The FastDay Forum

Is this true? I always believed drinking copious amounts of water aided weight loss and wellbeing?

What does everyone else think? I drink 4 litres of water on fast days.

http://agelessbyglynisbarber.com/catego ... d-my-life/

[janeg]

Wow, that is certainly a different take on what we're being told by 'the experts'. Interestignly, the 'advise ' to drink 2 litres a day is not , as far as I know , backed up by evidence.
I suppose in a way we are retraining our bodies to recognise 'hunger' in 5:2 and in theory we could do the same with thirst.
Unfortunately, I feel that this has inherent risks as dehydration is much more damaging than hunger. Using the colour or urine is an indicator but even then, it is so highly individual and dependent on so many factors I would be worried about trying it.
Think I'l stick to drinking the gallons I do- dehydration is horrible!
Thanks for posting this. More food for thought

who is this woman?

My neighbours 85 year old mother can only drink water with whiskey in it.

You made me laugh

Whisky or uisge literally means water of life in Gaelic, so maybe she has a point!

[janeg]

That's where I'm going wrong! Uisge gu leor instead of uisge beatha gu leor (too much water, not enough whisky)
Now where's the 2 litre evidence?

hahahahilarious!

er that sounds like a load of nonsense to me. I'd love to see references!

Of course, it's true that you can drink to much, but I suspect 99.99999...% of the population is in no danger of doing so!

This sounds crazy!

Within reason, if we drink too much for our needs, our body will rid itself of any excess.

Of course, this may not happen if certain medical problems are present.

If we wait until we are thirsty, we are already dehydrated. As we get older, our thirst mechanism doesn't work as efficiently.

I used to be very lazy when it came to drinking water, and would go for many hours without any kind of drink.

I have a home abroad, and even after cycling for hours in the heat, followed by a run, I still wouldn't be at all thirsty!

We just cannot rely on our bodies to tell us when to drink, as regards thirst.

Even mild dehydration is very debilitating. People who increase their intake of non-diuretic drinks usually notice an improvement in their general health and feeling of wellbeing.

[janeg]

Yep, years ago in another life, the newly appointed dietician did an audit of the 800 or so residents in the long stay hospital I worked in and found most of them to be dehydrated. Recent surveys in NHS hospitals in the UK also bear this out. Not good (and I'm not bashing the NHS)

If I drink water how she suggests, (ie big amounts seldom) I just pee it all out. If I drink lots all day (what I mostly do), I stay hydrated and don't pee nearly as much, and I'm pretty sure don't flush out all the salts. My body likes frequent water. I know other people (eg my husband) who never or rarely drink water. He seems to get most of his water needs from food and coffee. He doesn't seem to feel effects of dehydration. So sure, some people might benefit by this person's advice, but I really doubt it is the best way of keeping hydrated for everyone.

Though reading the other posts, I think there is a lot of pseudoscience going on.

I'm not sure this should be paid any attention unless there is some clear scientific evidence (which I highly doubt). That's why we have kidneys to regulate our electrolyte balances, and conversely why patients with severe kidney problems are put on fluid restrictions.

The thing is, many of us retain water without knowing it. If we drink more water than we need, we won't pee all of it but will retain some of it. And that will make us look fat or -to be precise- bloated. I guess that the best advice is to drink when we are thirsty, to examine why we aren't thirsty if we aren't and to make sure that we don't have any water retention issues.
Also, there is no 2-litres a day rule (it might be but it's not right) because not all of us have the same needs, live in the same area and exercise the same.
I can't expect someone in Scotland in December to drink the same quantity of water that I drink in Athens in July...

Yep, years ago in another life, the newly appointed dietician did an audit of the 800 or so residents in the long stay hospital I worked in and found most of them to be dehydrated. Recent surveys in NHS hospitals in the UK also bear this out. Not good (and I'm not bashing the NHS)

I have a GP friend in the UK who is convinced that dehydration is what is wrong with the majority of her patients.