A little cracked

It’s 5:30.

In the morning.

And I’m awake.

Isn’t that crazy?

It’s all Ann Louise’s fault. (Ann Louise is the genius behind the Fat Flush Plan discussed in a previous post.)

Part of the Fat Flush Plan is drinking the Long Life Cocktail which is unsweetened cranberry water mixed with ground flax seed. It’s a gritty drink to start off the morning but it’s a component of the detox portion of the diet and I don’t argue with Ann Louise (because it’s not like she’s going to argue back).

The thing about the cocktail is that it’s part of the cleansing process so you have to be careful when you take it if you’re on any medications. For me, that means I have to take it an hour before my first set of meds — the ones I take on an empty stomach and then wait an hour before I can take the second set which requires food.

Having to get up at 5:00 to start my morning with the LLC is actually quite nice. I get up, drink the cocktail, do a Pilates workout, spend some time on the internet updating my journal (another component of the FFP — journaling your food, exercise and thoughts while on the Plan), take care of the rabbits and the cat — all before 6:00. This also gives me some nice quiet time to clean the kitchen or whatever little household chore-y things there are to do.

The only drawback is that, as discussed in numerous posts, I don’t get nearly enough sleep. While following the Plan I tend to have more energy than usual so I’m not suffering too badly from a lack of sleep but getting only five or six hours of sleep is going to catch up with me eventually. Plus, Ann Louise stresses the importance of getting plenty of rest while on the FFP so she wouldn’t likely approve, either.

I did get a whole seven hours of sleep last night — which I usually consider a good night’s sleep. I’m really going to have to start forcing myself into bed by 10:00, if not earlier, if I’m going to continue to get up before the crack of dawn (hence this post’s title for those of you looking for the connection).

A note of Joy: It turns out Ann Louise could argue back with me if she really wanted. There’s a support forum on her Web site and it looks like she actually answers questions posted there. How cool is that?