Unless you have some sort of disorder that interferes with your body's ability to sense it's need for water, I'd say there is no need to worry about it. They human body, when it's healthy, has an amazing ability to self-regulate. Personally, I just don't worry about it. I drink when I'm thirsty or a drink sounds appealing. I drink herbal tea of varying types, plain water and mineral water. Everything works out fine. I think many of us have been brainwashed by previous diet plans that have us constantly filling up on water to ward off hunger and/or flush out ketones. When left alone the body will do just fine, unless, of course, as I said before, you have some sort of disorder that interferes with it.

For another good take on this, check out Kelly Starrett's recent post on hydration and electrolyte intake: Mobility WOD: Let's Get Real About Summer Time Hydration

I noticed a huge change in muscle stiffness after adjusting my water and salt intake.

I just don't seem to need as much water on this diet. If I drink when not thirsty, I just pee it back out very quickly. Even when exercising, it takes a lot less to achieve what seems to be a proper level of hydration.

ive tried the "drink when youre thirsty" thing, and it backfired badly. im just never thirsty, and will end up going days without water. i get terrible headaches, muscle stiffness, cramping, and my weight loss will plateau. i mentioned here a couple of months ago that my blood-work showed consistently high potassium on weekly draws over three or four weeks and my doc wanted me to go in for an EKG. this was also in the middle of a 7 week migraine, which brought me to the docs in the first place. in order to avoid the EKG, i started pounding water like a crazy person and dont you know it the potassium normalized and the migraine went away.

so, ive started to force myself to drink water which i dont like. i drink plain seltzer from a quart-sized mason jar with the juice of one whole lime in it and through a straw so it goes down faster! im trying to drink three quarts a day, and the weight has started melting off and i feel so much better.

i read the link and i have to say that im a little shocked at how much booze and coffee dr. eades is consuming without knowing that they are diuretics! im hoping its just he writing style, and hes using anecdotes that are a little overblown in order to prove his point!

I drink liquids all day - water and seltzer, some green tea, etc. It's not as if I'm thirsty all the time but I actually have difficulty with thermal regulation and it helps me stay level. In my opinion, I feel the "waiting until I'm thirsty" mentality can be dangerous and cause more harm than good.. that it's better to be prepared rather than wait. For me, it's not like I'm gulping gallons of water a day but I definitely have a wide-mouth mason jar or a pint jar handy at all times, double water bottles on my bike - I drink out of those at CF as I cycle down, and carry water in a tote at all times. Everyone is different and I guess I just prefer to slosh a bit :)

I drink much less now than I did for years. Too much water makes me really bloated, and contributes to my indigestion (especially reflux/heartburn stuff). My gastroenterologist told me this might be the case before I went paleo, I couldn't believe it! But it is in fact true, for me.

I only drink when I am thirsty, and never with meals, that is enough to keep my pee light to medium yellow. This is the best way to monitor your hydration, IMO. And no, your pee shouldn't be clear. That means you've taken in so much unecessary liquid that your body is just dumping near-pure H2O out the other end!

How thirsty I am totally varies by the day. I rarely find myself getting anywhere close to "eight 8oz servings per day", but at 105 lbs with a kid-sized torso, it makes sense that I don't need as much as most adults. I do take care to drink a decent portion of water after working out, and that seems to greatly reduce muscle soreness the next day. If I forget, I notice a difference.

Some people do not have a good thirst instinct and they should be very careful not to get dehydrated. As far as I know I have never in my life been dehydrated.

Being a recovering insulin resistant individual, I am always thirsty anyway (although it's getting better). I have a 600mL bottle that gets refilled about 6-8 times daily... force of habit.