To ask if you drink a lot of water do you actually notice a difference?

[heyduggee12345]

I've been making an effort to drink a lot more water. I've been drinking around a litre every day for a couple of weeks.

So far I haven't noticed a difference, just that I need the toilet a lot more which is inconvenient at times! Maybe I need to give it more time to notice any effects.

For those that drink water, how much a day usually & do you feel better for it?

Yes. If I'm feeling a bit sluggish and tired in the afternoon I have a massive drink of water, more than you think you need. Always wakes me up.

Your bladder does get used and you'll not wee as much. Then you should try to increase from a litre. It's not really enough.

I feel it if I haven't had enough water (headache in particular) so the benefit for me is feeling less shit rather than a positive benefit in and of itself.

I notice it a lot more if I can't drink as much water as normal. I feel super thirsty, sluggish, I get headaches, I'm grumpy, I start to get cracked lips, my skin looks dull, I'm hungrier, and I just feel generally crap.

So the benefits would be not feeling like that.

It baffles me why people would want to spend their lives being dehydrated. It's such a horrible feeling.

@gamerchick I've been drinking a fair bit in the morning as soon as I wake up. I do feel better for doing that rather than going for coffee straight away. Out of interest, how much do you drink a day?

no, not really. just constant toilet runs 😔

I drink about 4 litres a day. If I don't I feel bloated, water retention, dull skin, worried about UTI, thirsty, hungry, headache etc. Water is so good for you, keep it up and maybe increase your intake as 1 litre a day is not much at all, it is below the recommended intake.

Nope. I never felt any different.

A litre isn't really that much. What else are you drinking? Or what are you replacing?
I think you need to drink a fair bit more to see a difference

I notice when I don’t drink enough water, usually when I’m at work (nigh shift nurse in the community so not always near a loo). I get headaches when I’m dehydrated.
I usually have a pint of water in the morning alongside my coffee, one at lunch alongside a cup of tea and another pint with tea and into the evening.

4 litres wow! I'd never be off the toilet if I drank that much, lol. I'll have to build up my intake for sure

I usually have a coffee in the morning, a cup of tea after work and just my water. Sometimes I will also have a glass of squash with my evening meal.

I don't know how much water I drink a day in litres but it's definitely more than one. At least two, I'd say.

Drinking more water was a game changer for weight loss for me. It really helped shift the last stone I was trying to lose.
I drink 2l of water per day (at least) as well as 2/3 black coffees and 1/2 teas with milk.

I hear you about constantly needing the toilet! I’m hoping that settles down.
I’m drinking 2.5 ltr of water plus other drinks, because I need to maintain a high fibre diet for medical reasons.

I can’t say I’m feeling amazing but I haven’t had a headache for a while. I haven’t given much thought to what I’m not feeling.

I think I'd struggle at the minute to drink more than a litre

I definitely look and feel worse if I'm not properly hydrated, but honestly, it makes zero difference whether that's with water or whether it's with tea, sugar-free squash, Diet Coke or anything else that's non-alcoholic and non-sugary.

I don't look or feel better if I swap a cup of tea for a glass of water.

I actually asked my doctor about this fairly recently and he laughed and said patients ask him this a lot and there's an awful lot misconceptions around drinking water. The whole thing about aiming to drink eight glasses of water per day has no actual scientific evidence to back it up, some people will need more and some will need less, and it's perfectly OK to drink water-based drinks instead of plain water, provided they're low sugar and non-alcoholic. Basically, he said that you want to make sure you drink fairly regularly rather than waiting until your mouth feels dry and that your wee should be pale in colour.

I said 'So is it the case that tea and coffee aren't hydrating as water, because of the caffeine?' and he said 'Yeah, that's nonsense as well. Caffeine might make you wee more, but that doesn't mean you're not being hydrated.'

I started making the effort to drink decent amounts of water a few years ago. I really noticed the benefits to my skin. It felt and looked plump and hydrated.

Now, I feel the effects if I don't drink enough water - headache, dull skin, eyes like pissholes in the snow, dry lips.

I have a 2 litre bottle to fill up and work my way through the day and a litre bottle for the gym and a coffee in the morning. When it's warm weather I get more in.

I was like you at first though, peeing for Britain. That does get better though.

Thirst can translate as hungry as well so some people tend to just eat instead of drinking. Also the skin is the largest organ in the body and the first to suffer when not getting enough fluids. Don't forget we sweat around half a pint a nignt, so that needs to be replaced as well.

You should be drinking 1.5 to 2l of fluid a day
I drink lots of water and have noticed:
Less headaches
Skin not as dry
Clearer skin
That's about it!

1 litre, 1 tea and 1 coffee is no where near enough

You need to up your water intake alot

Absolute minimum (cold weather, no exercise) is 1600ml plus teas and coffees.

Probably goes up to 3 or 4L with exercise/hot weather.

I do have to be careful to balance with hydration tablets/diet though, or I still get headaches because I'm low in salts and sugars.

I definitely don't function well when I'm dehydrated. Headaches, v sluggish, vague, snack on sugary food, eat more generally... so I guess if you invert that - fewer headaches, more energy, better focus, eat healthier and eat smaller amounts...
Plus I would imagine it lessens the likelihood of water infections, thrush etc

What are hydration tablets? I've had a google, some sort of dissolvable? My mam has been told to reduce her water intake because her sodium levels were too low. As were a few other things (iron/ magnesium/ something else) She is struggling with drinking less and feels thirsty a lot.

The only side effect I notice is that I need to pee a lot more.

I do drink plenty of fluids though, just not plain water as I don't particularly like it.

Google #hydrationbollocks

If you're thirsty, drink. If not, don't. Your body tells you what you need...

You get a surprising amount of water from food btw. I survive perfectly well on 3 cups of tea and 2-3 small glasses of water a day (more if hot weather or exercising). Its fine!

I went from drinking 500ml a day to 2litres a day in a month and have never looked back! Your body needs water in order to function properly and you will notice a lot of benefits once you start to drink more. Your body will thank you for drinking more and you will notice differences over time. Even if you are needing to go for a wee every 10 minutes, this is just your bladder adjusting to the change and it will soon settle down! It really helps if you have a water bottle with the times on the side which do help motivate you, or perhaps a still flavored water if plain water is not your thing! 1 thing to do is make sure you have a drink with every meal that you have and make sure that for what you eat, you are drinking with this as usually you will consume more whilst you are having a meal