Do you think 500ml of liquid is enough a day ?

[luluxxx]

So I’ve been feeling crappy lately
Tired,achy muscles /bit headachy etc
Then I realised I don’t really drink much
I struggle to even drink a 500ml bottle of water.
i will have 1/4 of a cup of tea on a morning then sip water all day and by the end of the day there will still be some left in the 500ml bottle.

Could this be making me feel a bit crap ?
how much do you all drink ?chat

I don't drink much either. I don't like water (I know!) I'm a runner so I sweat a lot out, but I hardly ever feel thirsty.

I have to force myself to drink, but once you find something you like it's a lot easier. I drink dilute squash and, as long as I remember, it's a good way of hydrating.

But I don't suffer from headaches or feel ill or anything, so I must be doing something right.

I think you can get used to not drinking liquids. My MIL drank nothing when she got older, not much when she was younger. Literally a few sips of coffee here and there. It caused multiple health issues and when she was told to up her liquids she just couldn’t do it.

I think the more you drink, the one you want it. I assume even with rushing around you are eating meals? I drink when I am making dinner and during dinner. Water when I get up, some before bed, at the gym, plus lots of tea.

My dad is the same. Never been thirsty even as a young man and now he has kidney issues, still can't manage to drink.

Yeah, milk is fine to drink but Garmin says it doesn't count towards daily liquid intake.

I'm in real trouble if milk doesn't count, I think at least 50% of my already small daily intake is probably in the form of lattes!

I thought of this thread today, I try to keep track of what I drink, I had 4 mugs of tea earlier, probably each around 250ml, then came home and had another 2 or so (might have been a bit less). I probably wont drink more now unless I can force one down me at bedtime.

Milk, tea, coffee, watered down squash is all fine to drink and counts as your intake as does the water in food.

I remember telling the doctor once that I got in about 1500ml a day and he seemed impressed with that, I am careful to say 'liquid' though rather than water and he might have thought I meant water. I only drink tea or coffee

I struggle to drink the massive amounts of water that most on MN seem to glug every day. In fact I only really drink tea (about 4 mugs a day) plus a glass of water with dinner. I’ve always been like it.

All fluid counts towards your daily intake including the water in fruit and veg. We have a superb water processing plant that balances fluids. It’s called a colon. That said if you are t drinking enough you will become constipated because the colon removed all moisture in its attempt to stay hydrated.
As for Garmin, if milk can’t be classified as fluid then all babies under 6 months are in trouble.
Too much fluid can be just as dangerous as too little. A friend of mine took on far too much liquid while running a marathon, collapsed and ended up in intensive care. He’d seriously altered his electrolytes and nearly killed himself. It’s known as water intoxication or hyponatremia . Symptoms include headache, bloating, nausea and vomiting. In extreme cases it can cause seizures and coma. it can also damage your kidneys.

500ml is a bit low but depends on your diet. If you have soup for lunch. And a lot of raw vegetables in your diet your total fluid intake may be much higher. Rather than carrying around a 3 l bottle of water which presents a target, use a small glass and drink a glass of water or cordial from time to time. I have a small child size water bottle by the bed and always have a glass by the sink in the kitchen. Whenever I go into the kitchen I drink from the glass. I’m prone to leaving things around the house so drinking while preparing food or in the kitchen has become a habit.

You're drinking approximately half of the daily recommended amount of water FOR 2 YEAR OLDS!

It may be what you're used to but there is no doubt it's insufficient.

The good news is that the more you drink, the more thirsty you'll become.

You need to aim for a minimum of 4x what you're having now.

If you start building up now, bit by bit, you'll have much better summer, I'm sure.

My advice would be to buy some squash you really like so it's more enjoyable.

And FFS stop sipping and start gulping!

Yes, It actually makes me feel physically uncomfortable when I hear about someone glugging 3 litres a day

Its too liquidy!! I can literally feel it swilling around my stomach just to read about it!!

I suppose it's 1+1 stuff OP. You feel crap, you've pinpointed a possible reason which is probably correct. It's something you can fix.

Set an alarm throughout the day and have a glug down. Whether you're thirsty or not.

For a lot of people thirsty signals can be confused with hunger.

I'm sure this is why the older generation (70s - 90s) end up with kidney problems, they drink tea and coffee only and never just a big glass of water.

Tea and coffee are just as hydrating to the body as plain water, give or take, the difference isnt significant enough to make an argument

The reason older people get kidney problems is a) they're old b) you dont get thirst or hunger feelings as much as when young so your intake is less generally c) they forget to eat/drink and dont receive the care they need to keep intake up.

The main causes are diabetes, blood pressure and heart problems, rather than 'tea and coffee'

No, bearing in mind 330ml is only the size of a standard fizzy drink can I would think you are very dehydrated

As the scaling shows though do bear in mind medications and supplements. Mine is highly coloured because of the huge amounts of supplements that Im required to take. Days I dont take them for various reasons, its very clear despite not having a huge liquid intake. And no water.

No it’s not enough by far. You need to drink more even if you don’t feel thirsty.

My experience is that urine colour doesn’t indicate as much as you’d hope if you have kidney disease. Particularly in the summer.

Be careful with drinks like no added sugar squash that have artificial sweeteners. Don’t have too many. I like them but I found out the hard way that they can really mess with your digestive system.

I’ve always been a thirsty person (have been tested many a time for various things including diabetes over the years). If I don’t have at least a 500ml bottle of water (sometimes two) with me when out and about, I have to stop and buy some.

if I’m weeing every hour in the day then I know my body is hydrated.

I WFH and fill a 2 litre water bottle every morning, have a cup of tea and a pint of squash round about every hour and often take a 2 litre bottle refill of water to bed with me, in case I wake up thirsty in the night.

Once I got told by a GP to drink less AND add more salt to my diet, which seemed bonkers.

My DH can go all day without a drink post a morning coffee (and his wee is def darker than mine), but he’s not a thirsty person.

We’re all different OP and whilst there are copious amounts of recommended this and that, whether it be liquids or food, so long as you feel ok, you’re fine!

I’d definitely say 500ml is definitely not enough to be drinking. I drink half my bottle getting ready for work. I will admit I drink way more water in the office days than I do working from home. I had to cut myself to 2 cups of coffee maximum a day but seem to she stuck to 1. If I’m feeling like I’m not drinking enough I stick an electrolytes sachet in a bottle of water. Try aim to drink 500ml by lunch time then another 500ml after to start with. Xx

No it’s not. As someone who is terrible for not drinking I know you’ll feel terrible. I don’t often feel thirsty I realised something had to change when I had daily headaches, felt lethargic and just generally unwell all the time.
I started off slowly and increased water gradually. It was a conscious effort to remember to drink. I always have a water bottle one me and just sip at it through the day. I probably have about 2L now but that included coffee, diluting and juice. I can still slip into not drinking enough and end up feeling rough because of it.
its a good idea to set an alarm every hour to remind you to drink and just always have something on hand to drink when you remember. You’ll notice a difference and it will encourage you to keep at it

I don't drink much during the day, maybe one mug of tea or a can of pop at a push, but I always take my drinks bottle full of ice, peppermint cordial & soda water up to bed with me. It's a 750ml bottle, I take a bottle of soda water & the peppermint cordial to bed with me & refill my bottle at least twice. I go to bed very early to read, surf on my phone & watch TV & do most of my drinking then.

Except nobody seems to agree on how much constitute a cup or glass

Surely that’s only if you are sensitive/allergic though?

Yes salt is essential but the recommended limit is 6g a day for an adult. If one stock cube contains 5g then it means a person will likely exceed this safe limit. Best not to drink them as a drink or only use say a quarter of a cube to moderate salt intake.