Hydrate when thirsty?

(Robin Gray) #1

If we can learn to trust ourselves to eat when hungry and stop when full, why do we say we should drink a prescribed amount of water in a day and never mention drinking to satiety?
Please explain like I’m five. :blush:

(*Rusty* Instagram: @Rustyk61) #2

Anyone that says you have to drink a prescribed amount is wrong. When first starting Keto it’s important to stay hydrated to help flush the toxins out of your system. Once a person gains an understanding about how much water and salt they need then they should dose accordingly. Hope that helps.

(Olivia) #3

You don’t have to drink a specific amount. It’s perfectly healthy to just drink when you’re thirsty. However, there are some benefits to drinking more. 1. Often thirst can wrongly be interpreted as hunger so drinking some water can help you figure out whether you really need food in that moment. 2. Some teas and coffee can suppress mild habitual hunger for a little while, which helps you bridge the time to your next meal. 3. It helps with stress eating (e.g. at work at your desk) as your hands and mouth are occupied with a cup of tea instead of a granola bar.

(Liz ) #4

I agree it makes sense to drink to satiety. However before Keto I did not have a good thirst signal and would often get dehydrated. Since going keto, my thirst signals have strengthened along with my hunger and satiety signals so I can better rely on all of them.

Also, before keto, drinking water on an empty stomach would make me deeply nauseated, that’s gone too! So odd.

(Candy Lind) #5

That used to happen to me, too! :flushed:

(TJ Borden) #6

Yeah, you shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach… oh water?

Never mind, I was thinking of something else.

(TJ Borden) #7

In years past, when cycling in and out of LCHF, thirst was always my indicator of how I was doing.

I’ve never dry fasted, and I don’t plan on trying it, but with keto, especially when EF, I’ve had days where I went to bed and realized I hadn’t had anything to drink all day, but I wasn’t thirsty. I’ve also noticed that the times I “force” water are also the times I tend to get headaches, probably because I’m flushing salt.

On be opposite end, when I was diabetic (un-medicated), I was thirsty ALL THE TIME, and I had to pee all the time, which sucked when I was on the road a lot. When I was at my worst, I would have to stop at nearly every rest area between Seattle and San Francisco.

Versus one of my last drives, while on keto, I stopped in Redding, CA for fuel and a pee break, and I didn’t stop again until Seattle.

I’m guessing @CandyLindTX would agree, one of the best feelings on the road is a full tank of gas and an empty bladder, and the worst is the low fuel light, needing to pee, climbing a mountain pass praying there’s an exit with diesel soon.

(Brian) #8

I think it’s a little like how your body is intended to handle food. We seldom ever get exactly the right amount of food. We normally eat a little more or a little less than we need, even when we’re at “maintenance”. Our body has a set point where it wants to be. If we eat a little more, the body will burn a little more energy. If we eat a little less, the body will burn a little less energy. Getting too far out of that range where the body likes to maintain itself will see the weight, fat, going up or down.

I sorta think it’s similar with water. The body has a range that it would like to live in. We might drink a little more or a little less and so long as we’re not way over or way under, it is perfectly capable of performing it’s processes efficiently. If we give it too little, it is remarkably able to recycle. If we give it too much, it is remarkably able to eliminate it, by several means. Extremes in either direction aren’t good.

Probably not well said, but perhaps relevant… ?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #9

Actually, Tim Noakes, who was the first to start urging runners to stay hydrated, has now switched to advising people to “drink to thirst.”

That’s because the sport drink companies got on the bandwagon and started pushing people to drink more and more. Several runners have now actually died from overhydrating during races, something that Dr. Noakes predicted when the first runner collapsed from excessive water intake during a race (she recovered, but others did not). That was the point at which he apologized for his earlier advice and changed his message.

(Candy Lind) #10

LOL! We try to never let that low fuel light come on! 200 miles with the arrow near the E cures you of that REAL fast. :exploding_head: