With Ramadan just around the corner, we have put together 5 easy ways in which you can prepare your body for fasting. By planning and adjusting now, it’ll be easier to kick habits and cravings, making the transition a whole lot easier.
So let’s get started…
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Reduce your intake
In the lead up to Ramadan, it’s important to reduce your portion sizes now. Some of us think to spurge on food before we fast to sort of ‘stock up’, but this is exactly what not to do. The aim is to reduce your appetite and hunger for larger quantities of food, as this will ultimately help your body transition to fasting.
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Eat breakfast, early
By getting your body use to eating breakfast earlier than usual, the transition won’t feel so foreign for your metabolism. Start putting your alarm on a little earlier each morning and, even if you’re not hungry, eat. You want to trigger your stomach into understanding your new routine and when to expect food. As an added bonus, waking up a little earlier to eat breakfast will also help adjust your sleeping pattern too.
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Don’t snack
If you’re an avid 10am and 2pm lover of snacks or fizzy drinks, then Ramadan could prove difficult. In the lead up to Ramadan, stick to only three meals a day. Like breakfast, you want to train your stomach and mind now. This will ensure you lose the desire for these goodies and begin not to expect them in your routine. It also means, by cutting the snacks out now, you’ll only be dropping one meal out of your diet during fasting, rather than multiple.
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Cut down on coffee
Caffeine withdrawal, it’s a thing. That headache will feel much worse while you’re fasting if you haven’t prepared your body in advance. If this seems inconceivable, then start small and work your way up. First, reduce your coffee intake to only one day. Second, switch to decaffeinated coffee. And lastly, finish with cutting it out of your day all together.
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Begin shopping now
While you are still full of energy, prepare your meals now. Shop and stock up on nutritious foods that can be served at Suhoor or Iftar so that you’re not so tempted by guilty pleasures later. Learn and prepare two to three nutritious breakfasts in advance (like overnight oats) or cook and freeze meals now for when you break fast. This way, you can can ensure cravings won’t hinder what your body actually needs.
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In our next blog post, we will be talking about what kinds of food our bodies actually need and what to avoid, so stay tuned to our Ramadan Blog Series.