The Ramadhan Diaries: Week 1

Today marks the 9th day of Ramadhan. Alhamdulilah, this time I was able to fast at the beginning of the month. Its always sad when you don’t get to celebrate the first few days of Ramadhan. Everyone is usually excited so to miss out this once in a year event is heart breaking.

I temporarily suspended my gym membership, because Ramadhan nights are reserved for terawih prayers. I started this last year because I realised that it was too wasteful not to do the terawih prayers in the nights of Ramadhan. Last year I successfully did terawih prayers on all the nights that I could fast, alhamdulilah. I think it was the first time in my life doing it at such a consistent basis.

Was it exhausting? YES. Imagine after a whole day of work, rushed home to help to prepare food for iftar and then rushed to the mosque for terawih prayers. Don’t forget my day starts early so after waking up at 4.30 am for sahoor, by 6.30 am I am off to work. This cycle continues for the whole month of Ramadhan.

For the first week, it was not so much of curbing the hunger or thirst, it was more of withstanding the sleepiness and fatigue. I was seriously lacking in sleep because I still have difficulties falling asleep before 12 am, and that means that I survived with 4.5 hours of sleep daily.

I decided that I would eat healthily for sahoor this year so I prepared my own food. The family usually eat rice for sahoor but I find difficulty swallowing rice so early in the morning.

Week 1 is over and I did it. I try to vary the food I eat daily because I know I am easily bored and sick of eating the same food.

Love the wholegrain cereal and granola with yogurt! Imagine one whole week of no dessert! I had to survive on the granola and yogurt!

For breaking of fast, I usually eat whatever food Mum cooked or bought. I am less fussy. Sometimes the food is not healthy at all, so I try my very best to take in smaller portions.

Semi healthy is when I am lazy and chose to air fry the fish nuggets. I love the fish nuggets too much. Lol.

I think many people make the mistake of trying to lose weight in the fasting month but from my experience all these years, I have never lost any weight in the month of Ramadhan. Losing weight is not about eating lesser, rather its more about eating the right food.

Therefore, I have given up hope to try and lose weight in Ramadhan. I changed my food to healthier ones and if I somehow manage to lose weight, yay. But if not, its ok too because I made the right choices of food to eat.

Also, I am a firm believer that one MUST workout to lose weight. Its healthier and more lasting and since I will not be doing any workout this month, I doubt I would actually lose weight.

Anyway, I think if your intentions of fasting is to lose weight, then I think you are not fasting for the right reasons.

Water. Drink lots of water. My body has problems absorbing water so 1 glass of water will result in me going to the toilet to pee 3 to 4 times in the next few hours after sahoor. It was irritating. After switching to treated and ionised water, it was better. At least I did not visit the toilet too often. Thanks to Madeline for recommending this to me.

The good thing about this is that I will never have water retention problem. Lol.

Time is going by too fast. May we be granted the blessings of Ramadhan through our deeds, insyaAllah.