Image Courtesy: onislam
The Holy Month has begun!! Today was the start to 30 days of fasting. If you’re not clear about what Ramadan is about, here are the basics: You are supposed to abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Before sunrise, you have a light meal to keep up your energy for the day, and after sunset, you break your fast. Nothing in between. No, not even water. Harsh?? Yup, kind of. But you do get used to it :-).
Of course, apart from not eating/drinking, this is a month of long nightly prayers and reading of the Quran, since it was during Ramadan that the Quran was revealed. We are also supposed to give alms to the poor and be decent the whole time – no lying, backbiting, shouting etc. But then you’re supposed to be like that all the time, right? Yes, that’s the point. These 30 days are similar to a detox program physically, emotionally and spiritually. Those who actually invest in this gain the most out of it.
Since this food plan takes my metabolism for a ride, I’m planning to at least keep up my weight training throughout the month. It’s also going to be important to control what I eat after sunset and to avoid going on a binge-eating spree. (That sure is going to be tough).
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| Shown here is the four course healthy Iftar menu at Balance Cafe, Dubai |
Image Courtesy: ahlanlive
Here are a few resources I liked that might be helpful to fasters: (Is that even a word – ‘fasters’?)
Here is another interesting link: The extremely talented Neelu at ‘creating memories’ is having a ‘Journal your Ramadan’ event for 30 days, starting today. You don’t have to be fasting to participate; Neelu has given alternative topics for Ramadan specific prompts, so anyone can play.
I saw this just this morning, hence missed the ‘sunrise’ of the first prompt. So, I’ve exchanged it with the prompt of day 15, and so I present ‘Sunset’ today. Quite a cloudy sunset from my balcony:
Well, that’s all for now. In case you’re wondering, I had a cutlet and a samosa for Iftar, followed by tricolor pulao with cucumber raitha and a chicken dish sent over by my MIL. Okay, maybe no one was actually wondering what I ate today. Err….(awkward pause…..)
I’ll try to keep up regular blog posting as much as I can during Ramadan, I’ll at least try to participate in the Ramadan Journal event. So once again, Ramadan Kareem!!
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