5 liters of water?

So I've been skimming the net for recommendations on amount of water to drink a day, and most places I go with a "calculator" claim I should be drinking 4+ liters of water a day (~250lb) and on days that I exercise over FIVE.

Gotta be b.s. right?

They also say that about 20-30% of that can come from food, but that still leaves 3.5-4 liters of water a day or 15 cups. That's _way_ more than I've ever drank in a day, even counting thinks like coffee/tea, sodas, alcohol, etc.

I think if I drank that much I'd spend 50% of my day drinking, and the other 50% in the restroom.

It's BS. You should be drinking around eight glasses a day. There's no science underlying the suggestions for pushing tons of water.

water needs really depend on lifestyle,activity level and weather. The average need is 2 liters per day and that includes all food and hot beverages. If you are doing sport or sweating a lot than you need more.
Drinking more is generally not that harmful, but there are cases in which it can be.
Personally I believe that if it becomes a substitute for eating to keep oneself full all the time, it risks not allowing to address and solve the issues that cause binge eating and maybe (not sure of this) it does also keep the stomach expanded so when one is not drinking the risk is that the satiety feeling comes too late.

I would not drink that much water. I drink 100 oz. a day, which I feel is at the top of what I would consider doing. If you drink too much water, you can throw your electrolytes off balance and end up with critically low sodium and potassium levels - which is extreme cases can cause heart problems, confusion, and death. Please be careful with the advice you find online.

I read on a health website several years back when I started my journey for better health:

Take your current body weight, divide by half, and that's your recommended daily MINIMUM of water in ounces.

At 140 pounds, I need a MINIMUM of 70 oz a day. Hope this helps.

EDIT -- On second thought, that just might be BS too. Who knows. It is how I factor it though, whether right or wrong.

I sometimes drink more than 8L of water, because I get really thirsty, and I always have a bottle with me. It's usually more like 5L, though. It's good for my skin, and makes me feel better, and diffuses the nasty stale feeling I get from the air-con at the office. I do pee a lot, though. =)