If there’s one thing fasting reveals to me every year, it’s the importance of eating breakfast every day. After I wake up it takes around 2 ½-3 hours before I start getting really lethargic and after 4 hours my mind starts to dull. I start getting forgetful, even about basic things. The difference is huge when I compare it to normal days when I eat breakfast. Eat breakfast everyone!
Sitting at home while you’re fasting is tough. Food is within easy reach and it is so tempting to just grab something. When I first starting fasting in 2010 I assumed I would get so hungry I’d bite my arm for blood but it wasn’t that bad -- except when you’re bored and food was around. Thus on Saturday I got out of the house and went to the office to do some work, something I regularly do on the weekends in previous Ramadans just to distract me from eating.
After that it was off to the mall for a bit of mall walking to get some exercise and to keep my mind off of food. The temperatures right now hit around 45° in mid-afternoon so it's way too hot to be wandering around outside (and don't forget you're not allowed to drink water). In Qatar during Ramadan all restaurants and cafés are closed during the day by law so I knew that it would be quiet in the afternoon.
In truth the mall was busier than I thought. While all of the restaurants were closed I was not expecting most of the stores to be open. Not sure what changed that stores are now open on Saturday afternoons during Ramadan, compare the pictures that I took yesterday with how a mall looked years ago during Ramadan.
And for the record while many stores were open the kids amusement area was not.
Walking around didn't accomplish too much as I was feeling a bit lightheaded. Back home for a two-hour nap which let me just enough time to prepare a vegetable soup for iftar. I felt a lot better after eating. I think I'll stick to evenings for exercise.
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