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I'm doing a weightlifting program with a trainer, which includes diet as part of something she monitors. For water, she's recommending a certain amount, but says I should not be including the water I mix into any protein shakes. It seems like this should count, as your body can extract water from cooked pasta, so it seems like a protein shake which will separate should be no issue.
Are there any reasons she might be saying not to count the water in protein shakes (or other powdered drinks)?
Your body will extract the water just fine. Water intake recommendations have varied wildly over the years with very little real evidence to back it up.
The common recommendations was 8 cups or 2 litres of straight water a day. Some recent studies suggest that you should drink water if you're thirsty, but beyond that it doesn't matter. There has never been a consensus on the issue.
One factor that could play into your trainer's directions is the amount of salt in a lot of protein shakes. They could feel that you'll need extra straight water to counter it, but your guess is better than mine on that front.
If you're comfortable with the amount of water you're drinking and you're not thirsty throughout the day I wouldn't worry about it. Water is important for general health but it is non caloric and thus doesn't play a huge factor in weight change.
