Reflections After Day 1 of My Ramadan Fast

Well, I survived my first day of the fast. I would say “barely” but that’s actually not true. Yesterday went far better than I thought it would. Yes, I felt hungry — by about 11:00AM I was ready to eat. But, aside from the feeling of hunger throughout the day, I felt pretty good for most of the day.

I was actually far more productive than I probably would have been otherwise. I don’t think this was so much from the time saved not eating as it was from the fact that staying busy helped me keep my mind off of food. Around 4:00 in the afternoon I started to feel painfully hungry, and around 6:00PM I started to feel noticeably more thirsty than I had been all day. I fully expected to feel thirsty far earlier in the day though, and to me an insatiable thirst is far worst than hunger.

I was surprisingly in fairly good spirits all day yesterday. I started getting slightly grumpy toward the end of the day as the hunger and thirst really started to set in. But beyond that, I felt well-rested, ambitious, happy, and even more “free” because I wasn’t tied to my cell phone all day.

In my previous post I mentioned that one of the things I am also fasting from is the use of my cell phone. While I will admit that I did use my cell phone a couple of times yesterday — once to call a friend (which I did say was allowed), and once to look up how many people we were waiting on at an event that required RSVP’s. Otherwise, I didn’t send one text message, play any games, browse the Internet for anything, or check Facebook. It is actually not that hard for me not to do these things. The most difficult part is remembering I’ve given it up. It has become just as much of a habit for me to absentmindedly pick up my cell phone for no reason as it is to eat or drink.

The most surprising thing for me is that I spent a good portion of my day cooking. Yes, cooking — even though I couldn’t eat any of it. I started cleaning the kitchen to have something to do, and in the process of reorganizing the cupboards, cleaning out the fridge, and getting rid of some bad food, I found several items I wanted to use up so they didn’t go bad. So, I stir-fried some vegetables and chicken, added some Teriyaki sauce, and made some rice and quinoa to go with it.

I was surprised at how easy it was not to eat the food when I knew I couldn’t. It was similar to my days working in a deli, during which I made salads and prepared foods regularly but obviously couldn’t just dip my fingers in and try some. This food was not for eating, at least at that time. Now we’ve got stir-fry for dinner for the next couple nights and no one has to cook. Just the way I like it!

Overall, yesterday was far easier than I thought it would be. This morning, however, was more challenging. I had a hard time waking up because I had gone to bed fairly late last night since I couldn’t eat until after 8:30PM. I do have to pat myself on the back for going two days in a row without hitting the snooze button — that’s a pretty major accomplishment for me lately, especially at 4:30AM.

Once I woke up, brushed my teeth, took the dogs outside, and fed them, I started making breakfast and drinking as much liquid as I could. After I felt like I was fairly well hydrated, it seemed like it would probably be a good idea to go back to bed for a little while longer, so I slept for another hour and then finished my morning routine.

I’m feeling pretty good right now, but it’s about 12:30 and I’m definitely thinking lunch thoughts. Considering I have a busy day today, hopefully that will keep my mind occupied over the lunch period.

Tomorrow I’ll share some of my thoughts and reflections outside of the basics of being hungry and thirsty, and keeping busy. Thanks for following me through this journey!