I heard that drinking 2 Liters of water a day can actually be unhealthy because it flushes good nutrients out of the body, not just bad ones. Is this true?

I don't think so.

Sure you can drink too much water and it can over-flush you, but 2 liters isn't even close, especially from someone doing a serious workout program that really makes them sweat.

Whoever told you that is either ill-informed or trying to sell you a book.

I have trouble drinking 2 liters per day as well. I'm lucky if I drink a liter of any combination of liquids. How bad is that?

It's bad. You need water. It does so many things, I'm not going to take the time to list them all here.

Your body is made of water. If food is the gas for your engine, water is the oil. It flushes out toxins, clears up your skin. It aids in digestion, as to help you lose weight and turn food into fuel. It supports brain functions.

I'm going to hand you off to Steve.

Yes, indeed. What are made up of nearly 70% water. So if you do that math...

However, food is mainly water so you don't need to drink, ya know, 100 pounds of water per day or anything.

For hydration purposes, you get water from most foods and liquids, though some actually reverse the process, like alcohol. Getting all of the water you need through food and other beverages isn't efficient because of the calories. You need to eat and drink so much that you are certain to overconsume calorically. Choosing no-cal drinks, like diet soda or coffee/tea have other downsides. Caffeine, for one, is a diuretic and can actually dehydrate you if you get too much. Sodas have a lot of phosphorus, throwing off your body's pH levels with habitual consumption, which can affect the way your body utilizes nutrients. Then there are all the artificial sweetners which have, at best, controversial effects on your body. Which leaves.... water as the only thing to safely bring your body into homeostasus.

For a sedentary person, about a liter and a half per day is probably enough. If you exercise, you need more.

The point about getting too much is valid but you do have to drink in excess of 2 liters. Far in excess, in most cases and it's diet dependant. Excessive water consumption can dilute your body's electrolytes--body salts--to a point that is unhealthy and even dangerous. But regular people rarely have to worry about this because you get electrolytes in your diet (sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium...)Athletes totally do, which is why you may see triathletes taking things like salt tablets as hypoatremia is a very real danger. For an average person, 2 litres per day is probably close to perfect water consumption and one litre is definitely too low. I would not worry about hypoatremia unless you consume close to 4 litres per day and eat a very clean diet, as natural and home cooked food tends to have far less salt (more than 50% of your electrolytes) than restaurant food, which tends to be loaded with it.

Hi Steve,
OK, Everything made sense but it brings up a question for me. I feel I have a low salt intake (I don't like salty foods and rarely add salt). I drink about 60 oz of water a day when I remember so is that sufficient. I also have low blood pressure since salt plays a role with that too.
Sher

I can take a guess based on what you eat. If you eat in restaurants at all, chances are that you get enough salt. You can't tell by your blood pressure because it's mainly hereditary. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure but many people naturally have low blood pressure. Cramping is a sign of low salt intake. Do you every cramp while working out, or anytime for that matter?

Thanks. I'm doing better with the water intake

quote:

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Originally posted by Fitness Advisor:
For a sedentary person, about a liter and a half per day is probably enough. If you exercise, you need more.

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I found this counter on the internet that recommends how much water to drink based upon weight and time exercise. Water intake calculator[/URL]. For me, that means 15-8 oz. glasses aka 120 oz. or 3.55 liters. Seems excessive.

Does this seem accurate to you?

Yeah, a bit. If you drank no other liquids and exercised a lot, than maybe. For a normal person doing, say, P90 and eating okay I don't think you need anywhere near that much.

As a reference point--since I'm a human lab rat--I was once was curiuos how drinking a gallon of water per day would help me. I was trying to overhydrate my tendons so they'd be more supple (this was completely unfounded science at work). So I drank a gallon of water a day for a while and the only changes I saw was a need to go to the bathroom a lot more than normal--which interrupted my sleep too often so it probably had a negative effect. And I was exercising a fair amount, as well. It was still excessive.

I think some of these calculators forget that you get some hydration from other sources.

quote:

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Originally posted by Fitness Advisor:
Yeah, a bit. If you drank no other liquids and exercised a lot, than maybe. For a normal person doing, say, P90 and eating okay I don't think you need anywhere near that much.

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It seemed a lot. But I've been doing 4 or 5 of the 20 oz. water bottles per day since Saturday. I haven't noticed needing to go to the bathroom much more than normal. And I definitely am eating less. And I don't seem to have gained "water weight" because I'm down 5 lbs.

But then for me, there are other factors. We're going through a heatwave here. And I've ALWAYS been a heavy sweater-even when I was in good shape. By the end of the SIU routine, I've litterally soaked my shirt!

Thanks for your advice. I won't stress now if I only have 3 bottles of water instead of 5! As long as I feel good, then I'm probably getting it right!

quote:

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Originally posted by Fitness Advisor:
since I'm a human lab rat

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quote:

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I think some of these calculators forget that you get some hydration from other sources.

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Your probably right that this one over estimates. Afterall, it is a website for a company making water filters (although my dad has one and they are definitely the best filter I've seen).

Thanks!

I experience some cramping in the rib region. Figured that was my breathing. Do I need to increase my sodium, I don't eat out much at all?
Sher

heat matters a LOT, so you definitely need WAY more water when you are sweating extra. That guideline is not excessive during a heat wave, so you may be right on.

Sher, maybe but that is usually something else. Give a details description of the cramps. Stomach if usually food related, as in you're eating too close to working out. But it could be electrolytes.

Hi Steve,
OK, I'll try to be descriptive. The only place I have gotten cramps is right under the ribs to the sides. I was getting a naseous feeling before so I'd eat 1/2 a banana but still feeling naseous so I went back to eating nothing before workout. I have a bottle of water with me and it's not hot here. Oh, there are the toe cramps too, where the toes feeling like the pinky is trying to shake hands with the big toe. Just momentary and if I stretch it real quick, it usually goes away. My plantar muscle was acting up so I altered some moves for that. At the beginning of BIU, I was not sweating but streaming water out of my body, now it's not so bad, although now I lay down real quick to do the double knee pulls and after standing up the second time around I get that graying over (the low bp). So for the most part, I think the only "cramp" of concern is the one under the ribs. The overhead stretches help but it doesn't go away.
I know this is TMI but on the other hand, I've found that weird things connect sometimes.
Thanks for your time,
Sher

How much do you eat before you workout and how far beforehand? It sounds like somehow you pH levels are off. Could be electrolytes or something else. This is somewhat common and is usually something your body adjusts to and it will tell you to eat or drink enough/something different. The easiest way to combat this is to follow these steps which will ensure you are doing what you should be. Then if it continues you may need to have it checked.

The first step is to do what you are doing, stop and strech a bit. If it goes away and you can continue, that is a good sign.

Next, finish your eating about 3 hours before you workout. This should elminate the chance that you're cramping because your body is trying to digest food.

Take a multi-mineral and multi-vitamin, which will ensure that you aren't missing a key nutrient in your diet.

Make sure you diet contains enough electrolytes. With the steps above taken, you'll only need to worry about your levels of sodium and potassium, which don't sound like they are the problem. I think you'r okay on this one.

I've never taken a vitamin or mineral supplement so I'll lossk into those. I usually don't eat before working out, I work out first thing in the morning or I know I won't do it. Lately, I've done the banana thing but there is only about a 5 minute wait before I work out but the cramps were before that. They aren't so painful that I have to stop, just noticeable. I will try these changes with the vitamin and mineral. Thank you for you help.

SherCahn

If you get tired of the banana, you might like the drink "Super Protein" from Odwala. I do that maybe 3 times a week. It has banana as well as a lot of other stuff in it.

I hope the supplements get rid of your cramping. Good luck!

Steve -

I know the cramp she is talking about. A little more proximal rather than right on the side, feels like it's right under the rib. I don't get this doing any SI6, even BIU, but have experienced it when jogging in the past. I was never sure what it was, figured it was a sign of fatigue and walking fast for a minute or two would make it go away for a bit.

I never eat within 3 hours of workouts, even jogging so I know it wasn't a digestive issue for me. It's not a serious pain, more annoying. I always use it as a sign to slow down for a few then I can start back up for a while.

Would love to know what the heck it is though.

That's exactly it Buckeye4ever! It was always a good excuse for me not to run
Don't worry, I have only missed one day of SI6 that wasn't planned. Not that I miss many at all. I am very pleased with my results losing 10 inches in the major areas and 5 pounds after only 4 weeks. Of course, I can't step down in pants yet because my upper and lower abs stuck out so much from my waist but beachbody crew has made me very happy. Thank you for all the hard work you do to keep us motivated.
SherCahn

SherCahn -

But you're saying the banana worked?

The banana didn't work so I quit eating it first thing Don't stress, I'll deal. Just one thing lead to another

SherCahn

quick question.. I LOVE smoked salmon.. "not a good idea, or go ahead & eat it?"