How much water am I supposed to drink in a day? I've heard 8 glasses, 6 glasses, 10 glasses - but how do I know what's right for my own body?
Take the pee test. Sounds classy, I know. But it can be quite informative.
After you pee in the toilet, take a look. Really. I'm serious. What color do you see? Is it dark yellow, light yellow, or does it look clear?
The color of pee is caused by bile, the chemical your liver produces to break up fat. When our bodies break down bile, the pigment urochrome turns pee yellow. The lighter the color, the more it's watered down.
Here's the deal. If you are drinking enough water for your body, your urine will be as clear as water. If your pee is - then you passed the test.
Also, your water needs can change from day to day, so monitor it by checking your pee. If it's clear, you're all good. You can also check out Fit's Calculator to see how much water you should be drinking daily.
Lanvin
Benefit
Laura Scott
That's how I can tell if I'm drinking enough water.
1Just a side note, not raggin' on anyone but please be careful not to drink too much water! Everyone heard about that poor woman who died from water intoxication before the holidays but few people know that too much of a good thing like water can be bad.
And few people know about Walkerton, which was bad any way you slice it, but if anything good can come of something bad then here it is. Too much water in your system can be terribly harmful.
See articles here and here and here for more info.
I'm not saying the pee test isn't a good idea, if your pee looks like green tea after it's hit the toilet water then you're probably in need of a good dose of H2O, but please don't overdo it!
2My biology teacher taught us this in tenth grade, and creepily enough I think about it everytime I pee. Silly but helpful!
3SaraSmile...great song
4Yes I love water.
5vigilante- as long as people are drinking water at normal rates then there isnt a problem. Its when you start chugging large amounts of water in a short period of time. When you do that then your body does not have time to process the water. But if you drink water like a normal person- through out the day then everything should be fine
6I drink water literally 24/7, and my pee is always clear. I
water. 
7A good friend of mine who leads nature hikes told me this. I thought he was making it up.
8After the "Wee for Wii" thing, I started cutting back on my water...I was drinking 5 bottles a day - at least. Then I read an article saying that you can get your 64 oz. from food and other drinks, it doesn't all have to be straight water. I feel better when I drink more water, though, so I'm still drinking 4 bottles a day. (Especially with food - Now I don't drink anything BUT water with food.)
9I had a kidney stone once, and my doctor told me this test to make sure I was drinking enough water, and I do check it. You only need to have a kidney stone pass once to want to make sure every day that things are okay!
10What about vitamin supplements which discolor your pee slightly?
11True, JessNess! I went in today to ask the old boss if I could share some of the things I heard while working with him, he worked on the Walkerton file. Unfortunately I can't say much but the study that was done tracked people's daily water consumption over several months. Some people, especially those who were trying to shed some pounds, were drinking five to six liters of water a day (ten to twelve bottles, I'm not sure what that is in quarts). Anyways, the study concluded that people who were regularly drinking high quantities of water over long periods of time were doing a lot of damage to their kidneys. It wasn't a short term water consumption problem, it was a matter of too much for too long. There is an official report out there, I wish I could find the document I was looking for but all I can see on the net are news clippings from the Walkerton Health Study. I'll try calling someone to see if I can't snag a copy of what I'm looking for.
12I don't see how water could cause damage. wouldn't you jsut pee it out if you had too much?
Pee is a funny word...
pee pee pee pee
13Well I have one problem with this...what if you don't drink any water??? I am beyond addicted to Pepsi and have been desperaely trying to get away from it bu fr saome reason I can't...HELP!!!!!
14i have the same problem !!!
15i drink pepsi everyday. i have stopped driking water, what do i do ?!?!?!
Stop buying it! Pick up water instead. Sodas are so terrible for you. The best way to stop is to not drink another sip. Try drinking healthy juice to satisfy your sweet tooth or tea for the energy.
16Butrfly, that's very true. Think of all the food you eat that contains water. Fruits like watermelon and grapes contain a lot of water, so that helps your daily water intake as well. Also, drinking herbal teas adds flavour to your water, so that it's not just boring water all day.
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