Night in Tunisia

Faith for Fuel

I'm not the type to do Ramadan, really. Of course, not being Muslim
is the biggest factor, but there are quite a few people who do it for
cultural reasons, not religious. In part I don't like the idea,
because I like to eat lots of small meals, not just one enormous meal
at the end of the day. In part, because I couldn't possibly go all
day - no matter what temperature - without water. In part, because
fasting all day will force your body to consume hard-earned
bodybuilding muscle for protein during the day, and feasting at night
will force your body to store it as fat at night when your metabolism
hits sleep mode. And in part because I don't like the sluggish,
drugged, slightly dumb feeling I get when I do it.

And how do I know I get feeling that way? Well, since it really is
part of a cultural experience, I figured I should give it the benefit
of one day's effort per week. I can't do more than that without
losing too much muscle (I work too hard to get it!). This way, I
figure, I'd know how others were feeling. What I'm not willing to do
is give up water, though. So I keep drinking.

So far, I've noticed a couple of things. The first is that the
smokers and coffee drinkers seem to be suffering the worst. Fasting
here, means that you stop nourishing the body. Nothing cleansing
about this at all, just sort of quasi-punitive. Don't put anything in
that fuels you. I'm thinking if Ramadan had a slogan it would be
Faith for Fuel! The second is that fasting with water has a markedly
different effect on the body than fasting without. Like everyone I'm
getting slow and I have a continual grumble in my belly, but I don't
"want" food. I want the hungry feeling to stop, but I don't
particularly crave anything. I even have an after eight mint on my
desk and it's not tempting at all. I just want the grumbling to stop,
and that has nothing to do with food.

We have a friend arriving tonight and we have to get him at the
airport, so I'll be breaking fast sooner than the usual time. That's
alright, though, since I'll get to do this again next week, and the
next.

I'm really starting to appreciate Christmas, you know? Feasting sure
beats fasting!

posted by tiaraletourneau @ 12:53 p.m.