How much is “a glass of water”? And how much water is too much?

What do people mean when they say drink 8 glasses of water a day?

8 Comments

pandatome
on February 8th, 2012

I’ve wondered that myself. I think 1 glass is 8 oz. so 8 glasses would be about 64 oz.

Of course, if it’s very hot out, or you’re doing exercise, you should drink more.

I’ve also heard that if you want to lose weight, you should drink half your weight, in ounces, each day. So, for instance, if you weigh 200 pounds, you want to drink about 100 ounces of water throughout the day. The extra water will help keep you full, so you don’t snack, as well as the normal benefits of keeping you hydrated and helping your body flush out wastes, etc.

Too much of anything can be bad thing, but I don’t know of a specific formula for how much is too much. Listen to your body – if you start feeling sick after downing a gallon of water, you’re probably drinking too much too fast
Guineapig
on February 8th, 2012

they mean drink 7 glasses a day…….
Orchid
on February 8th, 2012

a glass is considered 8oz. so that adds up to 64oz of water a day. you should not drink water until it makes you sick, but there are restrictions on the amount of water babies and small children should drink
SkateRForeveR
on February 8th, 2012

Usually, it’s 8 8-oz glasses of water. Trying to drink a great deal of water (gallons in a short period, or less after strenuous exercise) can cause water intoxication, which is potentially fatal. We all need water, but we need to insure that our electrolytes remain balanced as well.
MexicanMug
on February 8th, 2012

a glass of water is generally 8 ounces –
of course there are larger glasses, 16 ozs is not uncommon.

what we’ve been taught – what I’ve always heard is -
one basic way to determine how much water you need to drink is to use your body weight (say it’s 128 pounds)
divide that in half (64) and drink that in ounces of water over the course of a day. and if your weight is say – 256 pounds, then you might need to drink a gallon of water a day, not all at once of course but counting water drunk at meal times and between meals too.

and that’s a minimum of 8 glasses of water daily, since our bodies are always using up water with normal activity, we actually need more than that or optimum health.

How much is too much? instead ask how much is too little.
Here’s an excellent resource for water information.
Guineapig
on February 8th, 2012

Your second question is easy to answer.
Water makes me nauseated. I drink Sports drinks.
BlindPoet
on February 8th, 2012

a glass of water is 8 oz. you shouldn’t drink too much water all at once…..one lady died not too long ago from drinking too much water, but a “glass” of water can also be a glass of any kind of drink w/ water in it….things like gatorade, koolade, tea, coffee etc.
The only problem is these drinks also include alot of sugar and caffeine and other ingredients that aren’t so good for you
AgeingNature
on February 8th, 2012

The 8 oz. answers are right.
The amount you drink is up to you. You cannot drink too much water during a 24 hr. period. you can drink too much water all at once. Died from it…Dude…
What has been learned over the years is that the body will retain the needed nutrients to keep itself alive. For people who drink very little water, it is water that the body stores. This is known as the ‘drought effect’. When you begin increasing your water intake the body then begins ‘releasing’ the stored water from the bodies tissues. If you want to check this out, begin by drinking the recommended 8 glasses a day for a week. keep track of your weight loss. When I began doing this, (didn’t reduce my food intake) I actual lost 14 lbs. in a seven day period. I was part of a group that began this and several people lost between 5 and 8 lbs in that time.
Really try it, it absolutely won’t hurt you.