When it comes to losing weight, cut down on liquid calories rather than food. Body is able to self-regulate its intake of solid food. If you eat too much solid food at lunch, youll tend to eat less at dinner. But the same self-regulation is not in place for what you drink. The body does not adjust to liquid calories, so over time, you gain more weight.  Cutting back on calories from sugary drinks - by only one serving per day – can account for nearly two-and-a-half pounds of lost weight over 18 months. A recently published study has reported that drinking at least one serving daily of sugar-sweetened beverages increased visceral fat. 

Beverages are categorized into eight categories

1. Sugar-sweetened beverages (including soft drinks, fruit drinks, fruit punch, or high-calorie beverages sweetened with sugar)
2. Diet drinks such as diet soda and other diet drinks that were artificially sweetened
3. Milk (including whole milk, 2 percent milk, and 1 percent skim)
4. 100 percent fruit and vegetable juice
5. Coffee and tea with sugar
6. Coffee and tea without sugar
7. Alcoholic beverages
8. Water with no calories

The best drinks are water, plain soda and tea/coffee with no sugar.