Last week I mentioned what you eat is the first and second most important aspect of weight loss. Number three is water.
The obvious next question is – How much water should you drink?
Eight glasses a day is the standard. But, who the heck drinks out of a glass anymore?!?! I shouldn’t even be allowed to own glass with the way Ben and I break them. Sorry, that was off topic.
The Institute of Medicine suggests…
Water intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. (source)
But many beverages do count toward your water intake for the day – coffee, tea, Redbull, diet DP, sports drinks.
An easy saying to remember is “8 before 8”! Drink 8 cups of water before 8pm. But you may need more if you…
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sweat a lot or do a lot of exercise
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are pregnant or breast feeding
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live in a hot climate or high altitude
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have an illness
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are thirsty, hello
Look at all this cool stuff water does in your body…
(image source)
Drink up! (But not too much because one time I drank too much water.)
Today’s Ask a Monican is all about Running
Topics:
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Why are long runs supposed to be so slow?
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How do I get slower?
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Can I run a marathon in August if I am traveling for 3 weeks in July?
PIPA and SOPA – I’m not talking about Pipa Middleton and a delicious Mexican dish – oh wait, that’s Sopes (but I can’t share wikipedia info on it anyways…). 
Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business.
Although I am all for fighting piracy, these bills threaten to censor the internet – which is unacceptable and dangerous. Congress is voting on this Jan 24. Do some research if you’re not familiar, but if you are familiar and want to sign a petition against it go here.
Email me your Ask a Monican questions to runeatrepeat at gmail dot com
Question: Do you keep track of how much water you drink?
I don’t, but I usually am drinking all day since I’m a sweaty beast.
Hi Monica
Excellent Blog. I agree, besides being an essential part of everyday life, water is a really important aid to weight loss and general well-being.
Water aids us in with weight loss for a number of reasons, it helps dilute sodium which counters bloating; it flushes out retained fluids found in our bodies and water can also help us to feel full for longer periods of time. Finally, water promotes healing and helping to ensure that our metabolism is running maximum efficiency.
The kidneys are the main filtration system in our bodies. The kidneys help remove toxins and waste fluids from of our bodies. However, they require plenty of water to keep working well. When there is less water available in the kidneys the liver is triggered as a back-up.
The liver can and does act as a secondary filtration system, it this is not the liver’s best function. The liver works well in turning fat into usable energy. When the liver is busy supporting the kidneys the rate at which fat is metabolized is reduced and as you can probably guess this metabolic rate can be reinstated by … drinking plenty of water daily.
Keep up the great work on this blog!
Hey, great idea, i find drinking more water helps with my weight loss but it also boosts my concentration which i guess is just a weird side effect lol :/
I know this is sooo random but you are wearing a LB marathon shirt holding a dunkin donuts coffee in your hand. what dunkin are you in? cali?
I was in FL wearing that shirt 🙁 But a DD is coming to outside of San Diego.
thanks for share!
I used to be really water OCD. But thats just silly…i try to get in 100 ounces a day.
Coffee doesn’t count towards your water intake. In fact, it does the exact opposite and tends to dehydrate. Tea doesn’t count towards water intake either, unless it’s decaf.
I drink a gallon a day now..and while that’s much more than we need, it’s not *too* much and it’s really helping me shed some unwanted pounds I’ve gained over the holidays. Plus I’ve been working out hard!
I looooove your koala Nerd shirt! What does the rest of it say?
I know how much water my water bottle holds and I do keep a running track of how many times I refill. I usually get about 9-11 cups a day.
I can’t get enough of the stuff. Need it with me at all times. 😛
I always drink more than 8 cups a day. I work 10 hour days and with the commute I am away from home for 12 hours. So I used to fill up this big ol’ jug and pour it into a cup at my desk all day. Well that thing got to be a pain to find room for in the freezer each night so lately I’ve been filling up like 3-4 random other water bottles each night. Turns out I drink upwards of 10 cups a day!
I look kinda ridiculous on my long runs cause I’ve got bottles on my waist and handhelds and I usually have to stop for refills.
I also keep track based on different containers. One cup I know is 32oz, another holds three cups of liquid, etc. My goal is to refill those containers at least once if not more.
Definitely drink that water before 8. I had a sleepless night when I didn’t follow that rule. Obvious, but sometimes you forget when you are trying to cram in your last 60 oz. to reach a goal. Also, my skin feels softer when I drink more water. Bonus!
I was thinking just yesterday that I have gotten really bad at water drinking lately. So I took the time to fill my 1.5 litre bottle this morning and it’s sitting here. I’m so glad you posted about water. It seems at times I am the best water drinker in the world and other times not as much. I really need to be good at it all the time. Well 1.5 litres will get me started today! 🙂
I dont keep track but I know that I drink a lot of it. I run pretty cold so I like to drink hot water. I get plenty of looks for doing it in the office but I stand by my ways 🙂
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I keep track! I find that I drink a lot more if I have a bigger water bottle. A small water bottle = more trips to fill it up = it doesn’t get done because I’m apparently lazy with stuff like that.
I roughly keep track of how many times I have refilled my bottle.
The Kidless Kronicles
My chiropractor told me that you should shoot for drinking half your body weight in ounces. For a 140lb. person, you should try for 70 oz. per day. Which works out to just about 3 regular sized water bottles.
Hope this helps! Drink up 🙂
I added the PIPA & SOPA banner to my blog to help spread the word.
Water is usually the only thing I drink, but sometimes I gate it because I have to pee like crazy! Lately I’ve been drinking sparkling water for something different.
I dont track but I get as much as I can AND add in as many water laden foods as I can too 🙂
and I resist the call of the coke 🙂
Happy hours days not included I drink basically the same amount every day- 2 cups of coffee, 2 cans of soda, 1/2 cup of OC (calcium), and 6 glasses of water. The problem is, I don’t really change it up when I work out, and I know that’s not good. My biggest problem is that being a teacher my bathroom breaks aren’t always easy to come by, and I hate getting up in the middle of the night. I guess I should probably sub the coffee or diet coke for water, but I just can’t.
I am basically obsessed with that Trader Joe’s sparkling raspberry lime water. I drink it so much my recycling people must think I am nuts!
I nevvvver count coffee in my water intake, and NEVER start my day with coffee until I’ve had water. It messes with your ADH, which signals the body to reabsorb water when needed – which is why you pee so much when you drink coffee. You’re basically starting your day negative, or losing water your body needs to stay hydrated.
Can you explain the ADH effect more? Or where I can find more info. Thanks 🙂
Typically, I drink 6 large cups of water – probably about 12 ounces each. I totally agree, water is SO important to weight loss.
I can vouch for nursing mothers that lactating makes you SO THIRSTY!!! I probably drink 100 ounces of water a day! And I pee like 90 times too.
Some days I drink like its cool, and other days I get to lunch time and realize I haven’t even touched my water bottle. I keep tabs on how I’m doing based on how often I’m running to the ladies room.
I seriously laughed out loud multiple times. You’re too funny! Great information you always provide 😀
I get so sick of plain water..sometimes I add a squirt of agave syrup, to increase my water drinking happiness . Thank you for bringing PIPA and SOPA to our attention..wrote my congressman.
I love your t-shirt in that first pic!
I drink water ALL DAY LONG. I seriously have water within reach of me at all waking moments. It makes me feel so much better and like everything just “works”. When I go on vacation is when I usually have trouble drinking water and I always feel worse than when I have it by my side at all times. I guess it makes sense according to your picture!
I’ve been slacking on my water drinking lately. I need to start leaving myself little reminder notes or something. For my past few runs I have got out there and found myself wishing I had hydrated better.
I will be back to watch the video, I like to enjoy them after the kid goes to bed. When I was preggo with him, I was drinking about 3 gallons a day…it was crazy. I have always drank a lot of water (it is my non-adult) beverage of choice.
I love sopes and sopa de fideo. I’m boycotting the latter today just to keep in line with SOPA and PIPA blackouts.
I don’t keep track of water but I probably don’t drink enough. It does the body so much good not to mention the old ‘eating when you’re really thirsty’ problem.
I guess as a runner I should aim for 3+ liters but I’m not sure.
Yay! Love Ask A Monican!!
Maybe I missed this from your last posts, but I want to know what scary thing you did the other night?!! I think you should go skydiving w Ben!
And that Internet bill scares the poop outta me.
I’ve been trying to drink more water but it’s driving me insane. If I drink the amount I’m supposed to, I have to pee like every 25 minutes and that’s just plain annoying. It’s a process…!
a) I LOVE “ask a Monican” posts 🙂
b) I am the worst when it comes to drinking water…but the best when it comes to drinking coffee.
c) I really am trying to understand the PIPA SOPA stuff…glad you made reference to it!