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Sunday, November 8, 2009

Drink water but not too much!

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When I was 20, I was engaged in a bunch of unhealthy attempts to drop poundage, and one of the things I was doing was drinking a lot of water. Water was good, they said! Water helps you lose weight! (This was years before scientists told us that you don't need to drink as much water as they thought.) I would fill up a 20-ounce sports bottle (you know, those things we drank out of before Nalgenes and Siggs became cool) at the water cooler at work. I worked as a programmer at the time, so every time I advanced a screen in my code (about 15 lines), I would take a drink. It would get empty around the time that I needed to pee, so I'd refill on my trip back from the bathroom and the process would repeat. Then one day, a nosy coworker commented that I was going to the bathroom every 55 minutes, because she'd been keeping track and she thought it meant that I had undiagnosed diabetes (because I was fat, you see). I got freaked out and had tests done and no, I was fine. I explained to the doctor that I was drinking about 200 ounces of water a day, not because I was thirsty but because I thought it would help me lose weight. She explained that I was also going to wash away a lot of nutrients and could potentially make myself really ill. REALLY ill. Whoops.

We all need water to live, but don't rely on H20 to help you lose weight.

Sadly, a woman in England died from doing exactly that.

But instead of consuming the recommended four litres over an entire day, she had that quantity in less than two hours as she watched TV at home. Later she collapsed after complaining of a headache and was taken to hospital, but doctors were unable to save her. A post mortem examination revealed Mrs Henson died from swelling of the brain caused by saturating the body with too much water. (Source)

How very horrible and sad that we've learned to turn off our body's natural preservation mechanism, all in the effort to lose weight. I'm just sad that someone had to lose their life to serve as a warning for the rest of us.

Related: Will drinking water really fill me up and keep me from overeating?

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Comments 1-9 of 9
  • Donna's Avatar
    Posted by Donna Sat Dec 13, 2008 7:39pm PST

    I think there is a mental disease that causes people to drink water like that woman in England did. I thought that all you did was urinate more when you drank too much water, like you did. I guess there could also be an electrolyte imbalance caused by sodium or potassium loss.

    You probably lost weight by running to the bathroom every 55 minutes, in any case. Maybe that is why you thought the water was working.

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  • Bridget's Avatar
    Posted by Bridget Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:59pm PST

    I got really ill by drinking too much water once. I ended up in the hospital and I was throwing up none stop. I wasent drinking it to loss weight I was just drinking it because I love water and was really thirsty. But I did loss alot of wieght after 24 hours of throwing up and not being able to eat for a week.

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  • Tonya L's Avatar
    Posted by Tonya L Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:25pm PST

    I drink over 2 gallons of water a day, I have for about 2 years now. I've gotten to the point where I'm dehydrated if I drink less than that.

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  • KOKI's Avatar
    Posted by KOKI Sun Dec 14, 2008 12:50am PST

    well...not everyone can find the water this tempteng.

    i always try to drink good amount of water but i end up at the end of the day forgetting that.

    everything is bad for you when u have a lot of it.. we need to achieve balance in all aspects of life

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  • Gail's Avatar
    Posted by Gail Sun Dec 14, 2008 5:49am PST

    I stated this very same message as a response to a post, and was slammed by another shiner as a blatantly ignorant person. Thanks for backing me up. Also, your story about the woman in England should hit home; it was scary.

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  • Mary's Avatar
    Posted by Mary Sun Dec 14, 2008 12:47pm PST

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this woman also on that diet that instructs you to consume ~500 calories a day and drink a lot of water to feel full? I can't remember the name of the diet, but there have been other cases of people dying from the severity of it. This is where I read about it: http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/13/water-you-can-have-too-much-of-a-good-thing/

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  • KharaK's Avatar
    Posted by KharaK Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:08pm PST

    Shouldn't 8 glasses of water thoughout the day be just about right? I don't drink water, I can't stand the absence of taste. If there is any taste, its not really supposed to be there.

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  • Jezabel's Avatar
    Posted by Jezabel Mon Dec 15, 2008 7:00am PST

    Scary yes, although even if you happen to drink plenty of water a day odds are of what happpened to the English woman to you are slim as your body will probably rid itself of excess water before you cells burst.

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  • 's Avatar
    Posted by Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:49am PST

    drinking more water than you need will not help anyone lose weight. and it is a myth that you need 8 glasses of water a day. your body is very good at regulating the amount of water you consume. the amount of water your body holds usually remains fairly stable (for people with and average diet and water intake). that is why you pee more when you drink a lot of water, and less when you drink less. your body does not need an excess of water to perform well. just a few glasses is all you need. but, with that said, you do need to monitor your water intake. too much or too little will lead to dehydration or flooding of your body cells. take home message: everything in moderation, too much or too little of anything can be bad for you.

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