Apps for monitoring your water intake

[Brian]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -hydration

This is a short column in which the writer complains that his bladder can't take the 3.7 litres of water per day which he has read that he needs to drink. And the app he has installed on his smartwatch keeps telling him to drink more water when he's already running to the toilet frequently. Meanwhile he now has to plan very carefully before being anywhere without quick access to a relief station!

Many of the comments under the article are suggesting that you don't actually need to drink anything like that amount (and too much water can be very dangerous anyway).

This makes me wonder how often these water-drinking apps cause emergency pee-related situations.

And are they really a good idea, or should we just drink when our bodies tell us we should?

[Fred]

That's a lot of liquid. Considering the "average" bladder, that would mean 8 or more urinations per day, or about every two waking hours. And since it would be wise to end the regimen at least two or three hours before bedtime, that compresses the time for drinking, which would compel urination even more frequently.

That said, I know that bodybuilders, especially those that take special supplements, drink up to two gallons of water a day, and while they complain about not being able to make it through a long college class, they're generally younger guys and should develop their bladder capacity along with their muscles. Or at least try to.

[Sam70]

I suspect that the 3.7 liters of water really means total fluid intake. Just a hunch on my part. Some people don’t factor in that 12 oz apple juice, the three cups of coffee during the day, the 12 oz soft drink later in the afternoon as part of the total fluid intake. Then there is that quart of tea that was consumed during the day.

If a person drinks one liter of water before a game and pisses it out before the game begins, what is the purpose of drinking that much water? There is the danger of washing out all the minerals and such which could lead to heart failure.

Brian, I do wonder if some of the jocks riding on the team bus have to pee in a bottle or pee their pants?

Off hand I have no stories that I have read about, or situations where someone has consumed all that water and pissed their pants.

I have had people in route with me tell me that they do not drink. Ore than a tiny bit of e@ter or they will have to stop and pee. No one has shared any situations where there was no stop and someone wet their pants.

We know what happens to lads who drink that much beer and get on public transportation that has no toilets! I suspect it is close to the same if they drank the same amount of water.

[Brian]

Yeah, you both mention guys involved in sports, bodybuilders or team sporters. I guess it's pretty obvious that the amount you drink should be dependent on the amount of physical exercise you are doing or about to do, as well as a whole host of other factors. Perhaps the writer of the article, who probably doesn't do much sport, didn't put sufficiently accurate information into the app before being told he has to drink 3.7 litres every day.

Regarding the situation which Sam mentions, sports guys over-hydrating before a match and then having a big problem on the team bus, the best incident I can remember from my own younger days was a young marathon runner who got so desperate on the bus to the start of the race that he had to just release an enormous cascade on the ground right by the bus doors, standing in the way of others who were trying to get out, the instant the bus finally reached the destination. I described it in the the first posting of this thread.

[Fred]

There are several threads in Bodybuilder.com that discuss the amount of water they drink and frequent peeing.

[Sam70]

The purpose of over hydrating is to rid the body of toxins. Those doing this hydrating should drink Gatorade or some drink to restore electrolytes.

A person can drink too much water. Several years ago, a lady won a.oval contest to see who could drink the most water. She did win. She died later that day from peeing out all the minerals and electrolytes.

Overdoing anything can lead to health problems.

[Bigdog]

You are only supposed to drink 6 glasses of water per day.