Hi Sango--As I recall the recommended amount (in the Heller's books) of water per day is 6-8 8oz. glasses.. But--I have read in several other places that this amount (approximately 64 oz) should be a MINIMUM, and the amount that we should really shoot for is half our body weight amounts in ounces. In other words, a person who is 164 pounds, should be drinking at least 82 oz. of water per day.. I, at least, have found that the more water I drink--the better off I am in the weight loss department... I usually try to shoot for 100 oz per day...

About the timing on the cm--It's my understanding that you should just start eating, and not stop until you have had enough. You can have your white coffee with the meal, but coffee shouldn't go over the 15 minutes. I don't know about you, but I never have a problem eating my cm within 15-20 minutes... My problem is usually slowing myself down a bit--so that I don't finish it all in about 5 minutes... One thing I've had to work hard on, is slowing myself down some at mealtimes. I've always had a tendency to eat way too fast.. I believe that the information that I've given is correct--but if someone has better info, I'm sure that they will gladly post for you....