Well Hey everyone!!

I hope you're all having a great week.

Tomorrow is officially the first day of Ramadan. To clarify for those who don't know what Ramadan is, it is a month in the Islamic Calendar (the ninth one to be precise). The Islamic Calendar follows the moon (i.e. Lunar calender) rather than the sun (solar calender).

During Ramadan Muslims from all over the world fast from sunrise to sunset every day. Most people stare like :O waaah... you fast? You mean you go without food!!? Yup, we go without food and water... actually nothing is allowed to pass our lips, whether food, water, toothpaste or even foul language! We, like the Christians and Jews also have voluntary fasts but this month is all about the community and if you can imagine nearly every Muslim on the planet earth will be partaking in this. So I was trying to think about what this would mean for my diet.

You see everyone says "Man... you must LOOOOOSE so much weight during Ramadan" thats actually false. Lol, because if you imagine after sunset we start to eat. Some people actually go as far as feasting!! And also during Ramadan most people will eat things they wouldn't usually eat (pies, cakes, sweets, fizzy drinks... and LOTS OF IT) and also they end up eating MORE than they would usually eat!!

That was my habit actually. But really it defies the whole point of fasting if when the sun sets we stuff our faces! Fasting is all about having a taste of how the "other half" live. The people who are in absolute poverty all over the world, its all about feeling their pain and making you more compassionate to others. Its also about building will power which will contribute amazingly towards my diet, it should be a good training session for the month so when it is over I'll be able to restrain from all the trigger foods and stuff. Another thing that I love about Ramadan is its all about building your relationship with God - and the people around you of course, its all about inviting people around your house and feeding and watering them - inviting the community to share everything with. We're all hungry and the best part of the day is when you're together breaking your fast.

So as I was saying, I was wondering how this would effect my diet. We're allowed to eat and drink before sunrise as well, so I was figuring what I would do is eat 500 Calories worth before sunrise, and a litre of water and then leave my other 1000 till sunset where I can eat what ever I need and drink loads of water and bits and bobs. I don't want to be too greedy though so I'm not sure whether to split up by having 700 before sunrise and 700 after sunset? What do you think... how can I split up my eating and NOT put on weight. Its hard when you're ravenous to keep a break on things... how would you split it up? Thanks all for letting me get my excitement out (yaay) I can't wait for tomorrow!! Wish me luck!!

I had always wondered about Ramadan. Thanks for the info.

I personally wouldn't be able to eat 700 calories in the morning. I have trouble breaking 400. I would do 400-500 in the morning, and the rest that night. But if you can stomach 700 in the morning, I say go for it.

Dcapulet - maybe I'd have to (lol) have one of those mega greasy breakfasts that truck drivers have!?!

Hello, Seranab! Sundown is also the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, of course.

As for your strategy, I would say, try for the 500 calories before sunrise. 700 is quite a bit to try to get down. I realize the Trucker's Breakfast may be tempting, but I imagine you'd be passing on the sausage links. 500 sounds good to me. Also, if you begin to feel too hungry after trying this for a few days, you could up it to 700.

For after sundown, try if you can to divide your eating there, too--say, have 500 cals as soon as you can, and then another 500 after two or three hours--and try to go light on the carbos for that last 500. (I say this because carbs late at night can bother my sleep and digestion.)

I'll be interested to see what other members suggest. Let us know how you do with this.

Jay

Hmm, whatever you do eat, in the AM make it something that sticks for hours on end. Like a cup of cereal just isn't going to cut it. I would suggest eating protein and some sort of carb to get you through, like whole wheat bread or pasta. That seems to keep me full longer than salads and can still be healthy if made right. In the evening, start with a light soup or a huge glass of water before you eat and you won't binge as badly. I know that is sort of part of Ramadan to "feast" at night, but you don't want to have your stomach stuffed and then go to sleep! Yuck!

I always thought it would be so hard to fast like this. Kudos to you for sticking to your religious beliefs even though you are dieting as well and this might cause a change for the month!

I agree - have the most protein and say, whole week pasta with some veggies as soon as you can before sun up (around 500 cals) and then split the rest after sundown (not all at once).

I think these sort of rituals are amazing and fantastic and I have a lot of respect for those of you who go through it. I have several Muslim colleagues at work and I'm certainly going to give them all the respect I can during the day when they are fasting (some people bug them and ask "aren't you hungry?" "can't you even have water?" that sort of thing).

All the best to you!

You know JayEll what you said about having two seperate meals at sun down is GENIUS!! I never thought about that - and thank you to the rest of you who echoed it. Hmm, thats great - it means that I can have a bowl of cornflakes to break my fast - go to pray (we spend the evening praying in congregation at the mosque you see) then come back and have dinner. By that time I should be more in control and not likely to binge. Thats the problem you see.... you just end up binging and when you haven't got a healthy relationship with food (and aren't sticking to the principles of fasting i.e. when you break your fast you eat MODERATELY) You just end up eating everything and anything instead of stopping and savouring the food.
Cakses - why don't you try it out for the day See how it goes. Oh and I think I'll take your advice with the protein thing - I mean protein usually sticks to your tummy for a while. I'm definately going to try drinking a litre of water before... hopefully.
Velveteen - Lol that easy going (what your colleagues do to the fasting) my friends used to get like my favourite foods and sit in front of me going "Yummmyyy... this is sooooooooo tasty!!" lool, they were little naughties - but it was all in good fun. I read somewhere that scientists have said that people who go through periods of fasting through their lifetime are less likely to develop cancer at a later age (but these days anything can give you or prevent you from getting cancer - there are so many scientific schools of thought) and their logic was that your detoxing your body and allowing it to have a break once in a while - so I thought wow thats pretty good for the Christians, Jews, Muslims buddhists and Hindu's!! Oh and anyone else who fasts...

thank you all for your great suggestions they're definately "food for thought"

Oh and JayEll yes it will be Rosh Hashanah and so I hope anyone who will be celebrating will have a great time... i'm sure loads of people will be making lots of new year resolutions!! mine will be... STOP EATING JUNK!!

You know, this is really strange, but I had a friend (along time ago) in grade school tell me that she fasted for Ramadan and then, at sunset, her mother would give her cookies while she had a glass of wine (I thought alcohol wasn't allowed for the Islamic religion!!???) . And then she also told me, that women who were on their menstrual cycle didn't have to? I've got the facts on Ramadan all wrong...

When I can't eat during the day (too busy, lots of running..everyone knows the drill on that) I have a heart[unhealth]y breakfast. Hold on to your scales (you may gain just reading about it)...

One potato, hashed (no butter, cooking spray). Half a cup of cheddar cheese heaped on top right after cooking. Top that with 2 eggs, up and runny. If you use butter, that's 650 calories, but...Mmmmmm...it's heaven....And it keeps me full for about 6 hours.

The corn flakes *may* be the better way to go though.

Best wishes on Ramadan. Growing up in an all Christian community, it's really foreign to me. We pig out for our holy days, not fast.

How does the (lack of) water thing work?

Food I can understand through my own (admittedly non religious!) fasting days, but isn't dehydrating yourself a bit dangerous??

Over the long term, probably. But it's a religious practice, for a fairly short amount of time, and doesn't involve going without water for days on end (just for 10 to 12 hours at a time).

I also know from some Jewish friends, for them, the idea of 'sundown' is fairly liberal. As soon as the sun starts to set, it's sundown. So that also shortens the amount of time for fasting.

Seranab, thanks for the post. It's lovely to 'see' other Muslims. Peace be upon you, may you have a meaningful Ramadan.

May I just say, that I do brush my teeth even while fasting and I am certain many others do as well. It's all in the intention, toothpaste is not a food item. and when I rinse I have no intention of drinking.

I would like to say that I am not trying to be argumentative, rather we each are entitled to our own interpretations.

I simply worry about sweeping statements, that they more often than not fail to be an accurate representation.

Peace, Sherin

Veggielover,
religious practioners (I didn't know how else to put it =) are not necessarily representative of the religion and it's common rules/practices. I always suggest to people who are curious, not to take my word or the word of others to heart, but to read the Quaran and form their own conclusions. Any reputable translation of the Quaran (in any other language than Arabic the book is considered a translation) will do nicely.

As for mestruation and religious practices. It's my interpretation that the exemption from fasting and formal prayer during menstruation is a kindness because many women often feel less than well during TOM. I mildly resent/find offensive the interpretation that women are intrinsically unclean during this time.

Ooh, I`m a terrible faster!
Yom Kippur fasting is enough for me, and instead of praying all I hope is that there is no nasty nasty gefullte fish that evening. Gah!