One day as I was out jogging, I met up with a couple of my neighbors. One proudly said that she drinks 64 oz of water every day. When I told her I drink over 100 oz and if she wants to lose weight faster she may want to consider increasing her water to at least 96 oz., she looked at me as if I were crazy!
I have read differing opinions about what is enough water. Generally it seems that if you take half your weight and call it ounces, that's how much water you should drink without exercise. That isn't if you are exercising. If you exercise or sweat for any other reason, you should increase it to about 2/3 your weight in lbs. to oz.
For example, if I am 140 lbs and not exercising, then 70 oz should be good for me that day. If I'm working out, I should increase it to 90 oz that day.
This is to MAINTAIN weight. To LOSE weight, you should probably add an extra 10-20% of water per day. In my example, that would be about a cup of water.
I know it sounds like a lot. It is a lot. But our bodies are 70% water, and our parts just don't function well when we dehydrate. We need all that water to do what our bodies were made to do.
You don't have to start drinking that much all at once. You'd probably make yourself sick. The best way I use to track how much I drink is to have a water bottle I carry with my everywhere that has ounces marked on the sides. Mine is a 25 oz bottle, so I know I should drink at least 4 a day. Sipping throughout the day is easier and better for you than trying to sit down in one session and gulp down that many 8-oz glasses of water! Just figure out how much you drink now, and then increase that daily by 8 to 10 oz, until you're up to where you should be. If you need to, keep a chart. Don't just assume you're drinking enough--make sure of it!
Yes, you can drink too much water. Drinking massive amounts of water (gallons and gallons) can cause a dangerous condition known as hyponatremia (low sodium levels in the blood), which can cause confusion, irritability and seizures and may even lead to a coma. As a rule, don't drink more than twice your weight in pounds converted to ounces of water, per day, and you'll be fine.
Also, water equals water. Soda pop, coffee, and tea don't equal water. In fact, they make you have to drink MORE because they are diuretics (they dehydrate you) and work backwards on you. I have a theory that all of America is overweight due to conspiring soda pop companies, but that's a different subject entirely. . .
Fruit juice, milk, and foods with high water content do contribute to some of the water you need per day, but not more than 10% to 20%, and it won't hurt to consume that much extra just to make sure.
Here are a lot of good articles on drinking water, for your reference:
This talks about how much to drink, symptoms of dehydration, and benefits of drinking enough and how to do it. Good good article:
http://www.examiner.com/x-10728-Twin-Cities-Water-Examiner~y2009m6d9-Why-and-how-to-lose-weight-by-drinking-more-water
This article talks about how much water to drink and how to increase your consumption gradually:
http://www.womens-health-questions.com/how-much-water-to-lose-weight.html
This article has a handy chart telling you how much water you should drink per pound you weigh, and why you should do it:
http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/drink-water-to-lose-weight.html
This is a blog of "Isadora" who has successfully lost weight. She talks about the necessity of drinking water, and there are many comments on the blog who have also had success drinking water. Careful of the comments that can't watch their language though.
http://weight-loss-story.blogspot.com/2006/03/drinking-water-to-lose-weight.html
A few other good ones for reference:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/expert.q.a/04/10/water.losing.weight.jampolis/index.html
http://www.lazymanandhealth.com/drinking-water-to-lose-weight/
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