By Sarah Rashdi
Thinking of Ramadan can drift the mind to various types of food that must be hunted to satisfy the craving. The desire to eat murtabak, roti john, ayam percik, lemang and kuih muih shoots up out of the blue.
Glancing over a cup of ice water could even make people drooling. When it comes to food one will surely lose self-control. Surprisingly, the pandemic is not strong enough to reduce people’s desire to buy food excessively. Although the revocation of Ramadan bazaar had sparked a quirky and a bit of an oddball feeling, Malaysians are heads over heels in love with food.
Ramadan provides an opportunity for Muslims to collect more rewards as a preparation for a happy life in the Hereafter. However, to win over food is the hardest fight ever. Resisting to such good food is a tough decision. Some people have the ability to eat a huge amount of food during iftar. After having been insanely bloated with food, the risk of laziness sets in rapidly. Moreover, those having health problem would join as well. So, this habit needs to be quickly ditched away.
As shared by Nurin Afiqah, a social media influencer, fasting is not the exit door to skip working. Moreover, doing it with family members during this partial lockdown brings in more joy. Furthermore, it is a window of opportunity for those who have been ambitious on losing weight during the fasting month.
In achieving a healthy and a fit body during Ramadan, discipline is the key. If there is a thought of losing some weight, then eat clean is the most essential thing. In order to switch the eating habit, discipline comes first. Staying at home is actually a blessing as it is easier to eat clean. The chances to polish the body to be more discipline are higher when staying at home than in mahallah.
Nurin Afiqah also stated that she would usually drink water first during iftar, followed by taking two or three dates. After that, a small portion of full meal would be taken. Since food is essential to assure living, then shoving food excessively does not seem to be necessary. She also stressed that special restriction does not apply in her diet process. If the desire to eat various types of food suddenly sky rocketed, having a taste of it is more than enough than finishing it all in a blink of eye. If it is so hard to control the desire, then be ready to bid farewell to healthy lifestyle.
Also, when it comes to Ramadan, the amount of food wastage is shockingly amazing. People usually would fall deeply into dilemma, whether to throw the food in the garbage or into the stomach? Unexpectedly, many will choose to eat it since they do not want to waste the food. However, how much can it fit into the small yet so tiny stomach? Hence, the garbage seems like the most suitable place. The thing is when there is a will, there will definitely be a way. So, in order to curb the problem, the food can be shared with neighbours or needy people. In that way, it can kill two birds with one stone as the food can safely feed hungry people instead of going to waste.
Maintaining a balanced and healthy diet is not a big deal at all. It is not necessarily to starve oneself till death just to have a healthy and a fit body. So, if people want to live a healthy lifestyle especially during Ramahan, never overeat during iftar. Also, drink a lot of water as it can avoid the possibility of dehydration. Many people tend to skip sahoor because they are lazy to wake up early in the morning. However, sahoor is actually supplying a good amount of energy to go through the day.
Undeniably, the excitement of Ramadan this year left us feeling at odds compared to the previous year. The enthusiasm to celebrate Ramadan is not as great as before. Moreover, some people are questioning whether the plague we are facing now is actually a curse or a blessing.
However, always bear in mind that every cloud has a silver lining. Regardless of how hard the situation is, there is a wisdom behind it. At least, we are able to stay at home and spend some quality time with family. Hence, let’s cherish the moment and live a healthy Ramadan.***