The reason why some dieters lose more weight than others may lie in the fact that the successful dieters not only watch what they eat, but also pay attention to what they drink. Although it is not always advertised, many drinks and fruit juices are high in sugars, and can be real roadblocks to those trying to shed a few kilos.

If you are serious about losing weight consider the following advice:

1. Drink Plenty of Water

Everyone should drink plenty of water, regardless if they are on a diet, or not. Water has many benefits, which include:

-          Burning of fat and waste products, and flushing them out of your system;

-          Helping your liver process fat. If you are dehydrated, your fat burning process will be slow;

-          Replenishing your muscles of glycogen during and after exercise.

2. Reduce Alcohol Consumption

We are all familiar with the ‘beer-gut’ or ‘beer-belly’ jokes, and understand that alcohol can indeed increase your weight. However, that is not the only attribute those beverages bring to the table. They not only add to our daily calorie intake, but will also make fat loss much more difficult. Consequently, our

Alcohol interferes with the body’s ability to burn fat and has an adverse effect on the way our liver functions. We need our liver as it is one of the organs primarily responsible for metabolizing fat.

Alcohol is also a strong diuretic, which means that through your alcohol consumption, you are flushing out all the water you drank that day, bringing you back to square one and a chance to become dehydrated.

Many alcoholic beverages are high in calories and should be avoided. If you do feel like a stiff drink, check the bottle for information, or research the calorie content online. Many healthcare and fitness websites offer free and easy to use calorie counters. All you have to do is enter your drink type (gin, vodka, martini, etc.) and, in a split second, you will know how many calories you will be enjoying. Stick to light beer, or an occasional glass of wine, if you can.

3. Know Your Coffee

Although we’ve all heard that caffeinated coffee is not the healthiest drink in the world, a cup or two a day will not affect your weight loss program. In fact, many diet pills and supplements include caffeine as an active ingredient. Nevertheless, limit your coffee consumption and watch what you use to flavor your coffee. Don’t forget, sugar will add additional calories, and so will high-fat milk or cream.

Caffeine, which can also be found in chocolate, power drinks and some teas, is also a diuretic and can cause fluid loss. Drink extra water if you are a heavy coffee drinker.

4. Diet Drinks & Low-Calorie Drinks

Many teas, diet drinks, and diet sodas are acceptable drinks, but remember, nothing beats a glass of fresh water to hydrate and cleanse your body. Try to keep your sports drink consumption moderate as they often contain high-levels of sugar.

Diet sodas have few or no calories, but so far have not proven useful to weight loss.

Whatever you decide to drink during the day (or night), make sure you check the ingredients and nutritional facts on the packaging and bottles, first. Knowing what you are putting into your body will prevent unwanted surprises later on!