Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: dpopiz
I don't think I've ever drunk more than 3 glasses of liquid per day (dunno how many cups are in the glass, but I'd estimate 1.2) and my piss is almost always yellow. I always assumed piss is normally yellow. have I just been wrong my entire life? is piss most often clear? for me if it's clear, it's a strange occurance
also, isn't it bad to drink a ton of water because it leaches the vitamins out?
Basically yeah you've been wrong your entire life
🙂 Generally people use urine color as a first level indicator of hydration. Other than first thing in the morning I have white because I drink generally 3 or so liters (3/4 of a gallon) of fluids/day.
You can over hydrate if you are taking in way too much water (you'd basically have to try to overdo it, or have polydipsia) and it will lower your salt levels. It can be critical, but drinking up to a gallon/day is going to be only healthy. Not sure what you'd need to start causing harm but I would think it would be at least 2 gallons day.
To answer the original question clearly an increase in weight - more than height - would be important as an indicator of liquid content. A 3 year old doesn't need as much as a 350 lber.