What fluid intake does everyone shoot for?

[buck]

So that breast milk came from what then?

Guys can lactate too.......

 

[Marvin Martian]

Under normal circumstances, just drink to thirst. In extreme temperatures and/or before, during & after an intensive bout of exercise, drink sufficient water & electrolytes to maintain a stable body weight.

The hypothalamus & kidneys work in a coordinated lockstep via AVP & ADH to regulate fluid homeostasis (water balance) through thirst sensations.

There is no daily recommended intake for water because a. it varies dramatically depending on environmental conditions & b. thirst is a near-perfect signal that is tightly regulated & evolutionarily conserved. Some people have higher background fluid intake requirements than others, and that's fine. They have thirst to guide them.

All of these intakes > 4 L are stimulative of hyponatremia in the average person under normal conditions: stressful to the kidneys & dysregulates fluid balance.

These gurus promoting very high intakes are dumb, and the new trend of carrying a lil' water bottle with you (very gay, for a man) is silly at best, and definitely a bit effeminate.

I agree that its lame as hell toting around the jugs of water, although when I first got serious in the late 80's / early 90's you HAD to be carrying around a gallon jug of water and wearing CrazeeWear (was friends with the founder of CW, traioned at his gym)...

That said - I find that my hematocrit stays in the mid 40's so long a I drink about a gallon per day. I went through a health scare (metabolic acidosis - ICU unconscious on vent for 3 days) and now my body doesnt seem to maintain a balance of electrolytes. So i use a bit more electrolytes than most. Days that I get too busy and dont pay attention, its almost impossible for me to sleep and feels almost like a withdrawal. When I drink plenty and make sure to stop about 1 - 2 hours before bed, I sleep pretty fine.

 

[Marvin Martian]

Sometimes docs are dipshits, too. It depends on how intensely you train. They might just not have any appreciation for that. If it's virtually guaranteed that you'll cramp up without an electrolyte drink, then you can be fairly sure that they're pretty important.

Tjey are CRITICAL (at least in my case)\. When I was ill - they had to put a pic line in (and I am normally extremely vascular) because they couldn't find a vein. After the 2nd day they tried to bring me down from the electrolyte, vitamin, mineral drip and my body wouldnt stabilize. Scared the shit out of my wife and kids. Luckily I was out so I had no clue. It was a bitch recovering though and it took me a long time to get back to normal. As I said above though even now I still absolutely have to supplement daily. I think for anyone drinking a ton of water its important as you are literally flushing the body so you need to replace.

 

[powerlifter1983]

Do athletes/bodybuilding ever run the risk of “Overhydrating”? They said recently a woman died by drinking too much water.

 

[MrWhisper]

1.5gal is the target

 

[Type-IIx]

I agree that its lame as hell toting around the jugs of water, although when I first got serious in the late 80's / early 90's you HAD to be carrying around a gallon jug of water and wearing CrazeeWear (was friends with the founder of CW, traioned at his gym)...

Hahaha I know this!

That said - I find that my hematocrit stays in the mid 40's so long a I drink about a gallon per day. I went through a health scare (metabolic acidosis - ICU unconscious on vent for 3 days) and now my body doesnt seem to maintain a balance of electrolytes. So i use a bit more electrolytes than most. Days that I get too busy and dont pay attention, its almost impossible for me to sleep and feels almost like a withdrawal. When I drink plenty and make sure to stop about 1 - 2 hours before bed, I sleep pretty fine.

A gallon (< 4L) daily is totally normal and healthy bro! For an active person, especially in warmer temperatures when exercising strenuously, less than that is likely to cause problems due to dehydration. I too am careful to always ingest an electrolyte isotonic (at least on training days).

 

[Type-IIx]

1oz per pound of bodyweight is what my coach tells me to shoot for. I also salt the hell out of my meals. I carry my jug everywhere like an autist.

You should probably stop doing that until your coach gives you a rationale for his little heuristic (rule of thumb) that he just heard somewhere or made up.

I don't drink anywhere near 7 L daily (unless it's a hard training session in extreme heat), yet my electrolytes & renal function markers are totally healthy.

 

[plsresmeihaveraygun]

You should probably stop doing that until your coach gives you a rationale for his little heuristic (rule of thumb) that he just heard somewhere or made up.

I don't drink anywhere near 7 L daily (unless it's a hard training session in extreme heat), yet my electrolytes & renal function markers are totally healthy.

Explain why I should listen to you instead of my coach? Give ME your rationale for YOUR little rule of thumb that you may have heard somewhere or just made up?

I do just fine drinking the amount of water I do.

 

[gauge22-v2]

I am pretty OCD with tracking stuff, but I do not track water/fluid intake.

The only thing I ensure I get in is an electrolyte drink every am, prior to my black coffee.

Then drinking water, coffee etc throughout the day. Being a desk jockey I usually have a mason jar full of water (with/without zero cal flavouring) on my desk. Gym I usually consume about a liter of fluids.

If I were to guess I would think it is 5-7l/day.

 

[Oldwhitedude]

On the electrolyte side of things I aim for a total of 5g each of sodium and potassium. This keeps me in a good spot with a gallon of water.

This will have to involve salting food. I'll only ever supplement with potassium if I'm doing keto, otherwise potatoes and avocados get me 5k pretty easily.

 

[powerlifter1983]

I recently upped my fluid intake a bit and I find myself getting this sudden urge to pee a lot all of a sudden.

How long (if ever) before this goes away?

Sometimes I go from not feeling anything to having to pee within a minute or two and if I don’t have immediate access to a bathroom I’d probably pee in my clothes.

 

[aHarness]

I recently upped my fluid intake a bit and I find myself getting this sudden urge to pee a lot all of a sudden.

How long (if ever) before this goes away?

Sometimes I go from not feeling anything to having to pee within a minute or two and if I don’t have immediate access to a bathroom I’d probably pee in my clothes.

If you’ve upped fluids, you need to up electrolytes as well.

 

[powerlifter1983]

If you’ve upped fluids, you need to up electrolytes as well.

Lots of Gatorade or Powerade zero?

 

[aHarness]

Lots of Gatorade or Powerade zero?

Sure. Or just salt.

 

[heavyhitter]

Your urine should be clear if you are well hydrated if it is dark drink more fluids

You don’t want it clear. If your urine is clear you have flushed electrolytes by drinking too much water without enough sodium. You just don’t want it dark

 

[heavyhitter]

True, but it would likely be more optimal to just up your electrolytes and keep fluid high in my opinion. 4L really isn’t very much.

4 liters is plenty for most. That’s 132 ounces of water. 16.5 cups

 

[aHarness]

4 liters is plenty for most. That’s 132 ounces of water. 16.5 cups

I guess it will also depend on electrolyte intake. I push my sodium high so I find I do better around 6-7.

 

[plsresmeihaveraygun]

On the electrolyte side of things I aim for a total of 5g each of sodium and potassium. This keeps me in a good spot with a gallon of water.

This will have to involve salting food. I'll only ever supplement with potassium if I'm doing keto, otherwise potatoes and avocados get me 5k pretty easily.

It’s my understanding that there’s plenty of potassium in the meats we consume no?

That’s what my coach and google has told me at least. I supplement by salting my food/water/intra and take magnesium at night personally, and have had no issues.

 

[TheSteamboat]

Question for the fellas that do higher fluid intake like @danieltx and I assume also @luki7788 at your size…

How often do you pee?