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Well as you know there are many types of "fasting" going around, 24 hr fasts, water fasts or as can be seen here and here, selective fasting. Fasting during Ramadan is more a spiritual experience, a calming effect that teaches you discipline and encourages you to be more focused on praying and faith and feeling how the hungry and poor feel without overdoing it. You can also lose weight and gain the health benefits of fasting but there is a lot of emphasis on breaking fast asap and eating well before starting a new one.
The changes that happen in the body during a fast depend on the length of the continuous fast. The body enters into a fasting state eight hours or so after the last meal, when the gut finishes absorbing nutrients from the food.
In the normal state, body glucose, which is stored in the liver and muscles, is the body’s main source of energy. During a fast, this store of glucose is used up first to provide energy. Later in the fast, once the glucose runs out, fat becomes the next source of energy for the body.
With a prolonged fast of many days or weeks, the body starts using protein for energy.
This is the technical description of what is commonly known as "starvation". It is clearly unhealthy and involves protein being released by the breakdown of muscle, which is why people who starve look very thin and become extremely weak.
However, you are unlikely to reach the starvation stage during Ramadan, because the fast is broken daily.
As the Ramadan fast only lasts from dawn till dusk, the body's energy can be replaced in the pre-dawn and dusk meals.
This provides a gentle transition from using glucose as the main source of energy, to using fat, and prevents the breakdown of muscle for protein.
Dr Mahroof says the use of fat for energy helps weight loss. It preserves the muscles and eventually reduces your cholesterol level. In addition, weight loss results in better control of diabetes and reduces blood pressure.
“A detoxification process also occurs, because any toxins stored in the body’s fat are dissolved and removed from the body,” says Dr Mahroof.
After a few days of the fast, higher levels of endorphins appear in the blood, making you more alert and giving an overall feeling of general mental wellbeing.
A balanced food and fluid intake is important between fasts. The kidneys are very efficient at maintaining the body’s water and salts, such as sodium and potassium. However, these can be lost through perspiration.
To prevent muscle breakdown, meals must contain enough energy food, such as carbohydrates and some fat.
“The way to approach your diet during fasting is similar to the way you should be eating outside Ramadan," says Dr Mahroof. "You should have a balanced diet, with the right proportion of carbs, fat and protein.”
sorry to jump the gun (kind of thing that i tend to do)
it got me thinking the religious side of fasting was kind of like a "protest" against the rich by living like the poor and experiencing what it is like for those who are forced to starve because they have no choice (africa). which when i lay back and think about it, is quite admirable and is nice to know i'm not the only one who thinks why on earth countries are starving in one and there are others who have to have their fat surgically removed... just one of my problems i have with the way the world works... but thats for another thread on another day. of course there are health benefits if executed properly and all that fun stuff but i thought there may be more behind the whole idea.
sorry to jump the gun (kind of thing that i tend to do)
it got me thinking the religious side of fasting was kind of like a "protest" against the rich by living like the poor and experiencing what it is like for those who are forced to starve because they have no choice (africa). which when i lay back and think about it, is quite admirable and is nice to know i'm not the only one who thinks why on earth countries are starving in one and there are others who have to have their fat surgically removed... just one of my problems i have with the way the world works... but thats for another thread on another day. of course there are health benefits if executed properly and all that fun stuff but i thought there may be more behind the whole idea.
Actually I was always taught that that (fasting to experience what it's like to be poor) was the reason for fasting in ramadan and that the spiritual stuff is just a plus.
sorry to jump the gun (kind of thing that i tend to do)
it got me thinking the religious side of fasting was kind of like a "protest" against the rich by living like the poor and experiencing what it is like for those who are forced to starve because they have no choice (africa). which when i lay back and think about it, is quite admirable and is nice to know i'm not the only one who thinks why on earth countries are starving in one and there are others who have to have their fat surgically removed... just one of my problems i have with the way the world works... but thats for another thread on another day. of course there are health benefits if executed properly and all that fun stuff but i thought there may be more behind the whole idea.
It's funny and beautiful at the same time, at the end of the fast both the rich and the poor will all look at food the same way, those who are well off will be more humbler and those are in need will be in everyone's thoughts.
I'm hoping one day it would be a human right to guarantee that every living person in each country has at least a meal & shelter daily and protection, but you are right another thread on another day...meanwhile we can watch the Greek crisis and just be amazed how tens of billions of currency can be withheld or dispensed with a click of a button.
this toad actually escaped its cage while i was at school when my dad was taking care of it about 6 months ago. Found it alive 2 weeks ago. TOADS ARE BASICALLY FROGS SO IT COUNTS.
So I needed something to do for my 2k and had totally no idea what to do so thought I'd post a few photos since I recently got my topknot / man bun cut off after about two years of having it. Weird thing is I never really get photos taken of myself, let alone ones that show off my hair, so these are the only two I could find...
this was taken like a year ago too so it's not even a good portrayal of how long it got...
my girlfriend was obsessed with braiding / plaiting my hair (I don't know the difference between the two). I actually didn't mind how it looked lol
I'm really disappointed I didn't get a photo of the last knot I tied up since I was having a really good hair day imo. It went through this stage if being too long and I didn't know how to tie it up right, which prompted booking a haircut, but in the few days before it I had just figured out how to get it looking good so I was super hesitant. Anyway, here's the snaps..
I'm obviously really fucking excited. Was also at peak beard level too
lol
I wasn't ready for too much change, so I just went with what I sorta had before growing it out.
so yeah just took off a heap of the length and trimmed the sides again. probably should have gotten a photo of it slicked back pre-cut to show the difference. before it would be touching my neck when I put it back like this lol.
I swear I'm mid-blink here. I also got my beard trimmed to a more acceptable level since it was getting kinda bushy. left the mo untouched though lol
So yeah that's that. I still have to tie it up into a shitty little pony tail thing (too short for a bun) when I play volleyball coz it still flops all over the place, but I don't wear it like that in everyday life anymore, otherwise that would defeat the purpose of getting it done haha.
It's also been almost a year since my 1k I met and started dating my girlfriend! Here's a photo of us on the way out to some party a couple weeks ago (feat. old hair as seen in shadow lol)
black and white coz that's cool apparently
Guess I should write some stuff that's relevant to 2000 posts...
So I did the whole 'where I started and how I got here' thing when I wrote my 1k a while ago. Tbh these benchmarks aren't that big a of a deal to me, but I had just gotten a ladybug before my 1k, and so much has happened between now and then so I thought it would be worth talking about :)
So since then, Hula asked if I wanted to help mod battle spot with him, I fucking love that forum / metagame so I was super keen to do it. This meant I lost my ladybug from OI so DHR gave me the full CC for it! OI is where I started the whole Smogon thing, and I spend a lot of time there and love helping people out and just talking about general mon stuff so it meant a lot to be recognised for it.
In battle spot land, Theorymon worked super hard and managed to get a C&C forum set up for us! I always wanted to do analyses for battle spot mons and even thought about just doing little write-ups in the battle spot forum itself, but to actually be able to get stuff onsite is next level. Oglemi gave me site staff so I can edit / upload all out stuff onsite which is really cool. I had to touch up on my html knowledge but I think I have the hang of it all by now :p
I suppose the most recent news is that tennisace added me to the twitter team which is really fucking cool. I think he just caved after I kept bugging them to retweet my battle spot stuff thh haha. As a resource it's really cool coz we've been able to get a few new users posting in battle spot, we love new faces so if you haven't checked it out yet I highly recommend it!
I guess that about wraps up what's been happening with me between now and then, I might just do some shoutouts though. Real sorry if I miss anyone ;-;
rufus drumknott + Hulavuta + ethan06 you guys are my best friends here. I haven't really got that much to say, just keep being cool I guess :)
So I needed something to do for my 2k and had totally no idea what to do so thought I'd post a few photos since I recently got my topknot / man bun cut off after about two years of having it. Weird thing is I never really get photos taken of myself, let alone ones that show off my hair, so these are the only two I could find...
this was taken like a year ago too so it's not even a good portrayal of how long it got...
my girlfriend was obsessed with braiding / plaiting my hair (I don't know the difference between the two). I actually didn't mind how it looked lol
I'm really disappointed I didn't get a photo of the last knot I tied up since I was having a really good hair day imo. It went through this stage if being too long and I didn't know how to tie it up right, which prompted booking a haircut, but in the few days before it I had just figured out how to get it looking good so I was super hesitant. Anyway, here's the snaps..
I'm obviously really fucking excited. Was also at peak beard level too
lol
I wasn't ready for too much change, so I just went with what I sorta had before growing it out.
so yeah just took off a heap of the length and trimmed the sides again. probably should have gotten a photo of it slicked back pre-cut to show the difference. before it would be touching my neck when I put it back like this lol.
I swear I'm mid-blink here. I also got my beard trimmed to a more acceptable level since it was getting kinda bushy. left the mo untouched though lol
So yeah that's that. I still have to tie it up into a shitty little pony tail thing (too short for a bun) when I play volleyball coz it still flops all over the place, but I don't wear it like that in everyday life anymore, otherwise that would defeat the purpose of getting it done haha.
It's also been almost a year since my 1k I met and started dating my girlfriend! Here's a photo of us on the way out to some party a couple weeks ago (feat. old hair as seen in shadow lol)
black and white coz that's cool apparently
Guess I should write some stuff that's relevant to 2000 posts...
So I did the whole 'where I started and how I got here' thing when I wrote my 1k a while ago. Tbh these benchmarks aren't that big a of a deal to me, but I had just gotten a ladybug before my 1k, and so much has happened between now and then so I thought it would be worth talking about :)
So since then, Hula asked if I wanted to help mod battle spot with him, I fucking love that forum / metagame so I was super keen to do it. This meant I lost my ladybug from OI so DHR gave me the full CC for it! OI is where I started the whole Smogon thing, and I spend a lot of time there and love helping people out and just talking about general mon stuff so it meant a lot to be recognised for it.
In battle spot land, Theorymon worked super hard and managed to get a C&C forum set up for us! I always wanted to do analyses for battle spot mons and even thought about just doing little write-ups in the battle spot forum itself, but to actually be able to get stuff onsite is next level. Oglemi gave me site staff so I can edit / upload all out stuff onsite which is really cool. I had to touch up on my html knowledge but I think I have the hang of it all by now :p
I suppose the most recent news is that tennisace added me to the twitter team which is really fucking cool. I think he just caved after I kept bugging them to retweet my battle spot stuff thh haha. As a resource it's really cool coz we've been able to get a few new users posting in battle spot, we love new faces so if you haven't checked it out yet I highly recommend it!
I guess that about wraps up what's been happening with me between now and then, I might just do some shoutouts though. Real sorry if I miss anyone ;-;
rufus drumknott + Hulavuta + ethan06 you guys are my best friends here. I haven't really got that much to say, just keep being cool I guess :)
Really shitty photo because I live in a shitty ass barracks room with no working bathroom light so I had to bring in my damn lamp, but it feels so great to be back after 2.5 weeks of sleeping out in the woods, getting rained on almost every day, very minimal change of clothes, no showering, trench foot, over 20 people being hospitalized for heat casualty, lack of food and water, and being stranded at one point in the middle of nowhere because transportation forgot about us. I guess that's what I get for being an infantrymen in fucking Fort Polk, aka the worst Army duty station lol. Oh well, still love my job!
PS: My uniform is supposed to look grey, not brown.