Ok, inspired by my lunch hour shopping trip at Target -


You know you're fasting when...

You go to Target and you purchase vanilla brown sugar handsoap, and Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers.
You spend way too much time sniffing the fruit and pumpkin scented candles.

Feel free to add, because that's all I have at the moment

You are falling asleep at your desk at work.

When you come home from work at check the fridge for something to drink, thinking maybe if I look at it I wont be thirsty anymore.
(Happened to me a few days ago. It actually works if you imagine yourself drinking.)

When you realize you don't have to make wudu for asr or maghrib 'cause you haven't gone to the bathroom all day.

When you rationalize surfing the web after 2pm because let's face it...no work is gonna get done when you're this hungry.




oh...on the scent thing...I was in Macy's this weekend and LOVED this perfume so much. I kept talking about it in the parking lot and then my oldest daughter took a look at the sample thingy and she's like, "mom...no wonder you love it...it's made from all fruit and you're starving!!!" (all the while she's stuffing her face with Pretzel time mini pretzels )

When you linger outside the Starbucks or Caribou Coffee shops, snorting in the fumes wafting out the door...


Two new seasonal coffees this week. They're really tempting me. Maple Machiatto at Starbucks and Pumpkin Spice at Caribou...which reminds me, it's almost the season for pumpkin and eggnog ice cream

When the mere fantasy of chewing a stick of gum at 3 pm is practically orgasmic. (sorry, just sense of humor.)

A tad off topic, and I don't want to hijack the thread, but does anyone else find themselves getting dreadfully hyper after the first week? I have so much energy I don't know what the heck to do with it.

We have a half gallon of pumpkin ice cream in the freezer! Yummy!

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I thought we're not supposed to use chap stick? at least that's what my fiance told me! Do you mean to tell me I've been suffering through cracked bloody lips for nothing?!

Chapstick can invalidate your fast if you lick your lips, get the chapstick in your saliva and swallow it. But, if not, you're ok. It probably would have been better for me to get unflavored stuff, but I couldn't resist. Mmmm, Dr. Pepper smell...

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=...57&CATE=170



Hmmm, looks like Edy's should have pumpkin, peppermint and apple pie out now I'm goin to the groccery store

aaargh....ok so what is everyone having for dinner tonight???

i'm trying to diet but it's so darn depressing reading all the wonderful foods that people are cooking when i have a nice salad with chicken and whole wheat pita and a diet coke to look forward to.

I'm really hungry today.... more so than any other day so far! the day is dragging arse... time is ticking almost in reverse!!! wassup w/ that???? I'm fantasizing abt my dinner date w/ a girlfriend of mine on Friday nite - it's freakin' wednesday now!!! i want to order everything on the menu - funny thing is tho, my stomach must be shrinking b/c I can't eat as much when I do eat now!
Frankly, I'm really digging this fast - I hope to continue after Ramadan once a week or 2/month.
Noura

I'm bouncin at my desk.

Howeva, on a more serious note, when I find myself obsessing over food, I try to conciously turn my attention towards God. Thank God I can usually stop at Caribou and pick up a cup of joe if I feel like it. Thank God I go home and I have food in my fridge. Thank God for these blessings in my life.

And with extra energy, it's nice to channel it towards sunnah acts of worship, like extra salah, dhikr and taraweeh.



It is sunnah (a behavior of the Prophet) to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, the first 6 days of Shawwal after Eid al Fitr, and the 13th-15th of each lunar month



If you're fasting during the day, you can consume a little bit more at iftar without messing wtih your diet. Last year, I ate normal sized dinners with normal food (and some of the fried stuff served at the masjids on the weekends) and I lost 7 pounds

For iftar, I'm having trail mix during class. Then, when I get home, I'll scrounge. mmmm, peanuts, raisons and chocolate chips...

when you make chocolate chip cookies for dessert and you can't taste the dough!!!!

Everything I can stuff into my mouth.

I did that the first two nights but the tummy aches weren't worth the instant gratification....no matter how good it all tasted.

When a glass of ice water seems VERY tempting even more tempting than ice cream.

When you know the exact time the sun will be setting from now through October 23rd

When you wake up at 5:30am to eat and normally you can't stomach food before noon.

when you have perfectly delicious food in the fridge that you cooked, but you want everything on the menu from 4 different restaurants!!!! all at once!

But why am I so HYPER?????


You realize you're fasting when you suddenly become much more conscious of the thoughts in your head... and find they're not all "proper". Blah.

And... when you have to cut through the lunchroom to use the copy machine you hold your breath, look at the floor and walk as fast as possible past the row of vending machines with fists clenched.

When you can't decide what to eat: fruit or water or real food (yeah, water takes too much room in my stomack now and seems like food). Since the stomack can't take too much food anymore. But after you eat - you get so hiper and can't go to sleep and can't stop thinking about all kinds of things.

I've gone hyper 24 hours a day. My energy level is so high I don't know what to do with myself. I workout in the evening to try to settle down, but I wake up several times during the night... yep... "THINKING". The alarm goes off, I hit the ground running (which is really ugly because my brain doesn't catch up to my feet very quickly).

Wow, I don't know if I should be happy or jealous! I can't fast, I have hypo-glycemia. I tried 2 years ago for about 3 days but I was off the charts, so I wouldn't even dare try again.

I do find one thing interesting. My husband stays up until 6 in the morning every night so we can spend time together. Now he eats around 4:30 I think, then he snoozes until about 4:00 PM (how anyone can sleep that much is beyond me).

Then his routine is to get up, wash and pray. Get on the computer again so we can chat more (yes, we chat all day and all night...lol). And then, about 2 hours later he eats. I don't see much suffering going on here! lol

I have to admit, I chuckle at the idea of when he comes here and gets a job. I don't think he realizes just how much his life will change.

I admire you ladies for your dedication during Ramadan. It doesn't sound like any of you have the luxury of sleeping away the fasting.

Hicham never worked a day in his life before he got here now he is working on his feet all day cooking for a Moroccan restaurant which apparently is not so fun during Ramadan! I would think it would be so hard to fast and work in a restaurant. He always comes home so tired during his break I feel so bad for him. On the other hand he likes getting paid! I think he thinks it's all worth it on payday. It is quite a change for him though. He said he needs a vacation already haha.

Welcome to life in the US! lol

Too many people think they will just walk off the plane and the US hands them a big handful of money. Well surprise surpise, no free lunch here. There is a reason americans have such a high stress level.

I feel bad that he works at a restaurant of all things...he must go crazy smelling all of that yummy food! On the other hand how lucky is it to have a moroccan restaurant so close! I have tried, but I just can't cook like my MIL. I don't know what I'm going to do when he gets here.

When you...

start to smell everything in the air, being able to ID every ingredients

your mouth is so dry you cannot swallow

when you are on pins and needles waiting to hear the athan

when finally you do get to eat, you realise i am not even really hungry (happens to me after about 1O days of fasting)

when break fast, you seem to keep drinking and drinking water

you do not crave sweets or salty foods anymore

you have that month long headache

you have that month long bad month during the daytime from about 1Oam to 4pm

You want to sleep alot

You feel sluggish

...that is all I can think of right now

Has anyone actually lost any weight yet cos of fasting?

Towards the end I did because as you said I found when breaking fast I wasn't so hungry. Uh, right NOW I'll probably end up gaining because when I break fast its UGLYYYYYYY. I'm so hungry. Hopefully that will taper off in a few days.

In the first week when I finally ate I ate like there was no tomorrow, but now some chorba(soup) and half salad and I am done.

I was wondering if anyone had lost weight cos yesterday I noticed my clothes were very loose and my wedding ring fell off my finger...hmm maybe i just lose water from my body...??? But this could be a good thing.

I think I've lost a couple of pounds so far Inch'allah, that will continue! heeheehee....

When you feel like fainting?

I don't know if I am gonna make it through the day.

My hands are shakey and I feel lightheaded. .....and it's only 9:33am!

LOL...yep me too. I fantasized all day about all the stuff I was gonna eat. I don't normally eat dessert but the first 10 days of Ramadan I ate like 2 everynight! I would literally eat myself sick. Last night I broke my fast with tamr and coffee then didn't eat my dinner until like 10pm...I just wasn't hungry and I had to force myself to even eat dinner at all. I'm also finding I have a bit more energy esp. in the evening right after I break my fast.

Don't focus on your discomfort. Drag your mind over onto something else and it will pass. I go through this about the same time you do every morning. Its getting easier. I get that whoopsie feeling and just dig harder into my work and next thing I know its gone (both the whoopsie and a lot of my work!)

You speak to someone with your hand over your mouth

I've noticed that I've started to lose weight.. my jeans feel looser. woohoo!

I think my stomach has also started to shrink because I'm also not hungry when it comes time to break fast and when I do eat, I feel stuffed after just a couple bites.

I also find when I keep myself busy that I don't get hungry at all... I barely even think about eating until about 5:30 or 6. It's on the weekends when I have a really hard time... when I stay home. And all I can think about is food!!! Even when I have tv and homework to distract me... it's like, oh yay there's a good E! True Hollywood Story, I wonder what I'll have for dinner.