Since I'll be spending tomorrow morning in a mind-numbing faculty meeting, I thought I'd post on my progress before going to bed. I did quite a bit better than yesterday. Part of it was that I woke up later and managed to have a bigger breakfast.
I wound up eating dinner at six, which means that I probably went about 10 1/2 hours without eating. That's not bad. I'm actually pretty confident that if we had winter daylight hours, I'd be able to follow the rule to the letter. Still, I managed to skip lunch and not have any snacks with hardly any discomfort. I think that another thing that helped was that I was working on some notes for my Senior English class, so my mind was plenty distracted.
I'd better lose some weight as a result of all this, dammit. No beer...geez, even if everything else about Islam appealed to me, that would be a real deal-killer.
Showing posts with label Ramadan It. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramadan It. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Ramadan It! - Day 4
Epic fail yesterday. I made it to about 3:30 and then I had to eat a bagel that I had originally intended for breakfast but couldn't eat at the time. After that, it was game over, and I had dinner at about 4:00. The good news is that my homemade Swedish meatballs turned out pretty tasty. Also, as before, I couldn't have as big of a portion as I normally have. It's funny, but I figured that I'd be pigging out at night, but I find myself getting full really fast.
After that, I had a bit of apple cobbler. Before going to bed, I had an apple and a bit of dark chocolate. (Because as everybody knows, it's all about the anti-oxidants for me. What are anti-oxidants, you ask? Ummm...hey, look over there!)
Last night was the first night where I actually was craving a beer. That was easy to get over though. I figure even if I just wind up saying "to hell with it!" and start eating lunch again, I can still do the abstaining from pork and alcohol.
After that, I had a bit of apple cobbler. Before going to bed, I had an apple and a bit of dark chocolate. (Because as everybody knows, it's all about the anti-oxidants for me. What are anti-oxidants, you ask? Ummm...hey, look over there!)
Last night was the first night where I actually was craving a beer. That was easy to get over though. I figure even if I just wind up saying "to hell with it!" and start eating lunch again, I can still do the abstaining from pork and alcohol.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ramadan It! - Day 3
Here's a tip for you if you plan on fasting during the day - avoid having too many jalapenos when you finally sit down for dinner. I'll just leave it at that.
Last night I was all set to make the IKEA Swedish meatballs, but then I had a look at the ingredients and noticed the harmiest of harams - PORK! So, they're a no-go. Still, I've got a hankerin' for some, and I can still use the cream sauce and ligonberries from what I understand. I'll be heading to the store soon, as I've found an all-beef Swedish meatball recipe. I'll probably make it tonight.
Yesterday was easier than the day before for the most part. I felt hungry, but I didn't have that gnawing pain in my gut like before. I did start to feel a bit of a headache toward the end there though, and when I finally stuffed my face with some carne con chile, I felt more bloated than satisfied. I even had a little bit of dessert, but I could barely get any down as I felt full much faster than I normally do. And to think, I didn't have any beer with my meal, which usually helps to fill me up. Honestly, skipping the beer has been the easier part of this.
The only modification I'm making today is that I'm going to drink as much water as I want. I think that my headache might have been a touch of dehydration, and that can't be good for me. Otherwise, I'll keep things the same as yesterday.
Oh, and this has made me realize that there's no God but Allah and Zarathustra is his prophet. (See what happens when you don't fully observe Ramadan? You get all sorts of crazy ideas!)
Last night I was all set to make the IKEA Swedish meatballs, but then I had a look at the ingredients and noticed the harmiest of harams - PORK! So, they're a no-go. Still, I've got a hankerin' for some, and I can still use the cream sauce and ligonberries from what I understand. I'll be heading to the store soon, as I've found an all-beef Swedish meatball recipe. I'll probably make it tonight.
Yesterday was easier than the day before for the most part. I felt hungry, but I didn't have that gnawing pain in my gut like before. I did start to feel a bit of a headache toward the end there though, and when I finally stuffed my face with some carne con chile, I felt more bloated than satisfied. I even had a little bit of dessert, but I could barely get any down as I felt full much faster than I normally do. And to think, I didn't have any beer with my meal, which usually helps to fill me up. Honestly, skipping the beer has been the easier part of this.
The only modification I'm making today is that I'm going to drink as much water as I want. I think that my headache might have been a touch of dehydration, and that can't be good for me. Otherwise, I'll keep things the same as yesterday.
Oh, and this has made me realize that there's no God but Allah and Zarathustra is his prophet. (See what happens when you don't fully observe Ramadan? You get all sorts of crazy ideas!)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Ramadan It! - Day 2
While yesterday was a total failure by strict Islamic standards, it was a success by the standards I set up for myself. I managed to go nearly twelve hours with no food and very little water (probably about five ounces total).
So, have I learned anything yet? Well, I don't want to make too big a deal of it, but I did notice something interesting. Last night, Kirsti and I went with some friends to a Mexican restaurant. Like what you'd expect, we got some chips and salsa as a starter. I dug right in, of course, as I was happy to finally be putting something down my gullet. What I didn't notice is that the waiter was taking a long time to finally come and take our orders. My friend started to get really annoyed by this while I was still quite content to be chowing down on some chips.
What's funny about this is that I'm usually the first one to get annoyed when the waiter takes too long. Yet even after it was brought to my attention how long it was taking, I still didn't feel bothered by it. I would have guessed that my "angry hungry" would have turned into "murderous rage hungry" by this point, but fasting all day actually had the opposite effect. Go figure - maybe I'm learning a bit of patience. Still, it's only been one day, so things might change.
I'm altering things a bit for today. Instead of paying attention to sunrise and sunset, I went ahead and ate when I got up this morning - which was about 7. I finished at 7:30, and now I'm going to wait 12 hours until I have dinner. Sure, I'm not going as long as Muslims who live at the same latitude as me, but I'm going longer than I would have if this experiment was taking place in December. (What do Muslims in Alaska do? I figure that they probably bend the rules a bit on that one.) I might also let myself have a bit more water, as I'm feeling really thirsty right now (must have been the margaritas last night).
What do I have to look forward to tonight? Swedish meatballs from IKEA. Nice. Good thing it's not Kosher month, or I wouldn't be able to have the cream sauce with them.
So, have I learned anything yet? Well, I don't want to make too big a deal of it, but I did notice something interesting. Last night, Kirsti and I went with some friends to a Mexican restaurant. Like what you'd expect, we got some chips and salsa as a starter. I dug right in, of course, as I was happy to finally be putting something down my gullet. What I didn't notice is that the waiter was taking a long time to finally come and take our orders. My friend started to get really annoyed by this while I was still quite content to be chowing down on some chips.
What's funny about this is that I'm usually the first one to get annoyed when the waiter takes too long. Yet even after it was brought to my attention how long it was taking, I still didn't feel bothered by it. I would have guessed that my "angry hungry" would have turned into "murderous rage hungry" by this point, but fasting all day actually had the opposite effect. Go figure - maybe I'm learning a bit of patience. Still, it's only been one day, so things might change.
I'm altering things a bit for today. Instead of paying attention to sunrise and sunset, I went ahead and ate when I got up this morning - which was about 7. I finished at 7:30, and now I'm going to wait 12 hours until I have dinner. Sure, I'm not going as long as Muslims who live at the same latitude as me, but I'm going longer than I would have if this experiment was taking place in December. (What do Muslims in Alaska do? I figure that they probably bend the rules a bit on that one.) I might also let myself have a bit more water, as I'm feeling really thirsty right now (must have been the margaritas last night).
What do I have to look forward to tonight? Swedish meatballs from IKEA. Nice. Good thing it's not Kosher month, or I wouldn't be able to have the cream sauce with them.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A Cheeseburger sounds nice
Today's my first day of observing the dietary portion of Ramadan, and I really want something to eat right now. Of course, I knew this would happen, and that's sort of the point. The problem with me is that my mind tends to get fixated on things, and it's always hard to concentrate on anything else when it's obsessed with something. In the case of food, it's even harder because I have that constant gnawing in my gut to keep bringing my mind back to the whole hunger thing.
Of course, today I'm doing a half-baked version, as I stated in my original post about this little experiment. Still, when all is said and done, it will be nearly twelve hours since my last meal, and if it was winter, that would definitely count. Of course, margaritas aren't part of the tradition, but that'll be my last bit of alcohol until this is all over.
Anyway, I woke up at 5:45 so I could make myself some eggs and sausage along with a bagel and some cream cheese. Sausage? Ain't that haram? It's okay because it's an all-chicken sausage (no pork casing either). Also, as far as I can tell, Muslims don't have as many rules as Jews do, so it's okay to have chicken with eggs (which will be a no-no when I try Kosher month).
The big problem is that I usually don't eat that much first thing in the morning, so I was only able to finish half of what I made. (The good news? I can wake up a bit later tomorrow so I can just reheat my leftovers!) Also, my cat's routine is that he expects to be fed after I have my breakfast, so he was being a real butthead at an earlier time than usual. And when he meows for food, that gets Willy all excited, and he starts to whine at the bedroom door. (Meanwhile, Argos just relaxes in his crate.) So, they got fed a little early.
After that, I went for a walk and did some yard work. Considering how much I was sweating out there, I decided to allow myself some tap water during the day - no ice though. I filled up one glass that I plan to take small sips from until the day is over.
I figure that the first day is going to be the toughest. Still, the point (or at least, one point) of this whole thing is to get you to think about those who don't have as much as you. After all, there are people all over the world, including this country, who don't know where their next meal is coming from. This is nothing in the grand scheme of things, as at least I know that there's a big meal waiting for me at the end of the day. Shoot, it's a luxury that I can just walk up to a faucet in my home and have drinkable water!
That's the kind of thing I need to think about instead of feeling sorry for myself. Let's hope I've got the willpower to hold out for the rest of the day.
Of course, today I'm doing a half-baked version, as I stated in my original post about this little experiment. Still, when all is said and done, it will be nearly twelve hours since my last meal, and if it was winter, that would definitely count. Of course, margaritas aren't part of the tradition, but that'll be my last bit of alcohol until this is all over.
Anyway, I woke up at 5:45 so I could make myself some eggs and sausage along with a bagel and some cream cheese. Sausage? Ain't that haram? It's okay because it's an all-chicken sausage (no pork casing either). Also, as far as I can tell, Muslims don't have as many rules as Jews do, so it's okay to have chicken with eggs (which will be a no-no when I try Kosher month).
The big problem is that I usually don't eat that much first thing in the morning, so I was only able to finish half of what I made. (The good news? I can wake up a bit later tomorrow so I can just reheat my leftovers!) Also, my cat's routine is that he expects to be fed after I have my breakfast, so he was being a real butthead at an earlier time than usual. And when he meows for food, that gets Willy all excited, and he starts to whine at the bedroom door. (Meanwhile, Argos just relaxes in his crate.) So, they got fed a little early.
After that, I went for a walk and did some yard work. Considering how much I was sweating out there, I decided to allow myself some tap water during the day - no ice though. I filled up one glass that I plan to take small sips from until the day is over.
I figure that the first day is going to be the toughest. Still, the point (or at least, one point) of this whole thing is to get you to think about those who don't have as much as you. After all, there are people all over the world, including this country, who don't know where their next meal is coming from. This is nothing in the grand scheme of things, as at least I know that there's a big meal waiting for me at the end of the day. Shoot, it's a luxury that I can just walk up to a faucet in my home and have drinkable water!
That's the kind of thing I need to think about instead of feeling sorry for myself. Let's hope I've got the willpower to hold out for the rest of the day.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Ramadan it!
Ramadan starts on August 22nd, and as a practicing Muslim, I shall be participating. No, wait, that's not quite right. I'm not a Muslim, but I'm going to observe Ramadan. Well, I'm going to observe the dietary part. The prayers? Not so much. Why would I want to do that? I'm not thinking of converting, am I?
Actually, this all started with an idea that I've been toying with for some time. As an atheist, I don't find myself following a lot of arbitrary rules. For the most part, that's a good thing. However, I think that there just might be something to following certain rituals - especially the ones that involve one having to make a bit of a sacrifice. Of course, I don't think that one should follow these rules to the point of ignoring reason. For instance, if you're Jewish and you're starving to death, and the only thing to eat is bacon - EAT THE BACON!!! (Not that I can imagine too many Jews doing this.) Still, there's probably something to making yourself sacrifice something and be a little bit more thoughtful about what you're putting in your body - especially when you live in a land of plenty.
My original idea was to start this gradually. I was going to go a month without eating meat on Fridays. That's easy enough. I figured that the following month, I'd go kosher. After that? I'd go devout Hindu and go vegetarian for a month. The coup de grace would be Ramadan, which requires that I don't eat from sunup to sundown. Also, if I'm going to really do it the way Muslims do, I'm also going to have to abstain from pork and alcohol. That's right - no beer for a month. (Yes, I'm aware that there are other things from which a Muslim must abstain during Ramadan. As I stated at the start, I'm just following the dietary rules.)
When I looked up when Ramadan is, I saw that it's starting on the 22nd. I figure that if I'm going to do this, it'll be more interesting to do it when Muslims are actually doing it. (Just as I plan on giving up something for Lent - whenever that is. Good thing I have the Internet to find this stuff out.) So, everything's probably going to be pretty easy after this (with the possible exception of Hindu month).
Surprisingly enough, my wife is on board for this little experiment. However, she drew the line at Ramadan. I really don't blame her, and honestly, I'm not going to be too hard on myself if this experiment ends in failure. My friends and I have a joke where if I don't eat for a while, I start to get "angry hungry". I'm a bit obsessive about things, and when I'm hungry, I get downright ornery. Still, I wonder if I tell myself from the start of the day that I can't eat until it gets dark, then maybe I can get over this flaw of mine.
Since I don't have the wrath of Allah to worry about, I'm not going to beat myself up if I fail at this one. One thing that I'll try to do is if it gets to be too much is that I'll scale back a little at a time. For instance, it's tougher to do Ramadan in August than it would be in December. Worse comes to worse, I'll go by winter hours and try that. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll allow myself a small snack during the day. Worse comes to worse, I can at least stick with the no alcohol rule. As a homebrewer and beer enthusiast, at least that's SOMETHING. (Oh, and I can also lay off the bacon.)
Obviously, this also gives me something to blog about. I'm going to admit at the start that I'm already going to blow it a bit, as my wife and I made plans with some friends to have Mexican food and margaritas on the 22nd. I figure that I can maybe skip lunch that day and do a half-assed Ramadan, but I'll try and go full-bore on the 23rd.
I don't want to be pessimistic, but I know myself pretty well to know that this is going to be really tough. Still, if I can do some sacrificing that I don't normally do, then I'll consider it to be a success.
Actually, this all started with an idea that I've been toying with for some time. As an atheist, I don't find myself following a lot of arbitrary rules. For the most part, that's a good thing. However, I think that there just might be something to following certain rituals - especially the ones that involve one having to make a bit of a sacrifice. Of course, I don't think that one should follow these rules to the point of ignoring reason. For instance, if you're Jewish and you're starving to death, and the only thing to eat is bacon - EAT THE BACON!!! (Not that I can imagine too many Jews doing this.) Still, there's probably something to making yourself sacrifice something and be a little bit more thoughtful about what you're putting in your body - especially when you live in a land of plenty.
My original idea was to start this gradually. I was going to go a month without eating meat on Fridays. That's easy enough. I figured that the following month, I'd go kosher. After that? I'd go devout Hindu and go vegetarian for a month. The coup de grace would be Ramadan, which requires that I don't eat from sunup to sundown. Also, if I'm going to really do it the way Muslims do, I'm also going to have to abstain from pork and alcohol. That's right - no beer for a month. (Yes, I'm aware that there are other things from which a Muslim must abstain during Ramadan. As I stated at the start, I'm just following the dietary rules.)
When I looked up when Ramadan is, I saw that it's starting on the 22nd. I figure that if I'm going to do this, it'll be more interesting to do it when Muslims are actually doing it. (Just as I plan on giving up something for Lent - whenever that is. Good thing I have the Internet to find this stuff out.) So, everything's probably going to be pretty easy after this (with the possible exception of Hindu month).
Surprisingly enough, my wife is on board for this little experiment. However, she drew the line at Ramadan. I really don't blame her, and honestly, I'm not going to be too hard on myself if this experiment ends in failure. My friends and I have a joke where if I don't eat for a while, I start to get "angry hungry". I'm a bit obsessive about things, and when I'm hungry, I get downright ornery. Still, I wonder if I tell myself from the start of the day that I can't eat until it gets dark, then maybe I can get over this flaw of mine.
Since I don't have the wrath of Allah to worry about, I'm not going to beat myself up if I fail at this one. One thing that I'll try to do is if it gets to be too much is that I'll scale back a little at a time. For instance, it's tougher to do Ramadan in August than it would be in December. Worse comes to worse, I'll go by winter hours and try that. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll allow myself a small snack during the day. Worse comes to worse, I can at least stick with the no alcohol rule. As a homebrewer and beer enthusiast, at least that's SOMETHING. (Oh, and I can also lay off the bacon.)
Obviously, this also gives me something to blog about. I'm going to admit at the start that I'm already going to blow it a bit, as my wife and I made plans with some friends to have Mexican food and margaritas on the 22nd. I figure that I can maybe skip lunch that day and do a half-assed Ramadan, but I'll try and go full-bore on the 23rd.
I don't want to be pessimistic, but I know myself pretty well to know that this is going to be really tough. Still, if I can do some sacrificing that I don't normally do, then I'll consider it to be a success.
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