i can't remember what the reccomended water intake is, but i drink about 4.5 litres a day. is this too much? (i'm about 145 lbs and 6ft)
i think it maybe, and can explain why i always have really puffy eyes no matter how little or how much sleep i get - it could be water retention?

Yes, there is such a thing as too much water, but, no, 4.5 L is nowhere close to too much water.

unless you just chug it all at once and don't touch any other water all day, in which case it would be kind of a waste.

By the by - drinking water does not cause water retention. Drinking water stops water retention. Your body doesn't need to retain water when you drink it all the time.

If you have puffy eyes this time of year, it's probably allergies.

Yes, there is such a thing as too much water, but, no, 4.5 L is nowhere close to too much water.

unless you just chug it all at once and don't touch any other water all day, in which case it would be kind of a waste.

By the by - drinking water does not cause water retention. Drinking water stops water retention. Your body doesn't need to retain water when you drink it all the time.

If you have puffy eyes this time of year, it's probably allergies.

well, i've sort of had puffy eyes all the time, for like the last two years, no matter what. i thought i've found the problem, but i guess not :S

"Too much water" really has a lot to do with what you're doing. If you're running a marathon in 90 degree heat, 2 liters of water in a short period of time could prove fatal. Drinking a lot of water while expelling salt and electrolytes through your sweat reduces your sodium and potassium levels to the point that you start getting swelling on the brain.

In other words, drink water, but don't "drink ahead of your thirst" while doing strenuous exercise. If you're going to be doing more than 1 hour of exercise, switch to gatorade.

"Too much water" really has a lot to do with what you're doing. If you're running a marathon in 90 degree heat, 2 liters of water in a short period of time could prove fatal. Drinking a lot of water while expelling salt and electrolytes through your sweat reduces your sodium and potassium levels to the point that you start getting swelling on the brain.

In other words, drink water, but don't "drink ahead of your thirst" while doing strenuous exercise. If you're going to be doing more than 1 hour of exercise, switch to gatorade.

There was a news broadcast on the morning radio a while back about a kid dying from fraternity hazing. They said he drowned from drinking too much water. Something about him losing a lot of electrolytes... Forgot which school...

Yeah, I've heard of that. I know people who spent time in the middle east with the military before the war. They were bored a lot, and had no alcohol, so they drank water until they got "drunk". They didn't know why it worked, but when it's 120 degrees outside, and you're bored, I guess you'll try anything.

If they had any idea how close they came to dying or getting permanent brain damage, I'm sure they would have played cards.

Yes, you CAN drink too much water.
Water has low sodium chloride content (blood has more).
You can cause severe hyponatremia (low sodium content in blood) cauing neurologic injury (to the brainstem).
It's called psychogenic polydypsia.
4.5 liters however should not do it. As long as your kidney is able to correctly handle the extra free water load.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=hyponatremia

google search on hyponatremia.

Now that we're in the water topic, I have another question...

Most of the times I drink around 1-1.5 Litre of water right after I finish running in the morning, then around 11-6pm I only drink around 1/2 litre and then 1-1.5 litre after the gym around 8pm...

I don't know if this is OK or if a need to drink more water more often instead of 1.5 litre within 15-20min...

Thank for the help :D

drinking too much water is a very hot topic. you can actualy drown yourself by drinking too much but try and get a definitive answer and you cant.

I drink 4 litres ice cold a day and that aint no problem. As for stories re electrolytes well wherever you look there is again a severe difference of opinion but also it now transpires that all these fluid replacement drinks are simply a waste of time and money. But it all depends on who funds the research at the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You basically just need to retain your salinity to avoid "water intoxication" or, even worse, serious neurological issues. I've found that since I got serious about working out and upped my water intake, I've simply been craving more sodium. This is my body's natural way of keeping balance. Just make sure you're eating enough sodium via foods to offset the amount of water you drink. In particular, as was stated earlier, don't chug tons of water at once. Either switch to something like gatorade or any of the various eloctrolyte-enhanced bottled waters, or make sure you're eating something at the same time like a protein bar or something.

Personally, I don't feel good if I drink a ton of water at once. I just carry water with me all the time and take sips on a very regular basis. This gives me a constant supply of water without any other negative effects.

Oh, and for the record I'm 5'10", 182 lbs. and I drink 4.5-6 liters a day.

One morning on empty stomach I drank about 150 ounces of water, yep, 1 gallon plus a 20 ounce bottle, and I drank it in about 3-5 minutes, just felt stuffed and nothing else, pee'd a whole lot that day too heh. Don't do that tho, I try not to drink more than 30 ounce per meal daily.

"Too much water" really has a lot to do with what you're doing. If you're running a marathon in 90 degree heat, 2 liters of water in a short period of time could prove fatal. Drinking a lot of water while expelling salt and electrolytes through your sweat reduces your sodium and potassium levels to the point that you start getting swelling on the brain.

In other words, drink water, but don't "drink ahead of your thirst" while doing strenuous exercise. If you're going to be doing more than 1 hour of exercise, switch to gatorade.

This is what i basically read in a medical journal, minus the gatorade. There was not mention either way.