What I’m noticing is that I am now hyper-sensitive to my cheat meals. Or just cheating with bad food in general. I’m wondering if anyone else notices this?

For instance — I’m now working out 2x a day several days of week for the triathlon stuff, swimming in the evenings or biking in the evenings, etc. Generally that means I HAVE to eat right during the day or I can’t perform. But over the past few weeks I’ve noticed that if I slip in a meal of hot chocolate and a bag of chips that I feel like crap later in the day. Sometimes to the point of feeling physically ill. I ate a large bag of chocolate covered raising yesterday afternoon (in place of my yogurt and fruit), and I immediately regretted it. I had my first Pepsi in a year the other day and got a headache.

Enjoy!
The Health Benefits
of Drinking Lemon Water

I remember first learning about the health benefits of drinking lemon water probably twenty-five years ago.

At that time, I was told that drinking lemon water first thing in the morning was especially good for cleansing the liver.
Since then, I’ve learned as a nutritionist, that lemons are also a good source of citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorous and magnesium.
Recently I was given a large bagful of fresh, hand-picked Arizona lemons. In addition, another person asked me, “Are there any health benefits of drinking lemon water?”
I took these two synchronistic events as a hint that I needed to know more about lemons. It was time to do a little more research. What I found is truly amazing.
The following is a brief summary of a few of the key health benefits of drinking lemon water regularly.
Medicinal Values

In his book Back to Eden, Jethro Kloss explains some of the medicinal values of a lemon:
It helps prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria and the decomposition of tissue
It assists in “cleansing the system of impurities” and will help prevent disease
It is effective at dissolving uric acid (often the cause of pain and inflammation in joints) and other poisons in the body
It can help reduce symptoms of malaria, rheumatism, gout, rickets and tuberculosis.
Liver Benefits
Kloss also states that lemon is an excellent stimulant to the liver, thus confirming what I had learned as a twentysomething. Lemon water liquefies the bile and helps control excess bile flow. For liver complaints, Kloss recommends drinking warm lemon juice one hour before breakfast.
A.F. Beddoe, author of Biological Ionization as Applied to Human Nutrition, writes that the liver can make more enzymes out of fresh lemon juice than from any other food.
He says the primary purpose of the lemon is to:
Provide a natural strengthening agent to liver enzymes when they are too dilute
Help fix oxygen and calcium levels in the liver, which ultimately affects blood oxygen levels.
Digestive Aid
One of the most important benefits of drinking lemon water regularly is its effect on the gastrointestinal tract. Lemon water assists in the process of digestion and elimination.
Lemon juice is similar in atomic structure to saliva, hydrochloric acid, bile and the stomach’s other digestive juices.
The digestive qualities of lemon juice help to relieve symptoms of indigestion, such as heartburn, belching and bloating. For the relief of heartburn, Kloss recommends taking a teaspoon of lemon juice in half a glass of water.
Lemon water will also help to eliminate waste through the bowels more efficiently, thus preventing or alleviating constipation, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders.
Colds and Flu
Bacteria and viruses that cause cold and flu symptoms thrive in an acidic environment in the body, due to excess stress and unhealthy foods and lifestyle.
Drinking lemon water has an alkalizing effect on the body.
Increasing body alkalinity is one of the key benefits of drinking lemon water. In addition, because of its antibacterial properties, lemon water will help control unhealthy bacteria.
For a sore throat, Kloss recommends gargling frequently with lemon juice, diluted half and half with pure water. Gargling with straight lemon juice would be more effective if tolerable.
However, frequent use of straight lemon juice can ruin tooth enamel. Thus it’s a good idea to rinse the mouth with pure water after gargling with straight lemon juice.
Other Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water
Just a few more significant health benefits of lemon water, according to Kloss and Beddoe, include:
Helps purify the blood and will also control a tendency to bleed
Assists in lowering high blood pressure
Reduces the amount of phlegm in the body
Relieves symptoms of asthma, allergies and other respiratory problems
Nourishes brain and nerve cells due to its potassium content
Helps dissolves gallstones, calcium deposits, kidney stones, and pancreatic stones
In pregnancy, it will help build strong bones in the child.

ProCocoFlax Oatmeal (my name for it)

“Oatmeal made with whey protein powder, coconut milk and flax seed.”

Ingredients
1/2 cup oats
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 scoop whey protein powder
1 T Flax seed

Directions
Mix 1/2 cup oats and 1 cup coconut milk in a cereal bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for another minute. Careful to watch it so it doesn’t bubble over the bowl.
Carefully stir in protein powder and flax seed.

Soak a 1/2 bag or so of black beans overnight (not sure this is really necessary with how long you cook the beans but I haven’t tried that yet)

In the morning, rinse the beans and add enough water to the crock pot to cover.
Add 1/2 onion, a few cloves of garlic, jalapeno (I did 1.5 and they weren’t too spicy)
Cook in the crock pot on low for 8 hours.
After 6 hours, add a couple of teaspoons of salt, garlic powder and cumin (a tablespoon or so each – taste along the way!).
If the beans look watery, spoon out some of the water (you’re going for a refried bean type consistency).
I turned my crockpot up to high for the last half hour or so to reduce the water even more.

Serve over brown rice with toppings (diced onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, avocado, hot sauce, etc).

Delish!