TC x 2

[denny]

Saturday night's sleep:
Got to sleep around 5:30am. Woke up 11:30am-ish. Didn't get up.

Sunday's food:
Double-lolly :)
Pasta with tuna mayo.
(step back in amazement as Denny eats something healthy! by the way, I make huge portions of this stuff, so it's a pretty good meal for a day)

Sunday's drinks:
Don't remember. Not a lot, judging by lack of drinks containers around bedroom.

Remembered to take an Echinacea capsule and vitamin C.


Last night's sleep:
Got to sleep around 2am. Woke up around midday. Haven't really got up.

Today's food:
Half a pot of soup, half a dozen slices of bread.

Today's drinks:
Swigs of Orangina, Ribena and Oasis. Around half a litre in total, maybe.

Remembered to take an Echinacea capsule and vitamin C.


Okay, so we've established that I consistently drink far less than anyone who's expressed an interest here so far thinks I should. But I'm never particularly thirsty - how on earth can anyone want to drink 2 litres (of any liquid) a day??

Comments

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

It's actually quite easy to drink that much liquid a day - myself, I usually have about two pints of water throughout the day at work, plus a couple of cups of tea/coffee, plus fruit juice and water with meals.

A lot of the time, when you think your body's telling you it's hungry, it's actually telling you it's thirsty.

The two litres thing is just a guideline, and ignore people who tell you that tea/coffee don't count - if you're used to drinking it, your body compensates for the slight diuretic (makes you pee) effect of the caffeine anyway.

[ali-in-london.livejournal.com]

But I'm never particularly thirsty

I bet you are, it's just that you don't realise that the hungry-tired-headachey feeling is actually thirst. You actually have to put in a fair bit of effort to retrain yourself to recognise it.

The way I learned to drink a lot of fluids was that I used wandering to get more water from the cooler as an excuse to not do anything for five minutes. Now I always make sure that I have a pint glass on my desk. That's a good trick, find out whether you drink faster if the liquid is in a pint glass, a water bottle, a mug or something else. Find out if you drink more through a straw than by sipping (some people do). If your sugar intake isn't too bad, drink squash or juice. Get a water filter and keep it in the fridge, so you have nice chilled water (unless you're a weirdo like me who actually likes the taste of local water).

Yes, I'm a bit obsessed, but considering that I turn into a zombie if dehydrated, I consider it worth it.

[zotz]

2 litres is a good amount of water to take in a day, but a lot of that will be contained in food. Don't feel that you necessarily have to take 2 litres of fluid, unless circumstances obviously make it necessary (if you're in the open in Texas, for instance).

[mhw.livejournal.com]

Two litres doesn't seem much to me. I have a pretty buttercup-yellow mug of 1pt capacity. Call that half a litre for roundness' sake. It takes only four of those mugs of tea for me to take in over two litres of fluid, and two of those are givens, because I have one when I wake up, and one before I sleep.

I don't need to feel thirsty to drink, not in any "I'm parched, give me a pint of water lest I die!" kind of way - I just think "Oh, I fancy a drink", and I drink.

[velvetfox.livejournal.com]

two litres!? good grief!

hmm that reminds me *takes her daily sip of juice*

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Maybe the fact that I've not been a caffeine addict since I was a kid is a major factor in me not drinking enough? I've never liked tea or coffee, only drinking them for stimulant effects on rare (once a month or less) occasions, mostly back when I was at Uni. I also stopped drinking things like Coke and Dr Pepper years ago, as they used to upset my stomach after drinking them for a few days. If I think hard, I could be tempted to say this was the period when I started to be thirsty much less often - perhaps it wasn't thirst, it was caffeine cravings?

I figured I would ignore the 'water only' comments, as most of the fizzy drinks etc that I drink list water as by far their major ingredient anyway... I can't see that a few percent of flavours and colourings is going to stop the water component of a drink doing me any good in the way of rehydration.

Possibly the other factor in me not drinking is that I don't eat multiple meals a day - usually just one, plus snacks. Maybe I'd drink more if I had to wash food down with it.

A hippy writes

[treacletwit.livejournal.com]

Drink when you're thirsty.

It's yer macrobiotic principles innit? No-one expects you to piss when you don't feel like it.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=macrobiotic+limit+fluid

The leg looked impressive - wished I'd come over and prodded like everyone else (make that "a shy hippy who was at Giolla and Elise's after-ceremony writes")

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

By feeling thirsty, I meant "Oh, I fancy a drink", not "I'm dying of thirst". I just don't feel thirsty at all most of the time, hence I don't drink all that often.

Re: A hippy writes

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

*grins* *waves*

Yeah, I always thought 'eat when hungry, drink when thirsty' was a good enough guideline, but doing it that way does seem to be leaving room for concern from some diet-aware people on my friends list.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Ah, now this makes some sense... I tend to eat food that's fairly 'squidgy' most of the time (recent run on cheeseburgers notwithstanding), such as fresh pasta with cheese sauce, etc. Even cheeseburgers I have medium-rare, so they come with some juice to them, rather than well-done to a dehydrated crisp. I'm too lazy to chew, is my usual excuse ;) So maybe I'm getting a good percentage of my required fluids from food then.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I do feel tired a lot. I don't get hungry unless I stop eating for a couple of days, and I haven't had a headache for months, that I can remember.

I tend to feel my thirst is quenched quicker when I drink from glasses than anything else, but I probably drink more, because I'll drink what's left in the glass even though I'm no longer thirsty, whereas a bottle I'd re-cap at that point and save the rest for later. However, I can't drink out of anything except bottles at present - can't carry full glasses etc around, and can't leave one beside my bed and refill it because I can't carry any leftovers to a sink to tip away when stupid flying insects land in it, or it gets covered in a layer of dust overnight. This problem rules out the water cooler thing too, for now.

In fact, my current state of health tends to rule out cold drinks in general - going downstairs to the fridge every time I want a drink is an unacceptable level of risk to put myself at - I only have to cock up the stairs once on crutches and I'll be sorry for a long time.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, and; see my comments to valkyriekaren about caffeine addiction... maybe my lack of a tea-habit is a crucial factor here :)

Re: A hippy writes

[wechsler.livejournal.com]

I always thought 'eat when hungry, drink when thirsty' was a good enough guideline

It ain't. Personally if I wait 'til I'm either of the above to react, it's already knocked my concentration or energy levels. This may be a slightly extreme reaction, but it's not unrepresentative.

Even the basic thirst reflex is an "erm, we're getting rather dry in here!" message. Internal sensations are reactions (or error messages if you will), not pre-emptive suggestions.

Re: A hippy writes

[ruis.livejournal.com]

A lot of people unknowingly train themselves to ignore thirst signals. I can happily go for ages without eating or drinking anything then suddenly I feel lightheaded and need to eat within 20 mins or I will collapse / get a migraine.

Most people don't need to drink 2l of fluid because they eat a large proportion of that in their food. Looking at your total intake there is no way you are getting enough nutrients or fluid every day. Having worked with people with mobility problems I know that they can affect fluid and food intake. If it is difficult to get up and get a drink or to go to the bathroom you will ignore the signals for longer and longer each time. Your body then becomes habituated to this pattern and doesn't bother sending the signals till a later point.

The fact that you can survive on what you're currently doing isn't in doubt but your body is under a constant stress tying to heal itself. Being slightly dehydrates or slightly calcium deficient will increase your healing time and could possibly cause long term weakness.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

If it is difficult to get up and get a drink or to go to the bathroom you will ignore the signals for longer and longer each time. Your body then becomes habituated to this pattern and doesn't bother sending the signals till a later point.

Yes, I mentioned a few days ago to someone that I was concerned this might be a possibility. Add my (ab)normal levels of laziness into the equation and I was probably doing this to some extent even before the accident - hence why I don't get hungry or thirsty for long periods.

Thanks for all the info you've been dropping in with... tis very helpful.

[mhw.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, but I can easily substitute juice or -gasp- water for those two litres+ of tea and not experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms. I tend to drink it fairly weak and milky, so that's really only the equivalent of four ordinary cups of tea.

I think perhaps some of it is just that I like the feel of something warm and wet going down my throat :D

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I need a *this is my shocked face* icon ;)

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

takes her daily sip of juice

*refers you to mhw's "I think perhaps some of it is just that I like the feel of something warm and wet going down my throat"*

[barakta]

I am more like you than most others I think, I have realised I don't actually like the taste of many drinks. I drink tea a lot but there is very little else I can tolerate in any kind of volume.

I can drink water in smallish quantities and sometimes do force myself to drink 200ml or so of water cos I feel guilty about just drinking tea. My girlf drinks several pints of dilute orange a day and gets quite ill if she doesn't. On the other hand she can go 3 days without food without bothering and I have to eat every 4 or 5 hours or I get fucked. Some of it may be metabolic in that my girlf puts on weight if she eats too often, wheras I lose weight if I don't eat ALL the sodding time (yes it is extremely annoying and when I was in a bad state 18 months ago I becamse silly underweight).

If you are concerned about the fluid intake you have is it possible to get hold of an old fridge upstairs or something, keep a load of drinks accessible to you there? The other thing is getting a jug with a lid (plastic tupperware jobbies) and finding a slave to carry one up once a day so you can at least make up drinks in your room. These can both work with limited mobility albeit do require someone to help which is not always feasible.

Hope you work out what is best for you.

Natalya

[velvetfox.livejournal.com]

a little sip is all you need *pulls shocked face*

[mhw.livejournal.com]

*bows*

I seek always to oblige...

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Actually that's a thought.

Would one of those 'mini-fridges' that hold a dozen cans of coke or whatever be useful to you, Denny?

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Yes... why, do you have one going spare?

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

You do have an upstairs sink and a cold house. This is roughly equal to having a water cooler in the fridge.

I have noticed you eat an awful lot of sweets. Maybe if you're bothered about the water thing, you could take a sip of water every time you eat a jelly bean. Although if most people drink that little they get headaches - maybe you're just very very unusual (or you do what I do and don't notice you have a headache, just that the world is feeling very scary today).

*pat on the back* for remembering the vitamins.

[alixandrea.livejournal.com]

Pasta with tuna mayo really isn't _that_ healthy. Do you _know_ how many calories are in mayonnaise?! ;-P You need more veg/fruit. There has to be _some_ fruit you like? It's sweet after all...

Oh, and with echinacea, I'm told that its not a good idea to be constantly taking it all the time, so if you know people who are getting ill, or if you are ill yourself, its OK to take it for a maximum of two weeks at any one time, but you should keep having breaks otherwise your system becomes immune to its effects.

As for fluids, I have a litre water bottle at work that I always keep beside me. That way, when I'm bored, thirsty, or just want to think for a moment, I have a bottle to hand to sip from. Added to that the juice-plus-herbal tea I have for breakfast, and the numerous glasses of juice/water/squash I have in the evening, and you've got your two litres. Maybe you should get a two litre bottle and fill it with water every day, trying to make sure it's empty by the time you go to bed in the evening. Please bear in mind you _will_ piss a lot more (especially to begin with as your body gets used to it) BTW! ;-)

[fellcat.livejournal.com]

going downstairs to the fridge every time I want a drink is an unacceptable level of risk to put myself at

I repeat the "mini fridge" suggestion.

[fellcat.livejournal.com]

My sister's is spare. If you like, I can ask her tonight if you can borrow it, subject to carriage to MK.

[trishpiglet.livejournal.com]

I hardly drink anything.
It's a wonder I don't turn into a small pile of dust.

x

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Calories are good. Unless you're in danger of becoming overweight, which I'm really not. I burn a lot of energy just being me, it seems, so I'm all in favour of a high-calorie diet.

I like apples, and I don't violently object to bananas. However, they seem to go off much quicker than chocolate, and therefore I get fed up with buying them and eventually throwing them away uneaten. Maybe if I had room for a fruit-bowl in my bedroom this wouldn't happen so often, again they're running foul of my reluctance to go up and down the stairs too much.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Well yeah - I'm really not sure how such a thing is going to find it's way from anyone outside MK, to me. I don't appear to know anyone who drives, which came as a bit of a surprise to me when I suddenly had no way of getting about any more...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, thanks for the warning about echinacea, although I'd read it elsewhere... it's not something that seems to be mentioned in the packaging, which I found disappointing.

I am taking it for a specific reason at this time - I'm coming off of some other medication in a few days, and I'm hoping to balance out the withdrawal phase with an 'armed and ready' immune system :)