Lemon in water has some great health benefits!! For one it makes the water taste less "boring" (I have troubles staying hydrated enough because I find water very boring)
As mentioned above, it does help to burn the fats and aids in the overall digestive process
As far as weight loss, these are the things which I did to lose weight over the past year...
1) Cut out all pop/soda beverages. The SUPER high sugar content in these is unnatural and there's zero nutritional value PLUS most of them contain sodium designed to make you even thirstier, stimulating sales because the more you drink the thirstier you get so the more soda you by... (vicious cycle) -- I'd say I dropped 15-20lbs from this step alone
Alternative: Drink fruit juice. Yes fruit juice also contains sugars, however remember that we as humans are a part of nature, fruit is a part of nature, fructose is a natural sugar so its a lot easier for our bodies to digest properly. Another alternative that I enjoyed was tea... instead of drinking hot teas all the time, simply taking a fruit flavored tea and putting it in a jug of water overnight meant there was a delightfully refreshing beverage ready by morning
2) Cutting out fast foods... they're not really cost effective for one... not anymore at least. I can remember a day when fast food was believed to be "cheap" but I guess depending on where in the world you live, it really isn't any more. "Meals" at McDonalds for instance typically run me around the $7.00 mark... I can go get a subway which has far more nutritional value (Or at least has the potential for more nutritional value) for half the price. Not to mention, that same $7.00 if applied in a grocery store, can feed me for multiple meals as opposed to just one. My grocery bill each month dropped DRASTICALLY when I improved my eating habits. I'd say fast food contributed to about 10-15lbs of my weight loss, and also shaved about $200-300/mo off my "eating" bill. Left me a lot more money to do stuff with.
Alternative: I finally understood the value of my mom's packed lunches, trail mix, fresh fruit... added nutritional value at less than half the cost!
3) Cutting out processed foods!!!!! This one was the one that really made the difference for me. Instead of reading the "nutritional value" information on a box, read the ingredients. Better yet, if its in a box, don't buy it. It was actually jumpstarted by a visit to a a new grocery store I hadnt' been in before, and how LOW the prices were on their produce!!! I couldn't believe it! The veggies themselves weren't what appealed to me so much as their price tag! I live on a very very low budget and seeing the money I could save on food, I am still amazed when I do the bulk of my shopping in the produce section at how MUCH food I can get for how LITTLE money. Not only that but I know that everything in the bags has good nutritional value, no unnecessary additives, and it LASTS!! Not like boxed Kraft Dinner perhaps... but the health benefits are also incomparable.
I'm also super paranoid about hormones in feed that goes into the meat I eat, so I made a point of finding a local butcher specialty shop and discovered that the prices at those sorts of stores are far far better than the prices at a huge grocery store. It physically pains me if I am put in the position of buying meat in a grocery store out of some kind of necessity. (Usually if I'm out of town)
There's a certain feeling that I get with food... there's something rewarding about eating something that I know is nutritious and beneficial and that I made myself... where I know what all the ingredients are, and when you begin to taste carrots, and celery and everything as nature intended... its quite delicious when not masked with preservatives and salt.
I personally was astonished at the difference these 3 things made not only in my weight, but my energy, my budget and my overall enjoyment of life... I get hit with the odd craving for "crap" food... and I no longer find it satisfying. The cravings get fewer and fewer inbetween because each time I fulfill one, I discover that its nowhere as good as I remember.
I use:
