The fasting starts

So the first day of the month long fast started on Thursday 18th. As usual Pakistan started the next day due to the new moon not being sighted in any part of the country. I still don't know why the moon has to be physically sighted.In this day and age we know PRECISELY the position of the moon at any given time, on any given day. Even if the date is a thousand years from now we know where the moon will be in the sky and yet some still insist that the moon has to be physically sighted....

Anyway conventional wisdom has it the first few days of fasting are the hardest as the body is getting used to less food coming in. Those who know me know that in many ways I am an Iconoclast so will now be surprised to learn that I do not hold with conventional wisdom. For me the first few days are relatively easy. Although I do like my food it feels as if a switch activates inside me and I find the beginning of fasting to be no problem at all. Only as it progresses does it feel harder.


This may be due to the fact that glycogen stores are depleted in the first few days. No problem. Then the fat stores are targeted to supply the energy needs for the body - good news!!!

However this is when it gets tricky. As the fast progresses over the days and weeks the body gets the signal that, as always throughout history until relatively modern times, a famine is starting. The low food and water intake then acts as a signal to the body to start self preservation measures. So guess what? It starts preserving those tissues which will ensure survival and these tissues just happen to be fat stores. BOOOOO.

At the same time it starts to cannibalise those tissues which are not so important for survival and require extra energy to maintain. These are the muscle tissue. Just a pound of muscle requires an extra 50 calories per day just to maintain itself. this is the reason it is absolutely essential that any weight loss programme needs weight training to build up some muscle so that you continue to burn extra calories even at rest.

Anyway as the fast progresses is when I really start to feel it. the hunger becomes more acute. My body starts to ache, particularly in the joints.

It's only the first few days so I am still in the glycogen reduction phase. I am even enjoying the feeling of fasting. It's a familiar path. Let's see if it goes the same way as previous years.


I'll keep you posted