Drink water at least 10 minutes before a meal. You don't want to dilute your stomach juices -- you want the stomach to be very acidic. This is a big problem today because many people have very weak digestion.

Your other suggestions point to a starvation diet to lose weight. This is never a good idea because bodies today are very depleted of nutrients despite an abundance of food calories. My advice is to eat 2-3 cups of COOKED vegetables with three meals a day. Fill up with nutrient dense vegetables and have a little grain or meat and maybe some good fat like butter, don't starve yourself. Also, be careful with exercise; gentle walking is enough for good health and exercise tends to strain the already exhausted modern bodies.