Liquid increase and issues

[RipStone]

Recently I have started to increase my fluids. Before I don't think I was getting in a gallon of water and now I know I am drinking at least that if not two gallons. Since I'm not the biggest fan of water about 30% of the time I'm having iced tea from a mix, which is natural with no sweetners.

However, my stomach has been really bloated latley and I have been peeing like a racehorse.
I'm probaly going 15x a day. When will these two consequcnes calm down a bit and are they fairly common? Please share your expiernces. Thanks.

[Adam Campbell]

If you drink two gallons of fluid a day, you are going to go like a racehorse. Why are you drinking so much?

[nowayman]

Oh man.

[BjsAust]

I dont know about ice tea, but normal tea is a diuretic (makes you pee). That on top of a lot of extra fluids...

I was the same, I used to drink a lot of tea and a fair amount of coffee, in order to drink as much fluid as I wanted and not spend half my day either at the mens room or travelling to/from it I had to cut down on my tea and coffee a lot.

[RipStone]

Originally posted by Adam Campbell:
If you drink two gallons of fluid a day, you are going to go like a racehorse. Why are you drinking so much?

Everything that I read says drink 1-2 gallons od water a day. Well before I wasn't even getting close to 1 gallon and I want to make sure that I am leaving nothing out of the equation as far as proper nutrition and excersise.

[dinabol]

Tea contains the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. for some reason the tea doesn't produce the same "kick" that coffee can.

[Adam Campbell]

Everything that I read says drink 1-2 gallons od water a day.

I would say that is overkill. I mean, one gallon a day is one thing, but two is just excessive. There aren't really any great guidelines, but a good rule of thumb is one cup every couple of hours, along with whatever else you drink. You'll often read that water intake increases your metabolism, but there's no research that confirms that. I also made a point of asking Dale Schoeller about it--he's a PhD at Wisconsin who studies biochemical and molecular nutrition--and he told me that water doesn't boost your metabolism. (A couple of metabolism researchers referred me to him as the guy to ask.) It might help you feel more full so that you eat less, but research doesn't even show that to be true, unless it's mixed with food. (On personal experience, I would say that water does have somewhat of a filling effect by itself.)

Water is very important. And I highly recommend it. But if you're continually urinating, that's a sign your drinking more than enough. The other guys are right that caffeine will add to that side effect as well. However, from my research, most tea doesn't have near as much caffeine as coffee. (I want to say that tea typically has less than half the caffeine that most coffee does once it's been prepared.)

[RipStone]

Adam,thanks for that very informative post. I guess I am overdoing it a bit and the last thing I want is to fill up on water when I am trying to gain some lean mass. I have been so bloated latley that my abs don't look as good and I feel like crap at the gym(and at home).

Pretty dumb now that I am analyzing the situation, I guess that's why I'm 18 and learning all the time.

[Adam Campbell]

One thing about water intake is that it will often relieve water retention (if you body has plenty, it doesn't need to hold on to excess). So I'd guess that bloated feeling is a full stomach?

It's not dumb at all, by the way, considering your muscles are what, 70 percent water? So it's smart to make sure you're getting plenty, but unless you're losing a lot during your exercise session, there's no reason to force so much down. (A lot of people recommend ~ a gallon a day although I'm not sure why. I'd say shoot for 60 ounces or so--this is really just a made-up recommendation, too--on top of other liquid. Then you can simply drink any additional water as you desire.)

[RipStone]

The bloating is a full stomach and gas I think. LOL!

Also, I defintly sweat during my workouts but not excessively.

Do you think it will just take a few days for my stomach to feel normal again?

[BjsAust]

There was a great guide in the Core Performance book. Use the color of your pee to see if you're dehydrated, if its clear or light yellow you're fine. If your at the toilet every 15 minutes you're drinking too much. Makes it easy to work things out for yourself rather than try to drink x cups of water every hour or whatever.

[RipStone]

By the time the toilet was done flushing I think I was back in there. LOL