How to calculate how much water you should drink (2024)

FAQs

How to calculate how much water you should drink? ›

Weight-based Water Intake

The general rule is to drink one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight. All you have to do is weigh yourself, then divide the number of pounds by two to figure out your needed water intake.

Weight-based Water Intake

The general rule is to drink one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight. All you have to do is weigh yourself, then divide the number of pounds by two to figure out your needed water intake.

Your weight is one variable that changes the amount of water you should be drinking. To help you establish a baseline, you can use the following rule-of-thumb equation described in U.S. News & World Report. In short, the equation tells you to take half your body weight, and drink that amount in ounces of water.

Experts recommend that males consume 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of water daily and females 11.5 cups (2.7 liters). But environmental factors such as temperature and other health conditions may affect your water needs. Your body is about 60% water.

“Aim to drink half an ounce for every pound of body weight,” she says. “In other words, divide what you weigh in half and aim to consume that many overall ounces of water daily from a variety of sources.” For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, aim to drink 75 ounces of water a day, which is around nine cups per day.

Multiply by 2/3: Next you want to multiple your weight by 2/3 (or 67%) to determine how much water to drink daily. For example, if you weighed 175 pounds you would multiple that by 2/3 and learn you should be drinking about 117 ounces of water every day.

You can have large amounts of water at least an hour before and after meal times but not during the meals. Having too much water near your meal times can dilute the digestive acids and mess up the proper digestion of foods. If you must drink then you can take a sip or two at most during your meals.

The longstanding rumor is that humans need about 8 cups — or 64 fluid ounces — of water a day. But actually, as a general rule, Mayo Clinic shares that men should consume about 15.5 cups of fluids per day. For women, that number is 11.5 cups.

What about coffee? Some coffees will have a higher caffeine level than others, and obviously more than tea. But the diuretic effect is fairly low in most people, similar to tea. As both tea and coffee do count as water intake, the level of caffeine contained in both drinks shouldn't have any dehydrating effects.

What is the rule for how much water you should drink? ›

So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men. About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women.

Drinking a gallon of water a day is usually safe for most, but drinking too much water can be risky for those with certain health conditions like kidney disorders or heart problems, says Ellen Landes, RDN, CPT, a registered dietician based in St. Charles, Illinois, and owner of The Runner's Dietitian.

Water aids the digestive system, helps prevent constipation, flushes toxins from the body, promotes good kidney function, keeps your joints and muscles lubricated, supports healthier and younger-looking skin, and helps regulate body temperature.

How much should I drink a day? A healthy adult needs around 35 ml of water each day per kilogram of body weight . At least according to the general guidelines from scientific organisations. A person weighing 50 kilograms requires 1.7 litres, 60 kilograms 2.1 litres, 70 kilograms 2.4 litres and 80 kilograms 2.8 litres.

How much daily total water do you need? For healthy individuals, the average daily water for men is about 15.5 cups and for women about 11.5 cups. That might mean you need only four to six cups of plain water, depending on other fluid sources such as coffee, tea, juice, fruits, and vegetables.

A: It's easy to determine how much water you should drink based on your weight. A good rule is to drink somewhere between half an ounce and an ounce of water for every pound of body weight. That means that a 200-pound person should drink about 100 to 200 ounces of water a day.

But while Keto does increase hydration needs, drinking more water isn't necessarily the answer. In fact, drinking too much sodium-free water on Keto can exacerbate Keto flu. Why? Because over-hydrating dilutes blood sodium levels, bringing with it—yes—the dreaded symptoms of Keto flu.

Water is cheap and healthy. And drinking H2O is an effective way for most people to stay hydrated. The National Academy of Medicine recommends that adult women and men drink at least 91 and 125 ounces of water a day, respectively. (For context, one gallon is 128 fluid ounces.)