The New (two week) Plan

I found a nearby place for BJJ training. Fortunately for me, the classes don't start until the 1st week of August. Ramadan ends on July 28th so that works perfectly for me in terms of adjusting my eating, training, and sleeping schedule to this new routine.

Dealing with the long days has definitely been tricky in terms of thirst if I work out during the day, even if I go for a walk outside. I'm going to have to come up with the right balance as far as that is concerned.

Although it's the middle of the month, I've set goals for July. They're very simple, but they're goals nonetheless.

Goal 1: Hit my 10,000 steps count each day

Goal 2: Incorporate 2 resistance training routines per week

Goal 3: Stretch for 15 minutes daily
Goal 4: During long periods of sitting (e.g. when I'm doing my writing/research), get up and walk/move for 5 minutes every 30 minutes.

That's it.

Although I'm posting this today, I actually started implementing this plan from the 15th. It definitely needed some tweaking. I found that going out for a walk in the afternoon (particularly uphill) left me quite tired and thirsty. I will have to rethink the timing of my walks.

The combination of jet lag (up at around 2:30 a.m. each morning) and minimal food intake (there's only so much you can eat between 9:15 p.m. and 3:45 a.m. -- particularly when you want to get in a few hours of sleep!) has definitely left me weaker than I expected. Aside from a few hunger pangs during the day and a little bit of thirst, the fasting is actually fine. It's the fatigue from the lack of sleep that's mainly been getting to me.

I've been eating my usual dinners though now I'm eating at 9:15 p.m. Then, since I'm up because of my jet lag, around 3 a.m. I eat something - usually leftovers. The only beverage I've been drinking is water.

I estimate my calorie intake to be around 1200 even though I'm only eating 2 meals since my dinner portion has been a bit later than usual. I have mixed feelings about this - I know I need to get my calories in, but with such limited movement during the day, and particularly very little movement right after my meal, I don't know if I should tweak this? All I know is that I need to be sensible about my choices.

I weighed myself on the 15th and although I am a daily weigher, I will not check my weight again until August 1st. Although I am fasting, this is not a weight loss regime. It's religious ritual. I don't want the numbers on the scale to distract me from the real purpose behind fasting.

Here's a short article on fasting and your health if you're interested.