Alhamdulillah, I feel so blessed to be granted the opportunity to fast again this year. I wanted to write about my experience fasting so that I can document what I did this year that makes fasting for me this time around different from the past. How was it different from last year's Ramadhan? Well, for starters, this time around, I'm included celery juice and fruit smoothie as part of my daily menu. I have been drinking celery juice since last December of 2018 till now. There are some days that I would go without it but only because I couldn't get new stock from the market. During that time I would replace celery juice with cucumber juice or cucumber smoothie because cucumber has similar effects on the body that we get from celery juice. It does have good source of minerals in it, very hydrating which is good for the body when fasting and it is cooling too.
What I noticed so far when fasting these past few days is that I don't feel sick like I used to years ago during the first week of fasting. I'm sure many of us face the same experience. The feeling is so remarkably wonderful now. I don't get headaches or feel very feverish either. I can actually "function", feel calm and have more patience. So this is really great for me. Even my Mom says she feels different this time around. She doesn't take the fruit smoothie though because she does not like the cold smoothie that I make...she does not like to take cold drinks. Plus, she is not that fond of taking fruits that are blended together. She prefers fruit juices or take them whole instead.
I would have the fruit smoothie for iftar (breaking of fast) with some dates and plain water. It's enough to keep me full till after Isya'. After Isya' I would eat something more filling. Usually I would break the fast with a glass of plain warm water first, then have some dates and continue with the fruit smoothie. By then my fruit smoothie won't be too cold for me to drink. The reason why it is cold is because some of the fruits are frozen. Sometimes in order to keep the fruits from rotting fast, it's best to keep them in the freezer. So I clean them and then cut them up into small pieces and freeze them. That way, they last longer. I do get headaches if I drink cold drinks too fast or when my body is feeling hot. I do feel hot when fasting because I am not drinking any water during fasting. So to take a VERY cold drink upon breaking the fast is actually not a good idea. Warm drinks and food are best. It won't shock the body like cold drinks and food would. That's why I took plain warm water with the dates first before taking the cold fruit smoothie.
If you want to see more of the fruit smoothies that I take daily and how I make them, you can check it out at my IG link --> HERE. I really enjoy taking them for iftar because it is sunnah to break the fast with dates or fruits. And I don't like to mix fruits with other food at any one time. After taking the fruit smoothie, it is best to wait for 30 minutes before taking any other meal. I feel that Iftar is the best time to eat fruits. At other times, I just don't see myself taking fruits because we can only eat or drink twice a day in Ramadhan, and for sahur, I can only see myself taking heavy meals like rice, veggies or meat. I also take celery juice half and hour before I take my meal during sahur, because it is good to take celery juice on empty stomach in the morning and not at night. I had to wake up very early in the morning around 3.30 am just to juice the celery. It was not easy to be discipline but for health sake, I did it. It was possible. I made sure I washed the celery the day before, cut them up into small pieces, all ready to be juiced in the morning.
Yes, it is so important to prepare and plan the meals in Ramadhan because I don't want to get sick. If I do get sick, I might miss my opportunity to fast and that would be so sad. I don't want to miss fasting unnecessarily. I did have a bad experience last year and I don't want it to happen again this time around so I'm very careful now with what I eat in Ramadhan.
Now that Ramadhan is over, I'm so happy that I came out of it feeling good. I'm so glad I made the decision to change my diet last year. Although I did cheat eating food and sugary drinks that I'm not supposed to take sometimes, at least I never stopped taking the celery juice and the fruit smoothie. Those two things helped me reduce a lot of my cravings, and even if I did cheat, I didn't take a lot of it like before. So there is a huge difference.
I remembered over the years, I have been on and off with eating healthy. I could never stay on a healthy diet for a long period of time. Usually it would last for 2 or 3 months...then I would cheat for a few more months, and I would be back on that diet again for another few months. It's like a vicious cycle. It was really hard to maintain the diet. The difference this time is the celery juice. I definitely feel that the celery juice helped me maintain the healthy diet. Even when I was taking the jamu, I couldn't stay on the healthy diet for long.
I really hope to continue with the celery juice and fruit smoothie for as long as I possibly can. All I hope for is a healthy body and mind. When I have health, I have everything and I can do anything. In shaa Allah. I'm praying for the best! :)
Now that Ramadhan is over, I'm so happy that I came out of it feeling good. I'm so glad I made the decision to change my diet last year. Although I did cheat eating food and sugary drinks that I'm not supposed to take sometimes, at least I never stopped taking the celery juice and the fruit smoothie. Those two things helped me reduce a lot of my cravings, and even if I did cheat, I didn't take a lot of it like before. So there is a huge difference.
I remembered over the years, I have been on and off with eating healthy. I could never stay on a healthy diet for a long period of time. Usually it would last for 2 or 3 months...then I would cheat for a few more months, and I would be back on that diet again for another few months. It's like a vicious cycle. It was really hard to maintain the diet. The difference this time is the celery juice. I definitely feel that the celery juice helped me maintain the healthy diet. Even when I was taking the jamu, I couldn't stay on the healthy diet for long.
I really hope to continue with the celery juice and fruit smoothie for as long as I possibly can. All I hope for is a healthy body and mind. When I have health, I have everything and I can do anything. In shaa Allah. I'm praying for the best! :)
