There is this woman at my office who began carrying around a huge water bottle around March. It was filled with lemon slices and cucumber, floating in there, like some kind of spa water life situation. I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, water is water, right? Why make it complicated?

Fast forward to now, and I’m sitting here, writing this with my own stupid bottle of lemon cucumber water on my desk. What happened? She lost nearly 12 pounds without setting foot in a gym. Quit passing out during afternoon meetings. Her skin cleared up. I got curious.

Turns out what are the benefits of lemon cucumber water isn’t just some Instagram nonsense. There’s actual stuff happening here.

Why This Became Such a Big Deal

Just go to a Target or Whole Foods right now. You know those fancy glass water bottles with the infuser compartment flying off the shelves? People are putting fruit or vegetables in their water like it’s the best thing since sliced bread.

Here’s the deal, though. Lemons contain vitamin C. Your body needs that to support your immune system and prevent your skin from looking like crap. Cucumbers are largely water and potassium, but when combined, they create something that tastes far better than tap water without any of the calories or sugar.

That may be more important than you would think. Man, we drink so much garbage in this country. Soda, energy drinks, and those coffee drinks that are basically milkshakes. If this lemon cucumber thing convinces even one soul out there to stop guzzling down his fifth Red Bull of the day, that’s monumental.

Let’s Talk About the Weight Loss Stuff

What are the benefits of lemon cucumber water for weight loss? People treat it like a magic potion that’s going to just erase fat overnight. That’s complete bull. The key to losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume. Period.

But here’s what happened to me after drinking lemon and cucumber water every day for about six weeks. I quit purchasing Coke from the break room. I didn’t have as much between-meal hunger. Lost about seven pounds and wasn’t even doing anything else.

Why? Because I was staying hydrated. When you’re thirsty, your brain occasionally muddies thirst with hunger. You find yourself snacking when what you needed was water. Plus, drinking something that tastes decent means you’re not reaching for sugary drinks every two hours.

My colleague, the one who set this whole thing in motion, would constantly be snacking on chips and cookies at her desk. At this point, she just sips at her lemon water all day. Not because the water is magic. She’s only just giving her mouth something with no calories instead of snacks.

The Morning Thing Everyone’s Obsessed With

What are the benefits of lemon cucumber water in the morning? People get really intense about drinking it first thing, especially on an empty stomach. They’ll tell you it kickstarts your metabolism or detoxes your body or whatever.

Your liver detoxifies your body. That’s literally its job. It doesn’t need lemon water to help it. But having a big glass right when you wake up does get water into your system after going eight hours without any. Most people wake up dehydrated and don’t even realise it. That’s why you feel like garbage until you’ve had coffee.

I tried the morning routine for two weeks. Felt more awake, less groggy. The bathroom situation got real, though. Was peeing every forty minutes until noon.

Drinking it at night is fine too, but I made that mistake exactly once. Got up four times to pee. Ruined my sleep. Now I cut myself off around 7pm and I’m good.

What It Does For Your Face

What are the benefits of lemon cucumber water for skin? This is where the claims get wild. People say it’ll erase wrinkles, give you perfect skin, and make you look twenty years younger. Come on.

What it actually does is keep your skin hydrated. Dry skin looks dull and makes wrinkles more obvious. Vitamin C helps your body make collagen, which keeps your skin from sagging like an old balloon. Cucumbers have a mineral called silica that’s supposedly good for skin.

My sister drinks this stuff religiously now. She swears her face looks better. Honestly? I can’t tell. But she also started using sunscreen every day and bought some expensive face cream, so who knows what’s actually doing the work.

The Problems Nobody Mentions

Lemon cucumber water side effects exist. They’re not horrible, but they’re real. Lemons are acidic as hell. If you’re chugging this all day, it can wreck your tooth enamel. My dentist lectured me about it during my last cleaning. Now I drink it through a straw and rinse my mouth with regular water after.

Some people get heartburn, especially if they drink it first thing in the morning with nothing in their stomach. That happened to me the first week until I figured out I needed to eat something first.

Cucumbers barely cause problems unless you’re one of the like five people on earth who are allergic to them.

Actually Keeping This Up

The annoying part about these health trends is that they take effort. You need fresh lemons and cucumbers. You have to slice them. You have to remember to do it. It’s a pain.

I’ve been doing this since late August. Here’s my system. Sunday night, I slice up lemons and cucumbers and throw them in Tupperware containers. Every morning, I dump some in my water bottle before work. Takes maybe ninety seconds. If I forget or run out, I just drink regular water and don’t stress about it.

My coworker makes a huge pitcher every morning and refills her bottle all day. She’s way more hardcore about it than me. But even my half-assed version has made a difference. I actually drink water now instead of just coffee and Diet Coke. I don’t hit that 3 pm wall as hard. Lost a few pounds, though that’s probably because I stopped eating vending machine garbage every afternoon.

Also Read: What Are Rear Delts, and Why Should You Care?

So What’s the Real Story Here

What are the benefits of lemon cucumber water when you strip away all the hype? It makes you drink more water. It tastes better than plain water. It has vitamins. It has zero calories. It might help you eat less junk if you’re using it instead of soda or snacks.

Will it change your entire life? No. Will it hurt you? Also, no, unless you ignore the tooth enamel thing. Is it worth trying? Yeah, probably. Especially if you’re terrible at drinking enough wate,r like I was.

Don’t expect some huge transformation. Expect to be better hydrated. Maybe lose some weight if you’re replacing Coke with it. Possibly clearer skin if you stick with it for a while. That’s not life-changing, but it’s not worthless either.

My coworker looks really good these days, though. Dropped two dress sizes since March. Her skin does look better, now that I think about it. Maybe I should stop making fun of her fancy water and just admit she was onto something.

Although I’m never telling her that. She’d be insufferable about it.