribute to deficits in the regulation of energy by reducing the ability of sweet-tasting foods that contain calories to evoke physiological responses that underlie tight regulation. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were given differential experience with a sweet taste that either predicted increased caloric content (glucose) or did not predict increased calories (saccharin). We found that reducing the correlation between sweet taste and the caloric content of foods using artificial sweeteners in rats resulted in increased caloric intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity, as well as diminished caloric compensation and blunted thermic responses to sweet-tasting diets. These results suggest that consumption of products containing artificial sweeteners may lead to increased body weight and obesity by interfering with fundamental homeostatic, physiological processes.