8 glasses a day... does it still count?

[Lilija]

I've been using Crystal Light for about nine months now to get me through the 100 oz a day thing.  I can't vouch for anyone else.....but I'm 61 lbs lighter and there is NO doubt at all, for me , that the 100 oz a day has been a factor.

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What flavors do you like, because I haven't cared for any of the ones I've tried?

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I can add to this, maybe. I drink a lot of Crystal Light, myself, I go through probably a half gallon a day. My favorite staple flavor is the iced tea, with the lemonade being a runner-up. Fruit punch isn't bad, when I crave something sweet, like a popsicle or something, it's very reminiscent of old red kiddy fruit punch. I also always add a squeeze of fresh lemon to my iced tea and lemonade. It really cuts that sacchrine chemical quality, of the artificial sweetener.

On topic, this thread is good news, I always suspected it to be so, but now I can peacefully drink my gallons of iced tea a day, and flip my doctor the bird, who once told me "ONLY WATER".

[Bombdog]

I've been using Crystal Light for about nine months now to get me through the 100 oz a day thing.  I can't vouch for anyone else.....but I'm 61 lbs lighter and there is NO doubt at all, for me , that the 100 oz a day has been a factor.

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What flavors do you like, because I haven't cared for any of the ones I've tried?

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I primarily drink the peach iced tea flavor.

[Katie Nell]

I've been using Crystal Light for about nine months now to get me through the 100 oz a day thing.  I can't vouch for anyone else.....but I'm 61 lbs lighter and there is NO doubt at all, for me , that the 100 oz a day has been a factor.

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What flavors do you like, because I haven't cared for any of the ones I've tried?

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I primarily drink the peach iced tea flavor.

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Yeah, that's the one flavor I really didn't like... must not be for me! Damn... I have got to find a way to get that water in me!

[chiantiglace]

I like the myth about reverse osmosis water drying you out instead of hydrating you.

All water counts, unless it has poison in it.

I spent 4 days in the hospital in April because I was told I drank TOO much water. I was hallucinating, appartently drank enough water to flush the normal body salts out of me so my body salt count was dangerously low. They pumped me full of saline and I actually got to eat bacon every breakfast while in there! I now have learned a lot of things, first this led to a diagnosis of MS and I now watch my electrolytes. I drink one glass of water with EmerGenC in it daily and then only 2 or 3 more glasses throughout the day, my doctor periodically asks if I'm drinking too much again.

Thats funny, I just learned something. Now I know why on those busy summer nights with no air conditioning I would drink literally like 3 gallons of water in a 6 hour period. But with that I couldn't help but tossing a few pinches of salt in my mouth every 20 minutes or so. Now I understand the unbelievable craving. of course its not all the necessary salts, but it still must be the reason.

Edited July 11, 2006 by chiantiglace (log)

[Bombdog]

Yeah, that's the one flavor I really didn't like... must not be for me!  Damn... I have got to find a way to get that water in me!

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Sorry Katie. The only other suggestion I have is to try some of the flavored waters. If you check the labels you'll find that several are just that, flavored waters, with nothing more than the Crystal Light adds to it.

I'm with you though. I can only stomach about 32 oz of plain old water (during a workout) and after that I need some flavor.

[Toliver]

I've been using Crystal Light for about nine months now to get me through the 100 oz a day thing.  I can't vouch for anyone else.....but I'm 61 lbs lighter and there is NO doubt at all, for me , that the 100 oz a day has been a factor.

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What flavors do you like, because I haven't cared for any of the ones I've tried?

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I buy the Costco mega box of Crystal Light Lemonade. It's far cheaper there than what I can get at the regular grocery store.

To alleviate boredom with just the one flavor, sometimes I mix the Crystal Light Lemonade with either ice tea or a little bit of juice (blueberry and pomegranate taste great with it and you don't need much to "kick it up a notch").

[achevres]

I've been using Crystal Light for about nine months now to get me through the 100 oz a day thing.  I can't vouch for anyone else.....but I'm 61 lbs lighter and there is NO doubt at all, for me , that the 100 oz a day has been a factor.

←

What flavors do you like, because I haven't cared for any of the ones I've tried?

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I buy the Costco mega box of Crystal Light Lemonade. It's far cheaper there than what I can get at the regular grocery store.

To alleviate boredom with just the one flavor, sometimes I mix the Crystal Light Lemonade with either ice tea or a little bit of juice (blueberry and pomegranate taste great with it and you don't need much to "kick it up a notch").

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I like the Crystal Light lemonade and I love the Sunshine Ruby Red Grapefruit. My husband and I both love grapefruit but can't have any significant amount due to medications. This has been a great find and has come calcium to boot.

On the main topic of this thread...if I remember correctly the "8 glasses" came from a (single) study that found that the human body needed that amount of fluid, but not only from water. Fruit, veggies, almost anything moist has some water in it. But, really, we are the only country where so much water is consumed and recommended. Somehow the rest of the world is surviving on less water a day. I was in Italy a few months ago and no one walks around drinking water or with bottled water. Their life expectancy is higher than ours. I mention Italy because I was actually there recently.

My advice? Drink when you are thirsty and watch the calories. I also have my own theory that all that water gets the stomach used to always having something in it and our mouths used to always be ingesting something and this combination may be actually counterproductive for weight control.

At work I have an article from The New York Times that addresses the research on water and health (actually, the lack of). I'll post more info later.

[mizducky]

My advice? Drink when you are thirsty and watch the calories. I also have my own theory that all that water gets the stomach used to always having something in it and our mouths used to always be ingesting something and this combination may be actually counterproductive for weight control.

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Hmmmm ... I dunno, but that theory of yours contradicts the information I was given as part of a multi-week program/support group/class on weight management I was taking through my HMO. They went to great lengths to recommended the minimum eight 8-ounce glasses of water (or other beverage) as being beneficial for weight loss, specifically because the liquid volume better helps the kidneys and intestines efficiently process all those metabolic byproducts that you're (hopefully) excreting as you're losing weight.

Plus, at least for my behavioral/psychological equilibrium while doing weight loss, having something always in my stomach is beneficial to keeping me feeling satiated, so I have one less stimulus to start craving food. YMMV, but this is what has worked for me, and I'm at 60 pounds lost since January and still going strong.

(There's also IMO a helluva lot more to a truly effective weight management program than simply watching one's calories--a full discussion of this point would take us off-topic from this thread, but I invite you to check the Weight Watchers thread here on eGullet, or my own weight management blog, for more info.)

Also, as I have GERD, an empty stomach == a mellow stomach that's not going to start getting riled up and cause me pain.

Now, I'd be the first to admit that I've had my share of being fed malarky by medical professionals over the years, so I'd be interested to see any articles you might want to post links to. However, as I think I said upthread somewhere, I can definitely tell the difference when I've drunk "enough" liquid vs. "not enough" -- too many days of skimping on the eight glasees, and ... well, not to get too graphic, but boy does my GI tract start getting into some traffic jams, if you catch my drift. So--admittedly anecdotal evidence here suggests that, whatever may be going on for other people, the eight-glasses thing seems to be working for me.

Edited to add--geez, I almost forgot why I came back to this topic in the first place. All this talk about Crystal Light got me curious, so when I was in my local supermarket the other day I picked up a store-brand version of the Crystal Light stuff. I got the orange/strawberry/banana flavor. The flavor is admittedly totally pre-fab tasting--we're talking classic kiddie bug-juice here. But it goes down real easy, and given the heat wave currently throttling Southern California, I'm glad to be happily tanking on the stuff.

Edited July 15, 2006 by mizducky (log)

[ThatGrrl]

From WebMD: "8 Glasses A Day" Advice Not Right for All

Looks like it can be a very individual thing. Which makes sense, to me. I'm a small-boned person, just over 5 ft. tall with proportionally low weight. "8 glasses a day" ends up being a much larger percentage of my total body mass, compared to someone larger than myself. However, for even me, I'd be drinking at least that much (probably much more), if I had a job requiring me to be outside during this heat wave. It apparently comes down to who you are, what you're doing and what your intake of other fluids/fluid-containing foods happen to be. Agreed, that you can use increased water intake to give that "full" feeling, while attempting to avoid higher calorie foods. But as for what you have to drink, 8 glasses a day doesn't necessarily fit all.

Edited July 18, 2006 by ThatGrrl (log)