I didn’t think anything of it until I got with my partner and he pointed out that he thinks I drink too much water. Anyways after tracking I drink around 4-6 L everyday , my bloodwork comes out fine ( aside from low iron and vitamin D ) , my sodium is actually nearly on the higher side , so is it actually a problem?
It makes me wonder if you're drinking so much to counterbalance getting too much sodium?
Maybe? But I’ve always been like this since I was young ( def didn’t have high sodium as a child ) , but could definitely explain it now
Your body can regulate itself, if you drink when thirsty and are healthy otherwise, especially with good bloodwork, you’re completely fine. Enjoy your hydration!
That’s bad medical advice. Exceptional water intake can be tied to diabetes, kidney disease, genetic disorders, sodium dysregulation from the pituitary gland, etc.
4-6 L per day is a LOT of fluid compared to minimum metabolic needs, and may be a symptom of a problem.
Hence me saying healthy otherwise, it seems OP has seen medical professionals regarding their water take already, so if they haven’t seen anything wrong and op isn’t forcing themself to drink, I’d be quite surprised if something was amiss.
Edit: also, minimum metabolic needs vary and do not represent average consumption for many, especially people in this sub. I usually drink around 96oz (3ish litres) on a normal day, more if I’m going to the gym or hiking. I don’t see 4-6 being outlandish.
All these folks keep saying “when I go hiking” or “when I am busy working out” OP doesn’t mention any of that. And they said they’ve had labs drawn but don’t say they’ve told the doctor HOW MUCH water it’s taking to make those labs look as nice as they do. OP’s body may very well be struggling with something that’s being masked by abundant hydration. Labs are just a measure of parts-per-million (for simplicity sake) and don’t show the factors that get us there unless the docs pull very specific hormonal or enzymatic labs that are not covered or offered under regular annual checkups.
Of course there is variety in needs based on body type, etc. BUT minimum, comfort, and maximum are wildly different based on activity and intake. All that to say that minimum doesn’t vary that much, at rest, without significant and often concerning extra factors.
My issue here is a lack of background knowledge, I don’t know what op does in life, my more of I’m going a gym helps me relate the quantity of water to myself and better understand. I don’t see 4-6 litres being crazy for daily intake. I’m assuming op went to the doctors to discussed this, because from my experience you don’t often get a blood draw for no reason. I’m assuming op doesn’t just sit around all day. I’m also assuming op is at least a full grown adult weighing atleast 170lb. Lots of assumption, but, if op is feeling no ill side effects, has spoken to a doctor about it, and only drinks when the feel the need, I see absolutely zero reason to tell them to lower their intake because your also assumed minimum intake of water is much lower, everyone’s body is different and has its own needs. I’m not proposing a universal solution to dehydration is drink 4-6 litres a day, but to me, in my life, I’ve easily drank more than that on many days, and don’t find unreasonable an otherwise healthy person couldn’t drink that pretty consistently
You should consider cutting salt before water. How’s your blood pressure?
Blood pressure is all good, my recent bloods are all clear but I did have Low urea previously which I know can come from over hydration
Sounds like you’re fine. I’ll sometimes drink 4 32oz bottlefuls in a day. I just drink when I’m thirsty. I also eat a lot of salty foods so that probably contributes, but like you my bloodwork and blood pressure are normal.
piss clear? Drink too much. Should be light yellow. Too yellow and you are dehydrated.
Hate going by numbers since everyone is different and there are so many factors playing into it.
By hydrohomie standards, you are never drinking enough. Realistically, 3 liters is the standard unless you're doing a lot of sweat inducing activity.
presumably you told your doctor about this when getting the bloodtests? if they didnt say anything and your bloodwork is fine then youre fine. continue to drink when youre thirsty
Weight/diet/activity all change how much water is a good amount, but 4 liters isn't that wild. Are you noticing problems?
My typical is 4 Nalgene's (32 oz) and when I'm hiking/active it's more. If someone started recording how much water I was drinking because they thought it was too much, I'd wonder if they were noticing symptoms I wasn't, or I'd wonder if they were dehydrated / trying to prove a point to avoid caring for themselves. This is kind of odd behavior fwiw.
I know he doesn’t mean it in any odd way ; he just doesn’t drink enough water and is surprised people can actually enjoy water 😂.
2 liters is normal. 3 if you have kidney stones. You’re drinking twice that. That seems incredibly excessive.
I'm more concerned that you have high sodium levels with that water intake. Are you drinking plain water, or electrolyte drinks?
There is an old military saying “no more than a quart and a half an hour, no more than 12 quarts per day” granted this saying ONLY works for EXTREME weather and activity. So unless you are literally in an active war zone in the desert in the heat of summer…..
https://www.hprc-online.org/nutrition/warfighter-nutrition-guide/5-hydrate-fluid has a good guide for hydration
I don't think its bad but like others said it could be a sign of something else. I'm often in this range too with no apparent issues. I'm also 190-200lbs or so so thats probably related, 6L at 100lbs would be a bit more sketchy
the most important question is how do you feel??
I’m the same! I used to drink around ~6-8L of water a day when I was more active too (and no, I don’t mean “after a marathon”). I’ve been like this my whole life, from the time I would choose to go drink from the hose outside over filling a glass of water inside because I could drink more faster :P
You have no clue how many people have tried to convince me I was diabetic etc. (not)
The funny thing is that you can halve, even quarter your water consumption and still go about your life normally. I got prescribed a medication that as a side effect makes me crave water much less, and nowadays unless I’m mindful I’ll drink 1-2L a day sometimes. I think that’s a little too low for me, but tbh I haven’t noticed any particularly bad effects of this much reduced intake.
How big are you if you don’t mind me asking? I’m 6’2 and have almost always carried a good amount of lean mass, so I feel like that might account for some of the discrepancy from the average person.
I didn’t realize how truly bizarre my intake was until I started living with my partner though, I couldn’t believe how little water they drank at first. Always chalked up my parents’ weak consumption to being old.
4 L is 135 oz. You’re supposed to drink half of your body weight in oz every day. So if you weigh less than 270 lbs, 4 L is too much.
Over hydration is a thing. Yes its bad. Yes 4 to 6 liters a day is bad
It's not bad it's just unnecessary