Bob, I don't use any scales or aids or any of that. My wife has been into aerobics, running, lifting, all that stuff for years. She works out every day and runs every day when the weather is decent. She can deliver real simple answers to any of my questions.
Lots of the things I do make her cringe.
I have a very rare neuromuscular disorder that I'm treating for, so I take lots of meds. My body dictates what I can and can't do on a momentary basis. Right now, one of my meds is a diuretic, but it doesn't act as a diuretic because my muscles are sucking it all up. I've always gone to the bathroom a ridiculous amount of times every day, so that doesn't bother me anyways.
Right now I'm also on a very low potassium, high carb diet. I subsist on noodles, rice, and water, basically. Meat has a lot of potassium, and in the last year I've developed a natural aversion to it because if I eat a steak it causes me incredible pain.
Weird, right?
The easy answer is I eat weird stuff regularly (in small portions, cause usually I don't like it) and I drink constantly. I'm never without a drink by my side. Sometimes I drink grape Aquafina, lots of times I just drink filtered water.
That said, I listen to my body. If I'm thirsty, I drink. I trust what it's telling me a lot more than what a book says, but that's cause I'm so screwed up. I absolutely have to get lots of water and carbs, and I cannot fast or I get the same results as the steak I mentioned.
I suppose I have an unfair advantage with my health and all, but all the changes I've made, I made slowly.
The best I could suggest is maybe try drinking more water in the early evening (after work)? That way it won't be such an issue. I am slap full of water all the time, so much so that I slosh. It isn't an issue because I'm home all the time, but I can see where it'd drive a guy nuts.