Recommended Daily Water Intake - How much water do you need?

How much water do you need daily? When calculating your recommended daily water intake you should first assess your lifestyle and your weight. Although there is a rule of thumb for calculating your water intake based on your weight, your lifestyle will also become a major factor.

Calculate Your Recommended Daily Water Intake
The general formula for calculating your water intake per day is that you halve your weight and use that number as a guideline to how many ounces of water you should consume daily.

For example, if you weigh 160 lbs and you divide that by 2, you end up with 80. So your recommended daily intake is 80 ounces of water.

Make the Number Make Sense
To make that number (80 ounces in our example) more digestible, consider that a cup of water is 8 oz.; so divide that number by 8 to calculate how many cups of water you should drink a day.

For our example, 80 oz. divided by 8 oz. equals 10, so for someone who weighs 160 lbs. they should aim for 10 cups of water a day. Although this is a rough calculation, now we will take your lifestyle into consideration.

Lifestyle Consideration #1: Exercise Regimen and Routine
If you exercise frequently, then you may need to increase your water intake. Exercising causes you to lose water through burning calories and sweating. On workout days, consider upping your daily water intake to make up for the water loss during and after your exercise routine.

Lifestyle Consideration #2: Diet
Your diet also plays a major role in the amount of water that you should drink daily. You should honestly assess your current diet and adjust your daily water intake accordingly.

First you should consider how many fruits and vegetables you consume regularly. Fruits and vegetables both have a very high water content, so you may not have to drink as much water as recommended. On the other hand, if you eat a lot of processed foods or foods high in sodium, then you should consider increasing your water intake.

Lifestyle Consideration #3: Your 'Liquid' Diet
Do you already drink a lot of fruit juices, tea, and other healthy beverages? A lot of beverages out there contain some degree of water which may contribute to your daily water intake.

Other beverages, such as alcohol, coffee, and smoothies, are not necessarily a substitute for good ole H2O. So if you are trying to aim for a recommended daily water intake and are falling short, consider replacing some of these other beverages with a refreshing glass of ice water.