As with so many other things when it comes to eating / nutrition, I'm finding that separating fact from fiction is sometimes very difficult to do. One thing I'm pretty sure about though is that coffee is not dehydrating; I'm pretty sure that one has been shown to be a myth. Some studies have shown that caffeine my have a "mild" diuretic effect but have also shown that people who regularly drink coffee or caffeinated beverages also develop a tolerance for the effect.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt...tion-and-memory

What I do know is that I am making a major change to my diet this week and will consume at least 64oz of fluids per day going forward be it coffee, tea, (I recently discovered Milo's Sweet Tea - zero calorie of course - and YUM!), water or whatever.

It is a bit difficult for me to *completely* differentiate the tingling and "discomfort?" that comes from the neuropathy in my feet and the "gout like burning pain" I've had for the past two weeks in that one joint that's been getting worse. Last night the burning pain in that joint was all but gone and I did not require any pain medication - all I have ever taken was that one pill day before yesterday.

Also my edema has not, as yet, returned - at least as far as I can tell. I have gained what appears to be about 6 pounds of water weight and it has leveled off at that point. I keep drinking lots of water but my weight has not continued to increase. I am urinating much more frequently now. My keytone strips have gone form dark purple to dark pink but I'm thinking that may have to do with increased volume.

At any rate, I'm sticking with my eating plan and I know that regardless of what the scale says I cannot possibly gain more fat by drinking more water so I am going to probably ignore it this Sunday and consider this week to be a one time adjustment to my plan. I am going to treat water like carbs to the extent that i am going to closely monitor my fluid intake and make sure I'm getting enough.