[UI_at_80x24]

>The actual amount of water you need varies by exertion, and diet and all sorts of things, it's not a fixed amount.

I completely agree with this statement.

>If you drink that much, you'll just pee a lot, it won't actually do anything useful.

I drink on average 6L of water a day. When I first started water-only fasting I was urinating constantly. I discovered that this was because I would drink a lot in one sitting, (as a 'meal' replica) and then interspersed throughout the day.

Once I changed my consumption style to ~150mL frequently I found that my body used the water better. Once it realized that a "constant supply" was readily available (and didn't need to worry about feast/famine cycles) I retained what I needed and more casually urinated the processed water.

My body can better manage itself when I drink 150ml 40x a day then it can manage 1L 6x a day.

[jeena]

Wow, 6 liters? you drink 40 times a day?

(24h - 8h) * 60 min/h / 40 = 24 min

So you stop what you're doing every half an hour and drink get a glass of water and drink it? Or do you have constant supply at your desk or how are the logistics?

[UI_at_80x24]

I have a 1.5L Naglene bottle at my desk, and a water cooler 10 feet away in front of the server-room doors.

So cold water is always close.

I also drink when I'm at home.

[jjeaff]

If the body was previously worried about "feast/famine" of water before, wouldn't it retain water rather than pee it all out?

[ars]

The body doesn't really have any way to retain [liquid] water without causing medical issues. There's no storage compartment except for fat that could be metabolized into water.

You can also store water, for a short time, mixed into fiber in food that was recently eaten.

[UI_at_80x24]

I'm not implying I have 'water pouches' or anything as silly. 1.5L of water in my stomach gets processed as quickly as my kidneys can manage. Thus I urinate out a large % of that liquid intake before use can be made of it.

Continually drinking small amounts doesn't overwhelm my stomach and therefore it feels like I urinate less, and 'retain' that water.

[OJFord]

But drunk more gradually thorugh the day, it is able to be 'retained'?

Asking in good faith, taken independently each of your comments make perfect sense to me!