We’ve long been told that drinking water is one of the best ways to keep yourself healthy and keep weight loss at bay.

Now, researchers have conducted comprehensive review of eleven previous studies in an attempt to find a consensus on the amount of water dieters should be advised to drink.

Brenda Davy, associate professor of human nutrition, foods, and exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, who led some of the research said that in one study that asked dieters to drink water before a meal, for instance, "the water enhanced the weight loss".

Researchers found that that drinking two cups of water before a meal may aid in the reduction of weight to up to four pounds compared to those who didn’t drink the extra water.

One theory suggests the old nugget that water quells hunger pangs, as many of us confuse hunger with thirst. However, Davy’s fellow researcher Rebecca Muckelbauer suggested another theory; water-induced thermogenesis.

 Thermogenesis is the process of heat production which will then be released into form of energy. So, it’s possible that drinking water makes a person more energetic.

Muckelbauer told Reuters Health that the idea is that "drinking water itself increases energy expenditure of your body. It has an energy consuming effect. This is not very well studied."