Tag: Health

Sipping Pretty: Infused Water Recipes

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Aside from coming across as beautiful, drinkable works of art, infused waters have a subtly sweet taste and a cleansing effect on your body that is equal parts refreshing and healthy. From time to time, I find myself making a large pitcher of lemon cucumber mint water and drinking it for a week. And after embarking on a recent “pinge” on Pinterest, I discovered a few other infused water recipes that I was eager to try. I gave them a go and were pleased to find that they tasted as lovely as they looked. Here are the four infused water recipes I created (and couldn’t get enough of)…

  • orange + lemon + lime
  • lemon + raspberry + mint
  • lemon + cucumber + mint
  • blackberry + cherry + lime

To make any of these recipes, all you have to do is slice the fruit you want to use and drop them into your water. You can start drinking it right away, but you might not notice the flavors until it infuses for a few hours (four hours achieves the most potent flavor). I like to let my waters sit overnight in the fridge, and if I’m using a recipe that calls for lemon I will squeeze half a lemon straight into the water for a little detox boost. As long as you keep your water refrigerated, the fruit should stay fresh. If you are filling your pitcher with water throughout the week, keep in mind that it will dilute the flavor each time you refill. I would recommend drinking your water within 3-5 days and making a new batch once you notice that fruit has started to soften or turn your water cloudy. Which infused water recipe will you try first? Leave your questions and comments below! And if you liked this post, be sure to take a peek at my detox diary for all the details about my first juice cleanse. xx

Tone It Up: How Much Water Should I Drink?

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Hey everyone, today I have a little challenge for you. I want you to try to drink half your body weight in ounces of water (at least) throughout the day for the next 8 weeks! Here’s why this is so important…

Water increases your metabolism.

Your body is made up almost entirely of water. It’s hard to believe, but everything in your body is floating in a water-based suspension. Also, many of our bodily functions require water in some part of their equation to function properly. In this case, we are going to talk about the liver…

Water cleans out your system.

The liver is an amazing organ. Of its many functions, one is to take released body fat and break it down for use as energy (a process called lipolysis). However, when hydration levels get as low as 80 percent, the liver and kidneys have a difficult time functioning and filtering all that thickened blood. Since kidney function trumps liver function on the task-list of sustaining life, the amazing liver does what it can to take over for the kidneys. Wow, we are sure glad that is the case, otherwise we would all be in some serious trouble! If the liver isn’t able to do its job, our bodies cannot break down fat and use it for energy at the rate in which we need it to. Let’s just say that is not good for your body fat percentage.

In order for proper diet and exercise to be truly effective, you’ll need to maintain a proper hydration level so that the body fat released into the bloodstream can be broken up into proteins. You want these fat cells to be broken up into proteins because those are the building blocks of muscle! It’s a simple equation…more water equals less fat and more muscle.

How much water is enough?

Water increases your metabolism so much that if you’re chronically dehydrated, it can mean up to an 8-pound weight gain or more per year. No wonder weight creeps on! Your challenge is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, someone who weights 150 pounds should be drinking 75 ounces of water a day. This doesn’t mean all at once, it means throughout the whole day.

We can all mistake thirst for hunger too, which leads to eating more unnecessary calories, so it’s important to always have water handy. Get that calendar out and mark it down to remind yourself!

Can you do the water challenge?

Let me know if you have any tricks for staying hydrated in the comments below!

XO BLB

Slim Suggestion: H2 Ohhh

Published on by Lee2 Comments

We all know that we’re supposed to drink lots of water everyday. Drinking 8-12 glasses of agua daily has countless health benefits. Also, your appearance benefits from drinking enough water each day. Water hydrates your skin making you look younger and it assists in weight loss. So why don’t we drink more? Because next to delicious lattes and flavored fizzy drinks water falls flat. It’s, dare we say, a little boring. So here are a few ways to jazz up your H2O…

  • Fruit – Slice it up and toss it in. Try different fruits or even different combinations of fruit. Some popular ones are cucumbers, lemons, limes, oranges, strawberries, raspberries… and the list goes on.
  • Mint – Try adding a few mint leaves to your water. It will give it a refreshing twist.
  • Ice – Fill an ice tray with your favorite all natural fruit juice and put it in the freezer. When the cubes have frozen try adding a couple to your water for a hint of flavor.

HOW DO YOU LIKE TO DRINK YOUR WATER?

Lazy Girl’s Guide: The 5-Minute Workout For A Perkier Booty In 2 Weeks

Published on by Lee3 Comments

If there’s one emoji that summarizes our workout goals, it’s that perky little peach 🍑 because let’s be real, who doesn’t want a perky booty. The only problem is finding the time (and energy) to get it. So because dragging my ass to the gym is just too much sometimes, I put together a booty prescription that would take no more than 5 minutes of your time. This ultimate booty workout promises that after just two weeks of doing this 5-minute exercise routine daily, you’ll actually be able to see a peachy difference. And you don’t need any fancy gym equipment or weights, just your own body weight, a timer, and some tunes.

Do each of these exercises for one minute, with a ten-second rest in between. It looks easy, but trust, it’s five majorly intense minutes.

1. Wide stance squats: Make sure your feet are about three to four feet apart, then turn your toes out to a 45-degree angle, and place your hands on your hips. Lower yourself down by bending your knees. To intensify the squat, hold a dumbbell in each hand and lift it up to underneath your chin each time you come up.

2. Reverse Lunges: Start with your feet together and your hands on your hips. Step backward, keeping your stance narrow, bend your knee, lowering it towards the floor. Step back up, returning to your start position. To intensify the workout, hold a 5kg weight with the opposite hand to the leg that is being lowered.

3. Side lunges: Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips. Shift your body weight to one leg, bending your knee until the other leg is straight. Return to the center and do the same step with the other leg.

4. Donkey kicks: Start with your hands and your knees on the floor and raise one leg in a backward motion, keeping it bent at the knee with your sole facing the ceiling. Bring your leg back down, returning to starting position, and repeat.

5. Floor glute bridge: Lie with your back to the floor, with your knees bent. Keep your arms by your side with your palms face down. Lift your hips off the ground, squeezing your abs and your glutes. Raise one leg, keeping it bent at the knee, and then lower it back to the floor. Once your foot is touching the floor, lower your hips so that they’re also touching the floor. Do it again with the opposite leg.

Which Perky Booty Workout Is Your Favorite? Comment below if you have anymore tips to enhance the booty!