It is a frequently asked question that how much water should you drink exactly in a day. There are a lot of people who advocate that you should drink 8 glasses of water each day which is almost 2 liters a day and that’s a lot.
“The easiest formula is to take your weight and divide it in half,” says Keri Gans , RDN, a New York City-based nutrition consultant and author of The Small Change Diet. “The number you get is the amount of water, in ounces, you should consume each day.”
For example, if you weigh 120 pounds, you should be drinking about 60 ounces (or 8 cups) of water a day. Gans adds that you should take into account other factors, such as temperature, if you exercise, and if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. In which case you’ll probably need more than that. “Another important thing to remember is that water isn’t the only way to meet your hydration needs,” says Gans . “Vegetables, fruit, and unsweetened beverages also count.”
How much Your Body Needs?
It means everyone has different requirement for water according to the weight of their body. It also depends upon the climate they are living in, their lifestyle , foods that they consume and other factors. All food that a person consumes in a day has some water content and it also adds to your daily requirement for water. Water requirement does not mean only H2O in your daily routine but also other fluids like juices, milk, coffee, tea etc.
Another easy way to find your daily requirement of how much water is simply to drink water whenever you are little thirsty. But it does not mean that you should drink water only when you are thirsty.
Some fruits are very rich in water like water melon, cucumber, lettuce, oranges, tomatoes, grapefruit, strawberries etc. Other foods have diuretic effects like alcohol and asparagus and even tea. Some foods which are rich in sodium can increase your need for water like soup. This can make you thirsty and you tend to drink more water till your fluids get diluted.
Are You Thirsty?
When you are thirsty it is also a sign. That you are already dehydrated so you should drink water as soon as you feel a little thirst. You can also check the colour of urine to see if you are drinking enough water or not. Dark yellow urine means you are not drinking enough and urine should be light yellow or clear if you are drinking sufficient water.
So these are few indicators to check if you are taking enough water daily. However it is different for everyone and one can judge himself. How much he water should drink depending upon his weight, climate, physical activities and food.
Source - womenhealthfitness
