Do you find yourself lacking energy whilst you fast? Fasting for 12-18hrs during Ramadan can take its toll on the body. However, fasting is becoming increasingly popular with the growth of intermittent fasting or other popular calorie restricted diets such as 5:2, which is suspiciously similar to the Sunnah of fasting twice a week…
We’re naturally taking in less calories during the day so we’ll inevitably feel lethargic but a part of that tiredness stems from the food choices we make when it’s time to eat. Fasting over time will make it easier to handle but we have to make sure our food choices allow us to stay productive during the fast.
Granted it’s difficult to change set behaviours and Dr Amir Emadian himself detailed this in his research papers. But if we incorporate these small changes at these important moments of our fast, the results will hep us considerably.
What Happens to the Body Whilst We Fast?
When opening your fast do you fill your plate to the top but start feeling full only after a few bites? That’s because fasting actually makes your stomach shrink. The Mayo Clinic found that when your stomach no longer has to constantly be in a state of readiness, it allows its nerves to relax. This in turn causes the stomach to shrink which makes you feel fuller quicker. Research has shown this is why fasting is a better method for those that want to lose weight as opposed to just eating less. Fasting actually makes you want to eat less and feel less hungry whereas with simple dieting you’re just forcing yourself to eat less but staying hungry.
When you eat less your body still requires energy to perform its normal functions in keeping you alive. There are two processes that occur here to aid this when fasting: Your body starts to utilize fats for energy and your body starts to recycle old and worn out cells.
We don’t often go by 3-4 hours without eating something and moreover it usually contains some form of carbohydrate. Our body uses the glucose for all its energy needs and anything extra is stored to be used for emergencies. In the modern day where we have constant abundance of food this emergency is never used and what occurs is the storage slowly builds up. Fasting however breaks this cycle and after our body’s glucose is used up, it releases the fat stores to be used as fuel. The scientific term for our body to run on fat for energy is ketones (think of Keto diet) and is a far more efficient source of energy for our heart.
During a fast our cells are also assisting us in cleansing our body, this process is known as autophagy. This amazing process only occurs when there is no food being digested for a sustained number of hours. Over the years we have built up dead and worn out cells which remain in our body. These can in some cases cause harm to us such as inflammation, a weakened immune system or worse cancer. During a fast our healthy cells start to digest these worn out cells for food. More importantly they regenerate and produce new healthy tissues and cells, an important factor in longevity and a healthy lifestyle.
What to Eat When You Start a Fast
Fasting is part of an Islamic life and mandatory for all healthy individuals during Ramadan. With the distraction of worldly desires gone this auspicious month is used to increase our remembrance of God.
Before you begin a fast there are two main techniques to make it easier for the day ahead. The meal you have to begin your fast (suhoor) should contain some kind of healthy fat. It’s a simple idea: energy requires calories and when it comes to calories per gram fats contain more than any other food. Moreover by increasing fats for fuel sources we increase the likelihood of the body getting use to working via ketones.
Comparing one spoonful of almond butter which has approx. 100 calories to a 100g bowl of pasta which has 130 calories, you can see just how more calories you can get with less food. Your body will be just as satisfied with both but you can see which option is not only quicker to eat but also a more efficient way to take in more calories.
Other choices of healthy fats to include before you start your fast could be:
Nuts such as almonds and walnuts
Avocados
Coconut oil
Whole eggs
Some flax seed sprinkled over your cereal or toast
Secondly for sustained energy we want some sort of fibre to keep us feeling full. Now let’s be real – if I tell you to have a big bowl of vegetables in the early morning, that’s not going to happen. In fact it would be very difficult for your body to digest this first thing in the morning or even straight after opening your fast.
Better options to take in fibre first thing in the morning can be:
Overnight oats
Nuts such as almonds and walnuts (getting your fats and fibre here)
Soaked chia seeds
Psyllium husk powder mixed in water
What to Eat When Breaking Your Fast
This is an extremely important part of the fast. Our body has gone through a sustained period without eating causing insulin levels to drop. When the time comes for us to eat, the sudden influx of food will cause our insulin to spike and be absorbed more than usual.
The first meal will be rapidly absorbed into the body and stored. Hence, our first piece of food should be something simple and something high in protein. After a 45mins break you can then enjoy the rest of your iftar. You thought I was going to deny you all the tasty foods you’ve prepared! Ramadan is a celebration just as much as an amazing transformation process for your body.
Some examples of what your first meal could include are:
Rice cakes with some sort of protein
Lean chicken or fish
A simple protein shake
The common mistake we make during this time is to dig in to everything that is available as soon as we can eat. This often results in metainflamation where the body cannot handle so many different types of nutrients in one sitting. The body starts to show inflammation and also resist absorbing all the nutrients. Therefore, this first meal should be simple and healthy.
With the many health benefits and now knowledge of how and what to eat to aid this, why not start fasting on a regular basis after Ramadan? Fasting has only recently caught on as a health improvement idea in the general population but was always a part of Islam. There are even specific days outside of Ramadan that it is encouraged to fast and gain extra rewards. Hopefully with lessons learnt in Ramadan we can work towards these as well.
