My favorite Detox Waters

I would consider myself a fairly healthy eater.  I have no problem eating healthy food and keeping sugar and carbs to a minimum.  When it comes to health and wellness, where I struggle is daily exercise and proper water intake.

And so I decided to do something about it. The beginning of summer kicked off a new challenge for me. For one, I decided to sign my kids up for childcare at the gym and do my very best to go at least three times a week for one hour.  This is a real challenge for us, just because of our nap schedule and the gym childcare hours, but so far so good.  I certainly don't plan on running a marathon anytime soon, but getting my butt back in the gym a few times a week is my only chance at losing these last ten pounds of baby weight, and then another ten pounds of fertility weight.

For all of you who find running and exercise peaceful and relaxing, I loathe you.  I really do wish I could say the same.  My idea of relaxing involves me sitting on my butt in a craft corner somewhere watching a Gilmore Girls marathon, with chocolate and coffee nearby of course.  To each his own, right?

While making an effort to go the gym, I also decided to make an effort to work on my water intake.  I decided to drink 8-10 eight ounce glasses of water a day, just like all of the experts say I am so supposed to be doing.  Which by the way, this is a little annoying now that I have a postpartum bladder.  I swear my ability to "hold it" is not as good as it used to be before I had the twins.   

Overall, drinking water is not really an issue for me.  I am primarily a water drinker, but I don't drink nearly enough.  I only drink pop on occasion, although I confess that when the weather warms up, I find an ice cold coke very refreshing.  To help with my water intake, I decided to look up detox waters on Pinterest.  I chose three waters that were appealing to me, and so far, this has helped me meet my goal of daily water intake.

I fill a pitcher with fruit and water every morning, and by evening the pitcher is empty.  I can usually get two days out of the fruit, before making a new batch.  The hint of flavor in the water has made drinking water more appealing to me.  It's also nice to nibble on the fruit here and there, although I don't eat all of the fruit in one day.

A few notes about the three detox waters in this post:  

**The blackberry and lime can get bitter if the lime is left in too long.  The lime really only needs a few hours of soaking.  

** Same with the lemon ^^^ in the cucumber lemon water.

** The strawberry watermelon is my favorite.  Because watermelon is a bit pricey and has a short life span in my home once my husband spots it in the fridge, I try to only make one of these pitchers a week and get two days out it.

 Blackberry Lime and Mint

{ blackberries are a good source of antioxidants and help reduce stomach inflammation, lime can aid in weight loss, mint aids in digestion }

 Strawberry Watermelon and Mint

{ strawberries have antioxidants and are good for the skin, watermelon helps cleanse the liver, mint aids in digestion }

 Cucumber Lemon and Mint

{ cucumber aids in hydration and has anti-inflammatory properties, lemon cleanses and helps the immune system, mint aids in digestion }