# How much water do you drink in a day? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551 "2009-06-22T03:06:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/41 "2009-06-23T03:34:21Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > That’s one of the signs of dehydration. It means that your body was withholding urine in an effort to stay hydrated. that’s why a nearly equivalent amount of urine comes out of you before the water could possibly have been processed. > > Go to the mirror and stick out your tongue. Is ther a line or crease down the middle? If so, you’re dehydrated. Drink a glass of water every 30 minutes until your tongue looks flat and smooth. It may well take all day. Besides what **Broomstick** said, I pee very pale yellow typically, except when I whiz first thing in the morning (I don’t get up in the middle of the night, pretty much ever) or if I have to hold it for a long period of time. If I try to do the “eight glasses of water” trick it’s pretty much water-colored. And my tongue is currently nice and smooth. I do drink more fluids (usually non-fizzy/non-caffeinated) when I’m outdoors for extended periods of time in hot weather, or exercising. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/42 "2009-06-23T03:34:41Z")
I drink one large glass (about 10 oz) in the morning, two 20-oz bottles during my work day and two large glasses (10 oz each) in the evening, so usually over 20 liters per day. Perhaps the article referenced in the OP is assuming that the dieters usually drink sugary sodas or juices? One thing I’ve noticed about dieting articles and services (like Weight Watchers) is that if they’re general, they usually assume that the dieter isn’t paying any attention to their consumption or workouts, so they start out really basic. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/43 "2009-06-23T04:04:11Z")
About a gallon, give or take a couple cups. Contrary to popular belief, people sweat _more_ in the desert, not less. We just don’t notice it as much because it evaporates. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/44 "2009-06-23T09:31:33Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > That’s one of the signs of dehydration. It means that your body was withholding urine in an effort to stay hydrated. that’s why a nearly equivalent amount of urine comes out of you before the water could possibly have been processed. > > Go to the mirror and stick out your tongue. Is there a line or crease down the middle? If so, you’re dehydrated. Drink a glass of water every 30 minutes until your tongue looks flat and smooth. It may well take all day. > > There, don’t you feel better? I don’t understand how retaining urine in the bladder would help the body stay hydrated. The water is not helping much if it’s just sitting in your bladder. And having a crease down the middle of one’s tongue - that’s completely normal, isn’t it? What makes you say that it is a bad sign? I can’t help worrying that people who consume these colossal amounts of fluid are doing nothing more than putting strain on their kidneys and urinary systems. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/45 "2009-06-23T11:04:41Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Male, 23. > > Very rarely will I drink water. Maybe if I am at work and I want to waste time or am inexplicably thirsty, and even then it’s a small glass. > > I live on soda and milk. Just like me, except I’m 39. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/46 "2009-06-23T16:47:34Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > I drink one large glass (about 10 oz) in the morning, two 20-oz bottles during my work day and two large glasses (10 oz each) in the evening, so usually over 20 liters per day. > > Perhaps the article referenced in the OP is assuming that the dieters usually drink sugary sodas or juices? One thing I’ve noticed about dieting articles and services (like Weight Watchers) is that if they’re general, they usually assume that the dieter isn’t paying any attention to their consumption or workouts, so they start out really basic. Oops - I should have mentioned that I’m a 33-year-old female. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/47 "2009-06-23T17:30:51Z")
About a gallon to a gallon and a half, per day. I normally don’t drink any other liquids, except maybe a cup of coffee in the morning, or an alcoholic drink or two once in a blue moon. 29, male. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/48 "2009-06-23T17:54:13Z")
Female, 30 Usually less than my 20 oz bottle while I’m at work and another not-quite-20 oz during my workout. That’s it for plain water unless I’m outside when it’s hot. I also drink quite a bit of milk (usually the recommended 3 glasses per day), plus a glass or two of 100% fruit juice, plus 1-2 mugs (so more than a cup each) of tea, and occasionally some soda. So I don’t think my lack of water means I’m under-hydrated. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/49 "2009-06-23T18:33:29Z")
> [@taxi78cab](#): > > I also drink quite a bit of milk (usually the recommended 3 glasses per day) Is this true? There’s a recommendation that you drink three glasses of milk a day? That seems rather high to me. Then again, I almost never consume milk as a beverage. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/50 "2009-06-23T21:11:23Z")
43 yr old female. I’m not sure of the exact quantity…I have a cooler and just drink as needed. It varies depending on weather, activity level, and what I’ve eaten (lots of water in fresh fruits and veggies, for example, but heavier foods with little water content, esp. with lots of salt or cheese, make me very thirsty) I’d guess that I usually get at least 8 “glasses” a day. I’m amazed at how many don’t drink ANY water or very little. I worked a temp job once and, as I usually do, brought water with me (not knowing if any decent water was available there) It was a gallon jug and I consumed it all in 8 hrs (it was, to be fair, summer in Texas) But one lady there said, “Oh, I never drink water, only soda or coffee or something else.” I enjoy other sorts of beverages as well, but I HAVE to have water every day, and a good amount of it. It is the only thing, for me, that really seems to quench my thirst. on the 3 glasses a day of milk thing, it IS too high (I drink none, ever, but if I did, 3 a day is excessive.) Not just my opinion; the dairy industry did a study some yrs back, in which half the female participants drank 3 glasses of milk a day and half drank none. At the end of the study, which ran a few mths, if I recall, it was found that the women on the 3 a day routine had actually LOST bone mass, and the non-drinkers had not. The conclusion was that it was probably the extra animal protein from the milk at fault (since excess protein, esp. from animal sources, leeches calcium from the body). ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/51 "2009-06-23T21:55:05Z")
Male, 49, I drink at least four liters a day, maybe more. It’s not so bad at home where I can make my own food, without salt (I don’t own salt), but for lunch I eat out and this will often cause me to slam water all afternoon. If the only beverage I could drink was cola, I would either be dead in short order, or wish I was dead. Maybe it doesn’t dehydrate other people, but it dehydrates me. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551/52 "2009-06-24T00:17:18Z")
Cola might make your mouth sticky or filmy. It’s almost completely water though, so I don’t see how it can dehydrate you. Even coffee, with ~3 times the caffeine content of cola, will not be a net drain on your body’s fluid levels as far as I know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-water-do-you-drink-in-a-day/500551.md?page=2)