for those of you that drink crystal light or other drinks of that kind. do you count that as your water intake?

yes, you would.

People liek to get all funny about Water v other fluids but the simple fact is that your body breaks down EVERYTHING you eat and drink into its component parts and takes what you need.

There is nothing magic about water itself, its in things you eat and drink and juice, soft drinks, even coffee and tea (if you're a seasoned caffeine drinker, its diuretic effect ceases to a large degree). However, if you take in your water mainly in the form of coffee for example, you probably need to drink MORE coffee than you would water, if that makes sense.

The main reason you need lots of water with a high Protein diet is that your kidneys need it to get rid of the toxic substances that build up in your bloodstream when you go on this kind of diet - I mean Atkins or something similarly extreme. Fresh fruit and vegetables contain a lot of water, you should always aim to eat plenty of high water content foods to control your weight.

Anything you drink counts. It is not necessary to pour water down your throat when you're not even thirsty, or if you dont like plain water. As long as you drink enough, and your pee fairly clear you're fine and there's no real advantage to forcing more down.

All the stuff you hear about water flushing fat out is correct but not correct in the way its represented - water is necessary to support a healthy metabolism that burns fat, so if you're completely dehydrated, you wont burn fat well, however it doesnt then necessarily follow that more is better. Again, you need enough, not 40 gallons a day.

A couple of big glasses of water a day, a few coffees or teas, and maybe a juice or somethign plus fresh fruit and vegies is ample for the average person. And for most people when they exercise lots and sweat, thirst usually dictates fairly well. To say that once you feel thirsty its too late is ridiculous, like once you feel tired, its too late for sleep, or once you need to go to the toilet, its too late! Thirst has a purpose and its not to tell you you should have had a drink an hour ago.

Edited June 3, 200917 yr by Jachut

ONLY speaking as someone who has had kidney stones and was given this advice from a doctor, if you've ever had problems with kidney stones, you should drink as much plain, clear Water as you drink anything else. so, for every 8 oz of milk, juice, coffee, tea, flavored water beverages, etc, drink another 8 oz of plain ol' water. there's virtually nothing in water your kidneys have to work to get out (besides the crap your local water company puts in, most likely), and it helps dilute everything else, giving your kidneys a much needed break.

otherwise, if you have no problems with your kidneys, then my nutritionist said i could count the water i used to mix any Protein drinks or Soups, any flavored water i drank, and any tea or coffee that was decaf could be counted towards my daily water intake, along with the plain ol' water.

Same here Juniper. I have a history of kidney stones as well, including one that happened 5 days before surgery. Anyway, I was told to drink as much plain water as possible. But like you said, for everyone else, the mixed kind counts as well.