Muslims believe that Ramadhan is a time of spiritual reflection, improvement and increased devotion and worship. They refrain from consuming food, drinking liquids, smoking and engaging in sex during this holy season. For new practitioners, fasting from food and water can be extremely difficult. Right here we have 8 useful tips to guide our faithful Muslims to control their hunger pangs effectively for the entire fasting month.
1. Distraction
Keep yourself busy and start doing something to keep the thought of hunger away from your mind. Do something you love or call a friend to meditate or get some of that last minute Raya shopping done. When your brain is focused on a specific activity, your hunger cravings will subside, and you won’t get hungry without realizing it.
2. Exercise
Spend some time doing mild cardiovascular exercises. Moderate exercise supresses ghrelin and increases peptide YY, a hormone produced by the gastrointestinal tract. The brain will suppress by engaging appetite-regulating circuitry. Some mild yoga will also help to control hunger.
3. Take A Nap
If you’re not working, it’ll be best to get some rest in the afternoon. Taking a short nap can keep your mind off how hungry you are, and before you know it, it’s time to break fast. Getting enough sleep can prevent ghrelin level from increasing too.
4. Take Control Of Your Intake
Before you start fasting on “waktu suhur”, do not gorge all that food down your throat. Eating too fast might cause you to overeat and you’ll up feeling hungrier fast. The brain actually takes longer time than stomach to receive the message that is full, so chew your food slowly. A trick is to take a glass of water first.
5. Ignore the Pangs
New practitioners might experience sudden hunger pangs that are. Try to Ignore them, and you’ll slowly get used to it. Keep your mind off it by reading a book or something to motivate you!
6. Recall Your Moments of Over-Indulgence
Over-indulging in a feast can seem like a grand idea at first. But after trying everything on the table, you’ll feel sick and those cramps make it hard for you to carry on with your fast. It’s all about your own personal mind-set. It might be seem like a good idea to eat as much because you’re hungry. But once you’ve recall the moments of over-eating or how bad you suffer after overindulging during those buffets, you’ll stop thinking of food.
7. Less Carbohydrates, More Protein
Fibre is the secret weapon for dieters to control their hunger. Whole grains are healthier, low in fat and higher in fibre. Whole grain foods are more filling and satisfying, plus you may run the risk of over-consuming calories if you opt for processed carbs like white rice. Certain veggies like broccoli and mushrooms contain high amounts of fibre. Also include more meats in your diet as they take much longer to digest.
8. Get Sufficient Sleep
Several researchers have found that people who sleep less than 5 hours are more likely to be obese than normal sleepers. Not only does lack of sleep make you hungrier because of the irregular meal times, it’ll even trigger to post-meal drowsiness too! So clock in at least 7 hours of sleep a day.
