How to Track Your Water Intake

1. Know Your Water Sources

You get water not just from drinks but also from the foods you eat.

2. Measuring Your Drinks

Keep a Record: Write down every drink you have during the day. This includes water, coffee, tea, juice, and soups.

Measuring Cups: Use a measuring cup to know exactly how much you are drinking. For reference, 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces.

3. Water in Foods

Some foods contain a lot of water. Below is a brief example of how to calculate the water content in foods using the water content percentage:

How to Use the Food and Water Content Table

Here’s how you can use the table to estimate the water content in the foods you eat:

1. Identify the Foods: Look up the foods you eat daily in the water content table to find their water percentage.
2. Estimate Water Weight: Multiply the weight of the food you consumed by the water content percentage to calculate the weight of the water in that food.

• Example: If you eat 100 grams of cucumber, and the water content is 96%, the water weight would be:
• 100 grams x 0.96 = 96 grams of water

3. Convert Water Weight to Cups: To convert the weight of the water to cups, use the conversion:

• 1 gram of water = 0.00423 cups of water.
• Example: For 96 grams of water:
• 96 grams x 0.00423 = 0.41 cups of water
• 100 grams of cucumber contributes about 0.41 cups of water to your daily intake.

Search FoodData Central (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/) for more information on water content in specific foods not listed. 

4. Measure Your Urine Output

Urine Output: You can measure your urine output using a measuring container over a 24-hour period. Write down how much urine you pass in a day.

5. Checking Your Weight

Daily Weighing: Weigh yourself every day at the same time, preferably after you wake up and after using the bathroom. This will help you notice if you are retaining too much water.

Dry Weight: This is your normal weight without extra fluid in your body. It’s usually measured right after a hemodialysis session if you are on dialysis.

Citations:
1. National Kidney Foundation. Nutrition and Fluid Management for Chronic Kidney Disease Patients. National Kidney Foundation, www.kidney.org/nutrition. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
2. Depner, T., et al. “Fluid Management in Hemodialysis: Challenges and Strategies.” American Journal of Kidney Diseases, vol. 45, no. 6, 2005, pp. 1109-1117, www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386(05)00706-2/fulltext. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
3. Johnson, Richard J., et al. Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology. 6th ed., Elsevier, 2018.
4. U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. U.S. Government Printing Office, 2020, www.dietaryguidelines.gov. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Water and Nutrition: How Much Water Do You Need? CDC, www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/water-nutrition.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
6. Skorecki, Karl, et al. Brenner & Rector’s The Kidney. 11th ed., Elsevier, 2020.
7. Mayo Clinic. Kidney Disease: Water Intake Guidelines. Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.org. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.