How did summer creep up so fast? If you had great plans to slim down and shape up before bathing suit season hit but never quite kept up with your goals, don't despair. Follow these four easy steps to improve your summertime eating habits and lose weight. Pull out that swimsuit and get started:

1. Drink ... drink ... drink ... water. Put away the sodas. Stop buying sweetened fruit beverages. Ignore the advertisements for milkshakes, cold coffee beverages and iced tea. Choose water instead. Why? Water has zero calories, quenches your thirst better than sweetened beverages and helps keep our bodies cool in the summertime heat. Try these tactics:

• Drink 12-16 ounces of water with every meal.
• Bring along a water bottle in the car.
• Keep numerous filled bottles on your desk so that you don't have to refill as often.
• Keep a cooler full of water with you on outings to the beach.
• Add a twist of fresh lime or lemon for a zingy taste.
• Freeze a water bottle overnight for ice-cold drinking throughout the next morning. Just make sure to leave 1-2 inches of air in the bottle before freezing to prevent accidents in the freezer.
• Make it a personal challenge. Keep a pitcher of ice water in the fridge, and drink it all by the end of the day.
• Place an 8- or 10-ounce glass on the counter. Every time you walk past, fill it up with water and drink.