Water - best times to drink it?

[DaN]

Just a quick query about our best friend - water.

 

I always try to drink 4 pints a day.I have been drinking 1 pint straight away in the morning, then a pint with lunch (sometimes before/after/or during lunch)Then I have a pint in the afternoon, & then 1 in the evening, again varying between before dinner/after dinner/ during dinner.

 

I hear that if its too close to meals or too much it can stop them from being digested as well.

 

How much & when do people think it is best

[Im Your Man]

check this thread, same subject

 

is it bad to drink before, during, or after a meal?.

 

Drink a huge glass of water, slowly, when ou wake up, perhaps while you do some stretching or your shaving and stuff... so that way you wont have to drink during or right after your breakfast... water dilutes with the gastric liquids, making them less efficient, which prolongs the time of digestion, or maybe even make an incomplete digestion.

Do the samething with the other meals; try to drink enough before the meal (at least 10 minutes) so you won't need to drink during or after. Drink before meals even if you're not really thirsty. Except if you eat mostly raw, fruits and greens. Those foods contains lots of water so you don't need to drink a lot of extra water, except if you lose a lot of this water by sweating or because of coffee, tea, etc...

 

Someone who was always drinking huge quantity of water during eating or especially at the end of the meal.. I told him the above things about water, and he said: "I just ate, so I'm thirsty" ... What does food has to do with anything? It's because he doesn't drink any water outside of meals, so after some time he's gonna be thirsty.

Thirst is simply because the body and organs are getting deshydrated. And the body and organs need water for life, a lot of water, all forms of life are made of about 80% of water.

[DaN]

Im your Man, that is very helpful.I do what you suggest with breakfast but not the other meals, so I will do that from now on.

 

Cheers buddy!

[DaN]

Oh one more thing - I have noticed that my soya milk is actually 80% water & I am drinking 2 pints of that a day.This is on top of the 4 pints of water.

 

I do not go to the toilet alot as you might expect, its amazing what the body will use if you give it.Do you think I could get away with drinking less water though given the water in my soya milk?

[nobbi]

Maybe not the answer you are waiting for, but... I think there is no general BEST time to drink or eat, and there is no BEST food. Don't get me wrong, but it seems that people have lots of doubts... when should I eat, what should I drink and how much, working out in the morning or should I work out in the evening, how much sleep do I need...

My personal advise would be, do what suits YOU right. Listen to your body and observe it well and then you should know what you need and when.

[damdaman]

The best time to drink water is all the time, in my opinion. Water is so essential that it's damn near impossible to drink too much. Even people who think they keep themselves fairly well hydrated are probably lacking, and they don't notice the subtle ways it can affect you.

 

Personally, I've heard the arguments against drinking water with meals, and I'm not convinced that they hold much water (pun intended, hehe). I've never seen a study that shows that drinking water with meals can slow down your digestive system, and I've been told by nutritionists that they also think that there is nothing wrong with drinking water with meals.

 

To be honest with you, if I drank only 4 pints of water a day I'd be extremely unhealthy. That does not sound like enough water to me, if you're at all active or sweat while doing day-to-day activities.

 

I drink usually about 5 32oz bottles of water on non-training days, and at least 8 on training days. Granted, I sweat more than most people for some reason, and thus I have more fluids to replace, but still. I feel dehydrated if I don't get at least 5 or 6 bottles on any day, even if I'm not sweating that day. I carry a nalgene bottle around with me wherever I go, because I'm drinking from it every 15 minutes or so.

 

But anyway, my opinion is drink more, drink all the time, and don't worry about it. You'll be healthier if you're more hydrated.

[Im Your Man]

Two other things:

 

water is a bit different than food when it comes to have energy/not feeling weak. If you didn't eat enough calories, you'll feel good after eating and it won't take long.

But if you're deshydrated and you're in the middle of a long bike ride, it's too late. Even if you stop and drink up a gallon of water, it takes lots of time for the body to absorb it to all deshydrated organs. So basically: don't wait to be thirsty.

Drink more during the beginning of the day, and less near the end of day (especially herbal teas, teas, coffee), otherwise you're gonna piss all night long instead of sleeping.

[DaN]

Thanks for the responses guys, is very helpful.Bear in mind when I say 4 pints that is to say 4 UK pints, which is the equivalent of nearly 5 US pints - but I agree we can always drink more!

 

I seriously reckon its the most important thing for your body, it makes me cringe at work when I see people drinking tea or coffee all day!