Spoiler alert: probably not. That whole “eight glasses a day” thing? It might have been a marketing gimmick from bottled water companies. Or a misinterpretation of a very old, very boring government report.
Your body isn’t a one-size-fits-all bucket. It’s a high-maintenance, finicky houseplant. What works for your marathon-running cousin won’t work for you, sitting on the couch binge-watching reality TV. No judgment here, by the way. I was there last night too.
So, how many ounces should you drink? Well, grab a pen. Or just use your fingers. Let’s do some very loose, very friendly math.
Your Body’s Secret Code
A common, slightly-less-ancient rule is to take your body weight in pounds. Divide that number in half. That number is your target in ounces. Yes, seriously.
If you weigh 150 pounds? You drink 75 ounces. If you weigh 180 pounds? You’re looking at 90 ounces. That’s way more than a measly 64, isn’t it?
How many oz in a glass of water?
But wait, there’s a catch. A huge, sweaty, ironic catch. This rule assumes you’re a perfectly average person in a perfectly average, air-conditioned room. Which you are not. You’re a beautiful, chaotic mess. And I mean that in the best way.
