Why MUST I drink lots of water on low carb?

TAD wrote:
:: I am among those that think the water thing is overdone. I have
:: maintained a 60 lb. loss on Atkins, and normally drink 1 quart of
:: water daily. The only exception would be if I am very active or in
:: very hot conditions, then I adjust accordingly.
::
:: Initially, I drank a gallon daily. It seemed I was constantly
:: downing pints of water, as well as continuously running to the
:: washroom. I was also getting up in the middle of the night to go,
:: something I had never done before (and don't do since I have cut
:: back).
::
:: I think people hear that drinking a quart of water (or whatever) is a
:: good habit, so they figure if a quart is good then a gallon must be
:: fantastic. I'm sure they also feel that it keeps them full,
:: something not really necessary on Atkins. Just eat some fat and
:: you'll feel full.
::
:: I also found that when I overdid the water consumption, especially
:: during meals, that I got some stomach pain. I was frequently
:: drinking a quart of water with a large meal, which common sense
:: should have told me was too much.
::
:: Overdoing a good thing is not necessarily a good thing.

Many people right here in this ng will report on downing amazing amounts of
water - yet they don't manage to lose much weight, either. There seems to
be the general notion amongst dieters that you must drink lots and lots of
water - yet many dieters don't successfully lose and maintain weight loss.

Hi folks,

I heard on TV that you must remain VERY hydrated, i.e. drink
lots and lots of water when you are in Ketosis. They guy
gave no reason.

Can somoene please explain the detailed reason behind it?

Does being-hydrated help you lose weight faster?
Does it give you energy so you won't give up?
Or is it a necessity so you won't develop kidney problems
because that organ HATES ketone concentration.

Your help is appreciated,

J.

Water flushes out the built up toxins from your system. Flushes out fat too. I
drink just plain water. I find that my kidneys work overtime, filtering
anything added, like artificial sweetners, citric acid.

I learned a hard lesson recently. On not staying hydrated. Hemmroids.

Just my opinion.

Hi folks,

I heard on TV that you must remain VERY hydrated, i.e. drink
lots and lots of water when you are in Ketosis. They guy
gave no reason.

Can somoene please explain the detailed reason behind it?

Does being-hydrated help you lose weight faster?
Does it give you energy so you won't give up?
Or is it a necessity so you won't develop kidney problems
because that organ HATES ketone concentration.

Your help is appreciated,

J.

Water flushes out the built up toxins from your system. Flushes out fat too. I
drink just plain water. I find that my kidneys work overtime, filtering
anything added, like artificial sweetners, citric acid.

I learned a hard lesson recently. On not staying hydrated. Hemmroids.

Just my opinion.

Sunshyne wrote:

||
| Water flushes out the built up toxins from your system. Flushes out
| fat too. I drink just plain water. I find that my kidneys work
| overtime, filtering anything added, like artificial sweetners, citric
| acid.
| I learned a hard lesson recently. On not staying hydrated. Hemmroids.
| Just my opinion.



You just pee out excess water that you drink. Beyond drinking water to
quench your thirst, there are no additional benefits to gorging on water.
In fact, drinking too much can be unhealthy or even dangerous.
--
Peter
270/215/180
Before/Current Pix:
http://users.thelink.net/marengo/wei...htlosspix.html

Sunshyne wrote:

||
| Water flushes out the built up toxins from your system. Flushes out
| fat too. I drink just plain water. I find that my kidneys work
| overtime, filtering anything added, like artificial sweetners, citric
| acid.
| I learned a hard lesson recently. On not staying hydrated. Hemmroids.
| Just my opinion.



You just pee out excess water that you drink. Beyond drinking water to
quench your thirst, there are no additional benefits to gorging on water.
In fact, drinking too much can be unhealthy or even dangerous.
--
Peter
270/215/180
Before/Current Pix:
http://users.thelink.net/marengo/wei...htlosspix.html

"marengo" writes:
You just pee out excess water that you drink.

The problem is, you pee whether you have an excess or not. If you
become dehydrated, that can cause problems.

Beyond drinking water to quench your thirst, there are no additional
benefits to gorging on water.

That should be "Beyond drinking water to maintain hydration..."

"marengo" writes:
You just pee out excess water that you drink.

The problem is, you pee whether you have an excess or not. If you
become dehydrated, that can cause problems.

Beyond drinking water to quench your thirst, there are no additional
benefits to gorging on water.

That should be "Beyond drinking water to maintain hydration..."

Sunshyne wrote:

||
| Water flushes out the built up toxins from your system. Flushes out
| fat too. I drink just plain water. I find that my kidneys work
| overtime, filtering anything added, like artificial sweetners, citric
| acid.
| I learned a hard lesson recently. On not staying hydrated. Hemmroids.
| Just my opinion.


From: "marengo"
You just pee out excess water that you drink. Beyond drinking water to
quench your thirst, there are no additional benefits to gorging on water.
In fact, drinking too much can be unhealthy or even dangerous.
--

I don't gorge on water. I drink water to quench my thirst. Its important also,
in my case, to drink my share of water. So as to not become dehydrated. I drink
4 16 oz. bottles a day.

I am very busy and active also right now. I have three teenage sons. I am a on
the go lady and Mom right now. Then school for me also. Sweating, active. I
need my water. I carry a water bottle everywhere I go.

I take 4-5 pees in a 24 hour period. I pay attention to my body also. When not
drinking enough water, my urine is more concentrated. More yellow. My bladder
feels it, by becoming tender to the touch, and sore. Harder to pee the urine
out when like this.

Have had urinary tract issues, also spasms in the bladder, controlled by meds,
also, past kidney issues.

Since beginning Atkins. The health issues listed above, have cleared up for me.
IF I drink my fair share of water.

If I drink too many drinks, loaded with sugar, artificial sweetners, citric
acid, sodium. Drinks like crystal light, coffee, diet sodas..etc. Even Fruit 2
0. My urinary, kidneys feel it. I drink no more than 2 of them drinks in a day,
most of the time just 1. I learned the hard way on this.

I remember going to a Chiropractor a couple years ago. He commented to me, that
he could tell I was not drinking enough water. By the way my spine cracked. It
made a crunching noise, instead of a cracking noise.

Wonder what the Atkins book says, should we cite it out of the book? Which WOE
are you following?




Peter
270/215/180
Before/Current Pix:
http://users.thelink.net/marengo/wei...htlosspix.html





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs
of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of
selfishness"
-- William Arthur Ward.

Sunshyne wrote:

||
| Water flushes out the built up toxins from your system. Flushes out
| fat too. I drink just plain water. I find that my kidneys work
| overtime, filtering anything added, like artificial sweetners, citric
| acid.
| I learned a hard lesson recently. On not staying hydrated. Hemmroids.
| Just my opinion.


From: "marengo"
You just pee out excess water that you drink. Beyond drinking water to
quench your thirst, there are no additional benefits to gorging on water.
In fact, drinking too much can be unhealthy or even dangerous.
--

I don't gorge on water. I drink water to quench my thirst. Its important also,
in my case, to drink my share of water. So as to not become dehydrated. I drink
4 16 oz. bottles a day.

I am very busy and active also right now. I have three teenage sons. I am a on
the go lady and Mom right now. Then school for me also. Sweating, active. I
need my water. I carry a water bottle everywhere I go.

I take 4-5 pees in a 24 hour period. I pay attention to my body also. When not
drinking enough water, my urine is more concentrated. More yellow. My bladder
feels it, by becoming tender to the touch, and sore. Harder to pee the urine
out when like this.

Have had urinary tract issues, also spasms in the bladder, controlled by meds,
also, past kidney issues.

Since beginning Atkins. The health issues listed above, have cleared up for me.
IF I drink my fair share of water.

If I drink too many drinks, loaded with sugar, artificial sweetners, citric
acid, sodium. Drinks like crystal light, coffee, diet sodas..etc. Even Fruit 2
0. My urinary, kidneys feel it. I drink no more than 2 of them drinks in a day,
most of the time just 1. I learned the hard way on this.

I remember going to a Chiropractor a couple years ago. He commented to me, that
he could tell I was not drinking enough water. By the way my spine cracked. It
made a crunching noise, instead of a cracking noise.

Wonder what the Atkins book says, should we cite it out of the book? Which WOE
are you following?




Peter
270/215/180
Before/Current Pix:
http://users.thelink.net/marengo/wei...htlosspix.html





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs
of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of
selfishness"
-- William Arthur Ward.

"Roger Zoul" wrote:

Martin W. Smith wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" wrote:
::
::: Martin W. Smith wrote:
::::: "Roger Zoul" wrote:
:::::
:::::: Martin W. Smith wrote:
:::::::: "John E" wrote:
::::::::
::::::::: Hi folks,
:::::::::
::::::::: I heard on TV that you must remain VERY hydrated, i.e. drink
::::::::: lots and lots of water when you are in Ketosis. They guy
::::::::: gave no reason.
:::::::::
::::::::: Can somoene please explain the detailed reason behind it?
:::::::::
::::::::: Does being-hydrated help you lose weight faster?
::::::::: Does it give you energy so you won't give up?
::::::::: Or is it a necessity so you won't develop kidney problems
::::::::: because that organ HATES ketone concentration.
:::::::::
::::::::: Your help is appreciated,
::::::::
:::::::: One reason is related to the exercise component. The body
:::::::: normally stores glycogen in and around the muscles. Glycogen
:::::::: is one part carb and four parts water. It is fuel that can be
:::::::: burned quickly, when the muscles are called on to work hard.
:::::::: If you are doing the exercise component of Atkins properly, ie
:::::::: lots of exercise daily, then especially during the weight loss
:::::::: phases, your body will normally be depleted of glycogen and so
:::::::: will have much less stored water. Drinking all this extra
:::::::: water helps keep the level up to where it would normally be if
:::::::: you were eating more carbs. It is especially important if you
:::::::: are training hard.
::::::
:::::: So if there is little glycogen, how can the muscle be holding
:::::: water?
:::::
::::: It isn't holding nearly as much. That's the point. You have to
::::: keep drinking.
:::::
:::::: You
:::::: can guzzle all the water you want, but the water will just flow
:::::: through and it won't stored in the muscles with glycogen if
:::::: you're exercising and restricting carbs.
:::::
::::: The drinking isn't for storing the water. The drinking is for
::::: ensuring water is there for the processes that need it, because
::::: they can't get enough of it by burning glycogen, when there isn't
::::: much glycogen to be burned.
:::
::: But a LCer can drink all the water in the world, but since the
::: carbs are low there will be little glycogen for water to bind to,
::: hence it won't be stored in and around muscle tissue and in the
::: liver. That water weight can only be replaced by upping the carbs
::: or eating enough protein to get glycogen stores refilled as a
::: result of conversion. Water can be other places in the body....
::
:: That's right, but that's why drinking water is so important for an
:: athlete on a low-carb diet. I'm not talking about replacing water
:: weight. I'm talking about ensuring that sufficient water is available
:: when it is needed.

Sure....everyone needs sufficient water and low-carbers are no different.

Low-carbers *are* different in that they don't have a large store of
glycogen to call on during training and competing.

::::: When you try your first century without drinking water, you will
::::: see what I mean. You probably won't reach the finish line.
:::
::: You don't think I'd try a century without drinking water, do you?
::: I won't even do 20 miles without water.
::
:: Good, but on a full glycogen load, I can go hard for two hours
:: without drinking water, with no ill effects or drop in performance.
:: That's much further than 20 miles. When I am low-carbing, I can't go
:: anywhere near that long without drinking.

Well, one thing about low-carbing is the loss of electrolytes like sodium,
potassium, and magnesium due to ketosis. So, when you're glycogen loaded
you won't have a deficiency in these and your muscles have glycogen, so you
can tap type 2 fibers more to enable you to go hard.

You can be low on electrolytes whether you have a large glycogen store
or not.

On low carb, you're
deplete of all of these (electrolytes and gylcogen), so going hard will be,
er, hard. You can get muscle cramps and not have much of an attitude for
going hard. I think this occurs regards of how much water one drinks,
provided one has enough. I don't see what extra water will do if you're low
on electrolytes and gylcogen and that impairing exercise ability.

Among other things, you need water to carry away waste and to cool the
body.

Your argument is that a LCer needs more water because water is lost in and
around muscles due to depleted glycogen stores. But just drinking more
water while LCing doesn't replenish that water - no matter how much you
drink. The water will just pass through.

That isn't my argument. The part about not having a large glycogen
store is part of my argument. The water you drink does not "just pass
through." Do you really think there is a passage way connecting your
mouth to you penis? That didn't sound right, but you get my drift. The
water you drink must be aborbed into you body to come out in urine and
sweat. If it just passed through, it would all come out your ass.

The bottom line: I think one's water needs will be the same whether LCing or
not.

But they're not.

Lyle's suggestion of 4 to 5 clear pees per day seems like the best
advice on water consumption. Electrolyte supplementation may be necessary,
however, for the LCing athlete.

As far as dieting goes, almost every diet book in existence recommends
drinking ****loads of water. It has been shown repeatedly that this
recommendation is baseless in fact. But if you have some citations
somewhere that says that LCers NEED more water because of restricted carbs,
please pass that on.

We have discussed the reasons here, and you haven't refuted any of
them. I don't know if you compete at all, let alone compete while on a
LC diet.

Just for the heck of it, though, i'm going to gorge on water before my
Thursday AM ride, which I will do while LCing (I've done this before, BTW).
I'm sure I'll be uncomfortable with a belly full of water while riding up
the first hill.

You shouldn't gorge on water at all, and certainly not before hard
training. You should be hydrated, and you should drink during the
ride.