If you think you know exactly how the liquids you consume affect your weight loss effort, you probably don't really know as much as you think. The advice to drink '8 glasses of water a day' or to switch regular soda with diet, is probably not new to you. But is that really all we need to be doing, and is that really even good advice? The answers may surprise you. First lets start with those eight glasses of H2O that we all know we need. That age old advice is spot on, but don't gulp those eight glasses down all at once. And you shouldn't be leaving those servings to mealtime. Of course, if you must do these two things, it's better than not getting your daily requirement. But to keep your metabolism working at it's best, get yourself a large thermos and sip your water throughout the day. Think of your body as a machine- if you oil that machine all at once, yes, it will work. But wouldn't it be more efficient if you slowly oiled it throughout the day? It sure would. Better yet, make sure your water is freezing cold.