Why is more water needed?

[Green Xenon]

Hi:

I've read that Atkin's-dieters need more water than those on a regular diet. Why? What will happen if an Atkin's-dieter drinks the same amount of water-per-day as the average individual?


Thanks,

Green Xenon

[ldyj]

Re: Why is more water needed?

Atkins requires a minimum of 64 ounces of plain water. Drinking half your body weight in water is recommended for those who have a great deal to lose, we're looking for "water balance" here. FYI, every food plan I've ever looked at recommends at lest the 64 ounces, and most suggest the extra water. I don't know that "average" folks even know how much water they consume!

[Green Xenon]

Re: Why is more water needed?

Atkins requires a minimum of 64 ounces of plain water. Drinking half your body weight in water is recommended for those who have a great deal to lose, we're looking for "water balance" here. FYI, every food plan I've ever looked at recommends at lest the 64 ounces, and most suggest the extra water. I don't know that "average" folks even know how much water they consume!

Drinking half your body weight? Doesn't that mean that you'll stay up all night relieving yourself?

[ldyj]

Re: Why is more water needed?

Yes, perhaps at first (sorry!) But once your body gets in balance, you'll find you actually want to drink your water! I'm currently working on at least 80 oz. a day (water challenge) and I try to get it all in before 7-8 p.m. I still sometimes get up once in the night. But after awhile I won't even do that. Then I'll try to up to 100 oz. every day. That's usually where I like to stay.

[IrishIrish]

Re: Why is more water needed?

There is a great explanation of the neccessity of water in good health and nutrition on the Mayo Clinic website. More water isn't neccesarily required for Atkins, however 64 ounces is the recommended amount unless you exercise and are not considered "average".

How much should you drink every day?
Water: How much should you drink every day? - MayoClinic.com

[ziggy]

Re: Why is more water needed?

i think you need to drink extra water during the massive fat loss parts but after you have lost your weight you can drink normal amounts 64 ounces or what it says here http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

so for fat loss parts theres a few reasons to drink extra

1. there are toxins in the fat thats stored on your body and when you lose that fat your body needs to flush the toxins out and you need to drink lots of water to beable to do that

2. when a fat cell loses fat alot of the time it takes in water and if you dont drink enough then your body could get upset/dehydrated from all the fat cells needing water to recover properly

so right there is 2 very important reasons to drink extra water during fat loss

[imagood1]

Re: Why is more water needed?

I drink 150 oz of pure water daily -- I have since the day I started...I don't stay up or get up over and over during the night to go to the bathroom...I go maybe once during the night. Your body gets use to the water intake.

[msanjelpie]

Re: Why is more water needed?

It's important to get a kidney function test done before starting Atkins along with your other blood tests that doctors do. Two tests done on the kidneys are to test for creatinine and a blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test. Both indicate how well the kidneys are functioning. The kidneys filter out most of the creatinine and nitrogen and dispose of it in the urine.

During Atkins there is also an increase of ketones excreted in the urine. There can be an increase in creatinine and the BUN numbers can increase. That's why it's important to get a urinalysis test 3 months after starting Atkins again. It's important that your doctor knows you are doing Atkins so they aren't alarmed when these numbers increase.

Extra water intake can help to flush out these toxins, and basically the more water you drink the easier job your kidneys have. Kidneys are our friends... be nice to them

[liv]

Re: Why is more water needed?

I think ms is right - the ketogenic diet may need more water - than the normal one does.

I kind of think that if I do not hear squishy water sounds when I walk I am not doing it right

[mizski]

Re: Why is more water needed?

Extra water intake can help to flush out these toxins, and basically the more water you drink the easier job your kidneys have. Kidneys are our friends... be nice to them

OK, I have some questions about the recommendations to drink large amounts of water. IMO, that doesn't work for everyone...I know it doesn't work for me.

With the exception of the occasional cup of decaf tea/coffee, water is my only beverage. Been that way for over a year now. That is a good thing however neither my bladder nor my kidneys tolerate much more than 64-80 oz /day.

I do have concerns about the larger protein amounts while on Atkins and will work w/my urologists and physician to monitor this. Thank you for the suggestions to get a kidney function test before I start and mention that I'm going to be doing Atkins. Personally, I hate mentioning low carb or ketosis to doctors as my experience has shown that I will get a whole bunch of grief. I think I'm going to print out the ladder graphic to show them that I won't be eating bacon for the rest of my life. I won't be eating much bacon anyways but that is what the masses seem to think of Atkins.

Back to being nice to our kidneys: Doesn't what you eat have an effect of this also? By that I mean, if one eats foods without preservatives, additives and other junk, i.e., try to eat a clean diet, then wouldn't that also contribute to better kidney function without massive amounts of water?

[Slapshot]

Re: Why is more water needed?

Drinking half your body weight? Doesn't that mean that you'll stay up all night relieving yourself?

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, what was meant was drinking half your body weight in OUNCES of water (i.e. if you weigh 200 lbs, 100 ounces).

[Greeneggs&ham]

Re: Why is more water needed?

I've read that Atkin's-dieters need more water than those on a regular diet.

Where did you read that (just curious)?

I won't comment on whether you need to work towards 100+ oz per day, but I can say that all other Atkins things being equal, I do in fact lose more weight when I am drinking roughly 2 liters of water per day then when I either slack off on water intake or replace it with "diet" drinks.

[not2late]

Re: Why is more water needed?

the lipolysis/ketosis mechanism is diuretic, so we lose more water than someone who isn't in ketosis. Therefore, it's important to replenish whatever we lose.

Also, if anyone here does have medical issues--particularly pertaining to their kidneys---its VERY important to have a doctor/nephrologist/urologist monitoring them during Atkins. I can't find the exact page/chapter in the book, but Dr. Atkins gives a specific creatinine level that will exclude anyone from doing Atkins.

[Georgiana]

Re: Why is more water needed?

Chapter 10, page 107. The creatinine level was 2.4.