Drinking water leads to dehydration?

In a post from Duke I read the following: "This is where I found out that drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water a day was the fast road to dehydration."

Could anyone explain this to me? Because I started drinking water to stop the dehydration and now I hear the opposite...

Thanks!

Jolanda

I think Duke made a typo.  I pretty sure he meant hydration and weightloss.  That guy has given up liters of soda a day and opted for a lot of water.  Don't worry and keep drinkin that water....its sooooo good for you.

Thanks jcbolt for asking that - I was wondering too - I rarely make it to 8 cups, but I didn't think it was a bad thing to aim for! I think agana is correct that it was a typo.

I thought he meant that he needed more.  He went on to say that not one thing works for everyone, so I assumed that he actually needed more than the recommendation.  Maybe we should ask him?

Perhaps because 8 glasses actually wasn't enough? I don't know... I really don't think there's such a thing as too much water (unless of course you're on a flight and the fasten seatbelt sign is on... and there's turbulence!)

You can die from consuming too much water, it's called water intoxication -- death results from a condition called hyponatremia as a result of drinking too much water. Too much water can produce an electrolyte imbalance.

But you only have to worry about it if you're doing a water drinking contest, or you're doing something intense such as running a marathon.

"One year ago I was 538 pounds, and just coming off what was a week long fast. That was the tail end of about 3 months of bipolar depression. This is where I found out that drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water a day was the fast road to dehydration. It also dawned on me that maybe the rules and recommendations are not much more than a basic guideline. This is when I realized I needed help."

He also went on to explain that he had tried losing weight by consuming under 1,000 calories per day (and failed) and has successfully lost 180 lbs by consuming 3,000-4,000 calories daily. 

I can't speak for Duke, but I think he meant that because of his size and food intake that he needed more water than the recommended 8 glasses per day.

i can say that 8 glasses a day is not even close to the amount of water i drink or the amount of water i need.  i'm active so i sweat a lot at the gym, but i'm sure many people would be dehydrated at 8 glasses.  i'm sure i drink maybe 4 times that.

I agree with everyone else's interpretation...  Duke where are ya?  What's your take since you wrote it ? 

Personally, I probably drink 2-3x the recommended 8 glasses of water.  From everything I've read, that is only a guideline.  Each person's requirment is based more on their current weight and the amount of calories they eat each day.

 

I'm pretty sure that what he means is that 8 8oz glasses of water wasn't nearly ENOUGH! ergo dehydration, if he thought that that meant that he should drink that much and no more. I don't drink sodas or coffee, just water, and I drink a LOT more than the '8 glasses' - all the water calculators have told me I should have about 120oz a day, more if I exercise, and that's pretty much what I was drinking already.

I read somewhere that you should have at least one half ounce of water for every pound you weigh, so that would mean I need 119 oz daily.

*Edit, did some googling and found a couple of articles that claim the recommended water intake is a myth. Check it out!!

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/200207112134 20data_trunc_sys.shtml