I'm 362 lbs, should I drink a gallon of water per day?

#1

… or just drink when I feel thirsty?

I am concerned if I drink too much water it will deplete minerals like potassium, magnesium etc…

I recall reading the max anyone should drink is about a gallon per day (under normal circumstances).

I was thinking about getting one of those 128 fl oz BPA free plastic water bottles with timed reminders printed on the side of the bottle. I saw this 120 lb female with one of those gallon jugs with the reminders on the side… thought it was so cool… but I wonder if someone that thin should be drinking a gallon of water per day!

(traci simpson) #2

I don’t think you need a gallon per day. I do think that drinking when thirsty isn’t a good analogy. I drink until a lot of water some days and some days I don’t, some days I drink a lot of hot tea.
My urine is pale yellow so that’s an indicator to ME that I’m good. When it’s dark yellow, I know I need to hydrate. It’s an individual thing.

(Marianne) #3

I don’t think you need that much water. I’d aim for 80-90 oz. As soon as I get up, I chuck two glasses (16 oz. each), of tepid, salted water. It’s not difficult as I feel thirsty in the morning. So, without much effort, that’s 32 oz. of total daily water.

#4

I wouldn’t worry about drinking that much!

#5

A gallon is surely fine if you feel the need (I sometimes drank more under 160lbs, no heat, not much activity, just beginning of keto or a particularly thirsty day) but you probably don’t need that much. Your excess fat has no particular water need as far as I know :slight_smile: So drink normally. If your thirst work right, it’s okay to listen to it. Many people has a messed up thirst and they barely drink anything (and don’t get enough water from food either), that’s a problem.

If your food has lots of water, you don’t need to drink so much, of course. My food has usually little volume so I drink much. If one eats lots of wet dishes, it’s different and of course, every drinks with lots of water count. One day I drank about 1,5 liter of (weak) coffee, that hydrated me pretty well.

(Robert C) #6

There is a guideline sometimes thrown around “the number of ounces of water per day should be half your weight in pounds”.

Probably about right for average weight people but I do not think it applies to overweight people (and yes, it will wash away things at a gallon per day).

You should instead use your goal weight in pounds and cut that in half for ounces of water. Then, just make that a minimum each day but don’t go too much over.

(Randy) #7

Your body has a great mechanism to help you stay properly hydrated. Thirst.

If you are in a situation where you are working hard in a hot environment, I would be sure to drink extra water with salt. But under normal circumstances, I let thirst be my guide.