Do you really need 8 cups of water every day?

Advice to drink 8 cups of water a day 'nonsense': doc - CTV News

After reading the article from the link above, one might be confused as to how know if they're getting enough water intake.

Here are a few simple tips for hydration during exercise:

Weigh yourself before and after exercise.  If you weigh more than when you started you drank more water than you needed.

If you weight more than half a kilogram less than when you started you didn't quite drink enough.  If you weigh 1-2 kg less then you're definitely dehydrated and need to consume more fluids during exercise.

If your urine stream is always dark yellow then you're consistently not consuming enough fluids.  If you have to pee several times per day and your urine stream is constantly fairly clear to lightly yellow, you're most likely reasonably well hydrated.

The problem with the 8 cups a day recommendation is that depending on physical activity, temperature and  your physical stature, 8 cups may not be enough water.  8 Cups of water every day would rarely be too much water so don't worry about consuming too much if you do the 8.

Hyponatremia a serious condition that occurs when you drink way too much water, serious enough to potentially cause death, doesn't happen unless you pound back lot's of fluids; 2 or more litres over 20-30 minutes, or enough to cause a weigh gain of 2+ kg in body weight from fluids consumed.  It's a good idea to be wary of not chugging back water excessively on hot days, rather, be thoughtful about getting enough, not too much, not too little.