# How much water do you drink daily



## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Every couple rides will get completely wrecked by dehydration. I dont think im drinking enough daily and constantly. 

Ive heard half your weight in oz is decent but that seems alot. 


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

solarplex said:


> Ive heard half your weight in oz is decent but that seems alot.


Doesn't seem like a lot to me.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

In my experience, the speed of hydration is pretty quick. It only takes minutes for what I drink to have an effect...like fixing dry eyes and allowing me to sweat if it's hot. Drink too much and 1/2 hour later I'll start peeing it out. Drinking days before a ride doesn't help me. Drinking soon before and during the ride does. I don't keep track of what I drink on a daily basis. I do purposefully drink before riding. While riding I drink when thirsty.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Half your lbs as oz seems like a reasonable amount. When I attempt to drink about 30% more than that (a gallon for me) it is a stretch, but has some benefits.

I don't measure any more, outside of what I bring on a ride. I know I need to drink more if it isn't coming out nearly clear. 

While riding, I drink more than a lot of folks, even when I am in good shape. It comes out to about 12% of my lbs as oz per hour (24 oz, but 36 if it is hot, less if it is cool).

When I am a little out of shape, or if riding for at least a couple hours, my water has low or no calorie electrolytes in it (Nuun) to prevent cramps.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

There is a simple formula you can use to determine the right amount of water consumption each day. The formula is: Your body weight ÷ 2 = Optimal H2O Intake. The optimal amount of water to drink is ½ your body weight (pounds) in ounces per day.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

I have a 52oz bottle that I try to drink two of a day plus whatever incidental liquid I take in...such as my morning protein shake which is 16oz of almond milk...sometimes an unsweet tea if I eat out...in the evening if I partake in an adult beverage...though alcohol does have a dehydrating effect. Usually not half my weight in oz though but I pee clear most of the time and I have to hit the John within 10 minutes of drinking anything so far as I can tell I'm fairly well hydrated. But on the bike I will drink as much as 50-100oz of water. I'm a heavy sweater so I definitely need it. I know when I'm starting to get dehydrated because I'll get a headache.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

I’d be drinking 72oz a day. That’s way, way too low for me here in CO. 

If I was sedentary, maybe. But I drink at least a gallon a day here. 


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Seems like it depends on what you're doing too. Using that formula I'd be at about 80oz, which is about 4 regular water bottles. I easily drink that much on a 4 hour ride, maybe more. 

I usually drink about 1 bottle an hour on rides but intensity and weather can alter that. Also it's best to start the ride hydrated and drink plenty after. A weight check before and after a hard ride is revealing. It's no big deal for me to drink a gallon or so in a day.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

It depends on a lot of things. Just as part of my normal diet, I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables so I get water from that along with the water I drink.

Rough guess:

4 cups of coffee: 32 oz
water with lunch/during the day: 20 oz
water with dinner: 20 oz
other water: 8 oz

total: 80 oz

If I ride or do a lot of yardwork/out in hot sun, that goes up. I'm around 150lbs so looks like I hit your formula on a normal non-riding day and drink a lot more if I ride. And coffee is not a diuretic like a lot of people think.


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## targnik (Jan 11, 2014)

What water percentage is beer? o_0

'Born to ride!'


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

Yeah, um, not quite, also have to factor in where you live in the world, heat, altitude, etc. Down here in the Tropics where it's either hot, hotter, or really fvcking hot and most people don't have the luxuury of AC, I drink a min of 3 litres a day, that does not include if I do any yard work, trail work or ride. More when it's hotter and I will regularly add a electrolyte tab once or twice a week to a glass even when doing nothing, always take a bottle with it when I ride.



cyclelicious said:


> There is a simple formula you can use to determine the right amount of water consumption each day. The formula is: Your body weight ÷ 2 = Optimal H2O Intake. The optimal amount of water to drink is ½ your body weight (pounds) in ounces per day.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

I eat rocks and piss sand. change my mind.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

If I include coffee and beer I'm up to several gallons per day.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

LyNx said:


> Yeah, um, not quite, also have to factor in where you live in the world, heat, altitude, etc. Down here in the Tropics where it's either hot, hotter, or really fvcking hot and most people don't have the luxuury of AC, I drink a min of 3 litres a day, that does not include if I do any yard work, trail work or ride. More when it's hotter and I will regularly add a electrolyte tab once or twice a week to a glass even when doing nothing, always take a bottle with it when I ride.


I'd consider the formula as a baseline that will get most people in the ballpark. Everyone is different of course...based on their own physiology as well as the factors you mentioned. For me...I feel like I can drink less than half my body weight...thank goodness. Otherwise I'd probably drown. But if I drink even 25% less than what I do (100oz min.) then I definitely feel it. That's just a normal sedentary day. Like you said...if it's hot out and I'm outside doing yard work, riding, anything that makes me sweat...I try to increase by at least 50% because I'm a heavy sweater.


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## adaycj (Sep 30, 2009)

This started with rides "wrecked by dehydration". I don't think a formula is going to work. My anecdotal evidence from myself and others I ride with is that everyone is different. Every different, If you are a person that sweats a lot, you will need a greater intake for an extended effort. If you are a person that sweats out lots of salts when you sweat, you will need more than just water after a liter or two of plain water. If you are on the extreme end of the salty sweat types, you might want to start out you efforts with a replenishing drink instead of waiting and only starting with water.

Drinking too much water can be just as bad as too little. As a person on one end of the spectrum, I actually start to get sick if I drink too much water. With pre-hydration less than one hour before a ride, I can ride for a long time at a high exertion level without anything. My wife is the opposite, and she would almost need medical attention on a similar ride if she didn't hydrate. She often drinks over a liter per-hour. 

I would slowly drink water throughout the day until you need to urinate every hour or two. Then try a ride that has caused trouble before while drinking when you think you have lost what you are putting in, or you feel thirsty. If that isn't enough to solve it, I think the underlying issue isn't really just hydration. A sweat test might help with additional analysis.


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

Note, that was just plain water I was talking about, nothing to do with my 3-4 8oz cups of tea a day I drink 

As has been mentioned, drinking too much can also be bad for you and I maybe do (might be slightly addicted), that's why despite not doing any strenuous activity some weeks, I still pop a electrolyte tab to help keep things at a good level. OP should probably also consider getting some electrolyte tabs or energy/sports drink to keep those levels up along with increasing how much just water they drink.



Nubster said:


> I'd consider the formula as a baseline that will get most people in the ballpark. Everyone is different of course...based on their own physiology as well as the factors you mentioned. For me...I feel like I can drink less than half my body weight...thank goodness. Otherwise I'd probably drown. But if I drink even 25% less than what I do (100oz min.) then I definitely feel it. That's just a normal sedentary day. Like you said...if it's hot out and I'm outside doing yard work, riding, anything that makes me sweat...I try to increase by at least 50% because I'm a heavy sweater.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Don't forget to look at the color of your pee. If it's light colored, you're drinking enough. If it's more darker yellow, either you should drink more or you're taking something the colors it, like excess vitamin C, B2, supplements like tumeric, etc...


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Lone Rager said:


> Don't forget to look at the color of your pee. If it's light colored, you're drinking enough. If it's more darker yellow, either you should drink more or you're taking something the colors it, like excess vitamin C, B2, supplements like tumeric, etc...


Color is a good indicator but not all that accurate. I'm listening to a trainer road episode right now and they were saying that specific gravity pee strips are best.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

LyNx said:


> Note, that was just plain water I was talking about, nothing to do with my 3-4 8oz cups of tea a day I drink
> 
> As has been mentioned, drinking too much can also be bad for you and I maybe do (might be slightly addicted), that's why despite not doing any strenuous activity some weeks, I still pop a electrolyte tab to help keep things at a good level. OP should probably also consider getting some electrolyte tabs or energy/sports drink to keep those levels up along with increasing how much just water they drink.


Yeah...that's true. Too much water without replacing electrolytes can dilute what's there. Not a bad idea...especially for the water you are drinking during activity...to add some electrolytes of some sort. I usually just add a little salt and salt substitute and a touch of epsom salt. To counter the salty taste I'll add in a packet of flavoring.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

J.B. Weld said:


> Color is a good indicator but not all that accurate. I'm listening to a trainer road episode right now and they were saying that specific gravity pee strips are best.


Interesting. I remain skeptical of the benefits of monitoring hydration so closely.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Lone Rager said:


> Interesting. I remain skeptical of the benefits of monitoring hydration so closely.


Same here, I pretty much just drink when I'm thirsty and try to make sure I'm extra hydrated before rides. I just thought it was kind of interesting listening to the trainer road guys geek out on the subject.


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## Miker J (Nov 4, 2003)

I'd say it is highly dependent on conditions and the individual. Heat bothers me very little and I shed heat super easy, don't sweat much, and drink not much at all even on a 3 hour ride in warm weather. When I drink as much as other people suggest I should I just end up pissing a lot more very clear urine.

While the humidity is brutal here out east I found riding out west I feel very cool, but the condition have a much more "desiccating" effect. Pretty sure with every breath I'm blowing out a lot of water and what I sweat immediately evaporates. I can see the need to drink a lot more is dryer conditions.


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## Riquez (Oct 19, 2017)

I live on a sub-tropical pacific island. Humidity is 80-100% 30-35ºC
I sweat massively, I often take spare tshirts. I can wring-out about 1/2 a coffee mug of sweat from a tshirt! & do that at least once after drying it out on a tree.
An average ride is 25km, drink 1.5L, 1hr 30 mins, elevation gain 200m. I am slim, 180cm & weigh 67kg.


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## natas1321 (Nov 4, 2017)

Don't know how much I drink daily but I drink between 2.5-3.0 L of water per ride usually with my average daily ride being two hours or a little more. 

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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Here's an interesting story on how it's not quite as easy as just drinking a bunch of water. It seems you need to drink water while you consume food rather than on an empty stomach, where you just end up passing most of it rather than your body absorbing it.

https://time.com/5646632/how-much-water-to-drink/


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## Dr Evil (Sep 20, 2015)

Half your body weight in ounces a day is what I recommend to my patients. You should never wait until you are thirsty to drink. By then you are already dehydrated. Sip throughout the day. You'll make more bathroom trips but you'll also be getting rid of toxins.


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## TheBaldBlur (Jan 13, 2014)

My daily target is 3 L as a baseline not including what I consume riding, working in the yard, hiking, etc.


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## roughster (Dec 18, 2017)

I come from an ultra-endurance background (Ironmans and Ultramarathons). There is a pretty standard logic from both those groups, drink till you have to pee, then slow down once you feel you might be getting there (from experience). If you never need to pee when you ride, you are riding dehydrated a lot most likely.

The other thing to consider is for riding, not just general water intake, you should be drinking dilute sports drink. I am guilty of the ease of filling up my camelback with pure water for a quick ride, but if your going more than 1 hour, you will need electrolytes.

My guess your symptoms are more of a function of having your electrolytes out of balance than dehydration, but the color of your urine will tell you for sure. If you see any hint of "darkness" in your urine, you are dehydrated. Note darkness does not mean bright yellow for example as a Vitamin B super complex taken daily (which everyone should do if you drink alcohol) will make you feel like a toxic avenger when you pee, lol.

Hope this helps!


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

3-4 quarts a day, been doing that since I started eating red meat daily. My body percentage is still on the low side though, usually 60%, males are supposed to be 60-70% water, females 50-60% water because they have more fat.


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## eri (Sep 4, 2012)

There is a really good book about hydration: Waterlogged, by Noakes. He goes through a bunch of science papers about hydration. Lots of interesting information, he tries to emphasize the stuff science knows, and really has it in for gatoraide's decades long misinformation war. How difficult it is to die from dehydration, the dangers of overhydration. That it is pretty much impossible to run out of sodium.

My takeaway from the book was: drink when you're thirsty. I'll throw my hat in with the crew that says your needs vary significantly depending on your environment and activity. 

Visit the humid tropics and I'm drinking a ton more water.

Hiking in hot utah canyons I've sometimes needed almost 2liters/hour. Pretty much impossible to carry as much as I want to drink.

Here in the pnw I generally plan for 700ml/hour when doing long races. I drink a lot more when doing intervals.

I was above 14k feet in ladakh for more than a month this summer and settled into drinking 2500ml-3000ml/day, which I thought was incredibly low for all that exertion. I started at 4-5 liters and was just peeing a ton. My guess is the temperate dry air makes the body's cooling more effective so I didn't sweat much or at all.

I'm pretty comfortable trusting my sense of thirst.


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