Fasting & SW!

Hey guys, hoping you can help me out a bit here...

I will be fasting for a month from approx 12th August onwards. The fasts are from sunrise to sunset, so looking at 4am to 9pm at the moment I think. We aren't allowed water between those hours, just clarifying as some people are allowed to drink water when they fast.

I really want to continue losing weight during Ramadan, hopefully by sticking to plan. I can easily get in my healthy extras and fruit and veg, I see no reason for me to go off plan except when we are invited over to other people's houses to break the fasts... A whole feast is usually prepared, more often than not containing fried foods and desserts. I know I can avoid these at my own house, and a few other places. I'm hoping there won't be many invites this year as the fasts will open quite late - then again, no one is really that bothered about getting home early because kids don't have school the next day!

So my question is, does anyone have any tips? Or anything to say on this matter that would help? I know some will say concentrate on fasting or concentrate on SW, don't try to take both on at once. I don't think I'm alone in wanting to do this! It's not impossible, I just feel there needs to be a little support group, as there is for everything else on Minimins. Maybe a Ramadan challenge - not to see who loses the most weight but just to see who can stay on track, a place to share tips and tricks, or the best breakfast to eat before the sun goes up!

I really look forward to reading any responses and I'm hoping to keep posting here as the month goes on, so anything anyone has to add will be really really appreciated!

Ali xxx

I'm actually quite shocked the rules of fasting forbid you water in the day! The things you learn!

What exactly are the rules? Can you eat what you want from 9pm til you go to bed? So like, one big meal a day?

I think it's good that you want to continue with SW whilst fasting! I would recommend planning your meals so that you can have something healthy and filling at the end of the day and would say don't stress too much if you get invited out for a meal. You don't want to be too picky when you're not eating for most of the day. I think sticking to plan at home will work well.

Good luck with it!

Vixxster said:

I'm actually quite shocked the rules of fasting forbid you water in the day! The things you learn!

What exactly are the rules? Can you eat what you want from 9pm til you go to bed? So like, one big meal a day?

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Yuppp, nothing can pass your lips between the hours of sunrise and sunset. Your fast is broken if you intentionally eat or drink, you vomit, or you have sex. Okay so people will say it breaks if you swear or think bad things, but usually you can't really control stuff like that! You can't fast if you're on your period as you're deemed unclean (a week off is how I see it lol) and most women don't fast if they're pregnant. You're expected to make up the week off (or month off, in case of pregnancy) whenever you can, but a lot of people don't. If I did, I'd do it mid-December, because then you have the shortest daylight time and consequently the shortest fasts. This year and the next 2 years will have the longest ones - damn summer! The cycle is repeated every 36 years as the Islamic calender is 10 days shorter than the one we know, so Ramadan comes 10 days earlier every year.

Yeah, you can eat pretty much whatever the hell you want after the sun starts dropping, it changes by 1-2 mins every day, gets earlier and earlier so by the time the month ends, you're breaking your fast about 45 mins earlier than you broke your first one. Same goes for sunrise, so your end fast is about one and a half hours shorter than your first one! You could technically eat all throughout the night if you wanted to, but I think most people tend to get really really full pretty quickly and so don't feel the need to, plus everyone gets really tired so the last thing they want to do is stay up all night! At sunrise, it's usually a sleepy stuffing-of-face, whatever you can stomach at that time, and then your fast is closed. Ironic, as it's 'breakfast'...

Apologies for the rambling! xxx

hastalavegan said:

I think it's good that you want to continue with SW whilst fasting! I would recommend planning your meals so that you can have something healthy and filling at the end of the day and would say don't stress too much if you get invited out for a meal. You don't want to be too picky when you're not eating for most of the day. I think sticking to plan at home will work well.

Good luck with it!

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Thanks hun! Will try to plan my meals to the best of my ability but don't really want to be thinking about food when I can't have any! I know I'll definitely be eating fruit every day - we do huge fruit salads and everyone goes for a scoop of ice cream or some squirty cream! I will try to go for the fruit on it's own hehe, I don't think it'll be appreciated if I whip out my mini-scales to weigh the Carte D'or!

I think if do get invited out, I'll try my hardest to stick to plan and if it isn't possible, I'll stick to less syns for the next day. Maybe it'll be a shock to my body after Ramadan and will boost my losses

xxx

What a great thread very interesting! It sounds like you have a plan, you're expecting and preparing already so that's half the battle. Try and get a good breakfast inside you (if you can stomach it lol) and keep yourself away from food as much as you can during the day! Maybe have your evening meal prepared already so you can shoot home and tuck in straight away so you're not grabbing for the first thing in the fridge because you're so hungry. Like you said, it's inevitable that you will be "eating out" from time to time, just try and choose the healthiest food available and don't forget, you will have all of your syns for that bit of squirty cream on your fruit salad if you want it

Good luck with it, and keep us updated, we're always here to pull you through any difficult patches!!

Given that SW basically says "eat when you want" I dont think that you need to fear too much in the way of difference by observing your fast. You will have all your hexs, all your syns and all your free and superfree to play with when you break-fast, just as you would if you ate regularly during the day. Good luck!

could you not sleep say 4am - 9pm then when you wake it will be like the 'day' dont know if thats allowed or if you have to work in the day?

Loving your logic chipbutty!! lol

Victoria_30 said:

What a great thread very interesting! It sounds like you have a plan, you're expecting and preparing already so that's half the battle. Try and get a good breakfast inside you (if you can stomach it lol) and keep yourself away from food as much as you can during the day! Maybe have your evening meal prepared already so you can shoot home and tuck in straight away so you're not grabbing for the first thing in the fridge because you're so hungry. Like you said, it's inevitable that you will be "eating out" from time to time, just try and choose the healthiest food available and don't forget, you will have all of your syns for that bit of squirty cream on your fruit salad if you want it

Good luck with it, and keep us updated, we're always here to pull you through any difficult patches!!

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Hey Victoria, thanks for your reply!

Not really got a plan, just going on what I've done for the past... 10 years or so? A good breakfast isn't really what I feel like at that time, lol, it's usually just a couple of dates or a biscuit and a glass of cold milk... I don't like sleeping on an full stomach, so Weetabix or a fry up wouldn't be the best idea at 4am!

I'm not going to be at uni/work during the month so will have all day to prepare food, it's not the 'grabbing the first thing I see' thing I'm worried about! It's more wondering whether sticking to plan will actually help or if my weight will stay the same. Hopefully, if I'm not eating fried foods (or as much as I have in previous Ramadans) I should be seeing some losses

Will keep you guys updated, definitely! Thanks hun xxx

MadameLaMinx said:

Given that SW basically says "eat when you want" I dont think that you need to fear too much in the way of difference by observing your fast. You will have all your hexs, all your syns and all your free and superfree to play with when you break-fast, just as you would if you ate regularly during the day. Good luck!

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Thanks MLM! Will be interesting to see if it makes any difference - I've been having a few odd weeks... 1lb on, 1lb off, STS... I have this week to get a decent loss, and then as fasting will probably start from Tuesday and I WI Thursday, I can probably count next week as being a non-Ramadan related loss xxx

chipbutty said:

could you not sleep say 4am - 9pm then when you wake it will be like the 'day' dont know if thats allowed or if you have to work in the day?

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If I could sleep more than 8 hours a night, I would! Lol, it's sort of frowned upon to do that because you're supposed to pray throughout the day. I know I won't, though I really should! Also if I were to sleep 4am through to 9pm, I'd be wasting a hell of a lot of daylight hours! I can't do the things I'd usually do during the day at night!

x

Well pre-SW used to have some Prathi with Curry....really heavy I know and have loads of water and then go back to bed. Then for iftars my husband is a big fan of having all fried stuff- pakore, samosas, kebabs, fruit and then some curry with chapati or naan. This year I'll be out of town for most of Ramadan (probably better as I'll avoid all that food), but if I were to stay would probably stick to some All Bran with Milk and fruit and water in the morning and 2 smaller meals after iftar (to break the fast some chaat and there are these potatoe type kebabs) and after a few hours maybe some dhal curry if you are following a green day. I do still think you can lose weight when fasting, but it's just about choosing the right food. Maybe you can take a dish with you to an iftar and at least have most of what you take (knowing that it will be healthy). Oh yes, dates are almost a must, so save your syns for that too! Don't worry we will be fine!

You are obviously determined enough to fast, but I think the problem will be when you can break fast, I personally would be so hungry that if someone prepared a feast i would eat the lot!

My only advice would be that at sundown eat something as soon as you can BEFORE your big main meal- like some alpen light bars or a bowl of cereal- this way you are getting 1/2 of your HEXS and also getting rid of the immediate starvation mentality, so that when you do sit down to eat you will be less likely to grab and eat anything.

That said, I should imagine that if you are only eating one large meal a day, even if it was all off plan you would still be likely to lose weight!.

Good luck with Ramadan, mate xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

i agree with cocktail princess i think the problem area will be when you break the fast cause you are gonna want to eat everything.
can you have a healthy meal prepared so you can eat it straight away and lots of healthy snacks.
only thing i would be concerned about and i suppose you can't do anything about it if you have to fast is your body hanging onto calories cause it thinks you are starving it.
good luck hun

Wow this is such an interesting post!!

Can I ask a question? Why does vomiting break the fast? I understand about your period etc, but whats the deal with the vomiting? I hope you dont think I'm being disrespectful by asking, but I'm quite intrigued.

We were on holiday in Egypt during Ramadan once and once it finished we could hear the party going on through the night, the next day the staff at the hotel looked like zombies, they obviously really enjoyed themselves lol!!
x

Meli said:

Well pre-SW used to have some Prathi with Curry....really heavy I know and have loads of water and then go back to bed. Then for iftars my husband is a big fan of having all fried stuff- pakore, samosas, kebabs, fruit and then some curry with chapati or naan. This year I'll be out of town for most of Ramadan (probably better as I'll avoid all that food), but if I were to stay would probably stick to some All Bran with Milk and fruit and water in the morning and 2 smaller meals after iftar (to break the fast some chaat and there are these potatoe type kebabs) and after a few hours maybe some dhal curry if you are following a green day. I do still think you can lose weight when fasting, but it's just about choosing the right food. Maybe you can take a dish with you to an iftar and at least have most of what you take (knowing that it will be healthy). Oh yes, dates are almost a must, so save your syns for that too! Don't worry we will be fine!

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Wow hun, that sounds like a heavy sehri! I don't think I'd be able to eat anything cooked in the morning, I have trouble facing a fried egg at normal breakfast time these days! Iftaars definitely bring us all down, if only there was a healthier way of making samose! Two smaller meals in the evening sounds a lot better, I might just do that It absolutely killed me when I realised dates had syns! Then I thought well yeah they are pretty much pure sugar so...! I think one day I had maybe 7-8 dates and then read it in the book, gutted! Inshallah we'll be okay! xxx

cocktailprincess said:

You are obviously determined enough to fast, but I think the problem will be when you can break fast, I personally would be so hungry that if someone prepared a feast i would eat the lot!

My only advice would be that at sundown eat something as soon as you can BEFORE your big main meal- like some alpen light bars or a bowl of cereal- this way you are getting 1/2 of your HEXS and also getting rid of the immediate starvation mentality, so that when you do sit down to eat you will be less likely to grab and eat anything.

That said, I should imagine that if you are only eating one large meal a day, even if it was all off plan you would still be likely to lose weight!.

Good luck with Ramadan, mate xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Haha, I don't think you'd be able to eat the lot very fast, so there'd be plenty of time for someone to clear the plates from infront of you! It's honestly really filling, the first few bites you eat, no matter how much you've felt like you're going to collapse from starvation all day!

Thanks for the advice about the Alpen Light bars, I think that's a brilliant idea! I like breaking them up into small chunks and mixing them into Muller Light yoghurts, so it will probably give me the sensation of having a bigger snack

You'd think that fasting and eating off plan would make you lose weight but it really doesn't! For years my weight has been the same during Ramadan, I think we make up for the calories we don't eat all day by eating heavy fried foods later!

Thank you hun xxx

tinkerbellsmum said:

i agree with cocktail princess i think the problem area will be when you break the fast cause you are gonna want to eat everything.
can you have a healthy meal prepared so you can eat it straight away and lots of healthy snacks.
only thing i would be concerned about and i suppose you can't do anything about it if you have to fast is your body hanging onto calories cause it thinks you are starving it.
good luck hun

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Lol, I hope I don't eat everything! I spoke to my C about it this morning and she said so many people come up to her before Ramadan saying they want to stick to SW throughout, and then she doesn't see them again! But I ended the conversation with 'see you next week!' so I'm determined to go back! I spoke to a few other people about it aswell, I was walking home and they were waiting at the bus stop so I stopped for a quick chat. I'm really determined to go back because they were all complimenting me on how much weight I'd lost and asking how Ramadan works and all, so it'll be really nice to keep seeing them each week and sharing my progress with them

I can definitely prepare a healthy meal and healthy snacks, I think I do have the motivation this time round to stick to SW because I feel like I've done it for so long and can't see myself coming off it for a long time! I think even when I reach target I'll still be thinking of every food as free/superfree/synned, and I'll definitely be sticking to my healthy extras!

xxx

GracieMai said:

Wow this is such an interesting post!!

Can I ask a question? Why does vomiting break the fast? I understand about your period etc, but whats the deal with the vomiting? I hope you dont think I'm being disrespectful by asking, but I'm quite intrigued.

We were on holiday in Egypt during Ramadan once and once it finished we could hear the party going on through the night, the next day the staff at the hotel looked like zombies, they obviously really enjoyed themselves lol!!
x

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Hey GracieMai

It breaks the fast if you do it voluntarily... Though I guess you can't really control vomit. Say you were to get that 'sick burp' (don't know how many other people get this but I do!) and then feel the vomit rising up your throat, it came into your mouth, and you swallowed it back down again (nasty I know but it does happen sometimes) then your fast would break. If you vomit from illness, there's no point in keeping the fast as you probably have medication to take.

Haha I've never had an Eid in an Islamic country but I know people get really really really rowdy over there! It's really the equivalent of Xmas for you guys, but we don't have as big a celebration here as they do over there!

xxx