THAT time of the year has come. It's the holy month of Ramadan, when millions of Muslims around the world will observe fasting, which is abstaining from food and drink (among other things) from sunrise to sunset.
During this month, things may not be so different for some. They forget to eat most of the time, and their sleep is irregular anyway. However, for those whose bodies work best according to habit and pattern, abstaining from food and drink, as well as different sleep-wake patterns may affect their daily routines.
This is why the first few days of fasting can be the most challenging. When you're a caregiver and have to think for two, and do things for possibly more than two, you'd need to be more organised and mindful.
Here's the process that I find very helpful. It's about being at peace and in sync with your mind and body. It's really psyching yourself up for it.
SET THE MIND
First is the mindset.
You've got to tell yourself that you're going to be fasting and that you'll be fine doing it. After all, it's not as though you're going to starve. You'll be eating good, healthy meals at sahur, just before sunrise, and your meal at night for iftar would be delicious and nourishing.
At night, between iftar and sahur, ensure you drink enough water (about 6-8 glasses) throughout that time, not counting other beverages. Don't down everything at one or two sittings. You'd get sick. Sip your water throughout the evening. Have a water bottle with you so that you can do this easily and know how much water you're drinking.
Before the fasting month begins, you can already look at your calendar to plan your schedule. Do your ailing loved ones need to visit the doctor? Do you need to get their medicines and other supplies? Can you do all that in advance so that you minimise that exhausting running around during Ramadan? Maybe you can have those items delivered to you?
This is also possibly a good time to review how you spend your day doing your chores. Make a list of what needs to be done. Go ahead and list down the most obvious and mundane things. You'd be surprised how these things add up and actually take the bulk of your time.
Once you've got them down on paper, prioritise them. Get all the important and heavy things done earlier in the day, leaving the easier and less important ones for later.
I'm usually tired by noon and would welcome some rest by then. By that time, the day would also be much hotter and doing things that involve going out or the outdoors don't seem appealing at all.
The one tip from my late mother that I love most when I first had my baby is that you nap when your baby naps. So, when my ailing loved one is resting and all is well, I take a quick nap too. It's just a 20 to 30-minute nap but it's very energising and refreshing. Rest is very important for you.
KEEP THINGS SIMPLE
Now that you've got that sorted out, review the food you eat and how you prepare them. Don't spend your time slaving away in the kitchen pandering to your cravings. Fasting has a devious way of awakening those little demons in your imagination and making you long for sentimental dishes. You suddenly feel you need to make each day special with extraordinary food.
Reign in those little whispers. Don't make life complicated for yourself. You can surely reward yourself every now and then, but don't trouble yourself to the point of exhaustion. You have enough to do as it is.
Avoid overly sweet, oily and spicy food because they make you more tired as your body has to work hard to process it. Remember that you want to go easy on your digestive system during the fasting month instead of overworking it. Just tell yourself that you can be rewarded later, like when the fasting month is over.
In the meantime, go for healthier and easier options. Personally, I find that rice porridge and overnight oats are the easiest to deal with. They can be prepared in advance, taken either hot or cold, and you can make it sweet or savoury. Let your imagination run with what you can eat with it.
If you feel you need more oomph to your meal, you can always add more proteins like eggs or chicken to it. Anything that's prepared in advance would be a bonus to you.
Fruits and vegetables should be somewhere in there too. You need the vitamins and fibre that would make fasting more bearable. So, in these next few days before fasting begins, psych yourself up for it, prepare for what's coming and then count all the blessings that come your way as you become a blessing to others too.
Wishing you a blessed Ramadan. Selamat berpuasa.
[The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.]
Putri Juneita Johari volunteers for the Special Community Society of Ampang. She can be reached at [email protected].
