Fasting is hard.
It’s tough to go for a long stretch of well over 12 hours without food or water.
And, the reward is indeed great. The Prophet, peace & blessings up on him, said, “For the one who fasts, there is a two fold happiness: The happiness upon breaking the fast; and the happiness upon meeting the Lord.”
The reward is there waiting for us, just as we’re waiting to get back to our food and drink. However, we can make fasting significantly harder on ourselves by choosing to eat certain types of foods in the evenings.
I’ve been asked several times, since announcing “The Ramadan Challenge” of fasting on just 800kcal per day, how my energy is and how I’m managing with the fasts. The truth is, right now, I believe fasting is much easier for me than it is for most people today, and there’s a clear scientific explanation as to why.
First, let me tell you what the last few days have been like, then I’ll explain the science behind why fasting has become much easier for me.
Days 1-2: No problem.
My body has been over-fed the last few weeks, so a couple of days of fasting on 800kcal just seemed like normal Ramadan fasts. There was nothing remarkable about the fasting experience – it just felt like it always does at the beginning of Ramadan – a bit of a pattern-interrupt, but no big deal.
Day 3: Slight problem
I started noticing my energy was lower than usual. Still, this is probably quite typical of Ramadan. Until now, I haven’t experienced a fast which was ‘harder’ than usual. I felt low physical energy, but there’s nothing to say it would have been much different if I had been eating 2 massive meals at night, instead of 2 small, nutritious meals. In all honesty, days 1-4, I was a bit more moody than usual, and my wife was somewhat concerned if my attitude would continue like this throughout the whole month.
Day 4: Low Energy
Perhaps partly due to the rookie error of eating a bit too much fruit on the evening of Day 3, as part of my 800kcal, I started to feel a little shaky in the late morning. Fortunately it was a Saturday, so I could sleep pretty much whenever I wanted. After waking from a nap, I felt more myself and went for a walk with my wife and the boys. From that point on, aside from being a bit moody, I was okay for the rest of the day, energy-wise.
Day 5-Now: High Energy, Feeling Great
It’s almost like flicking a physical switch. On Sunday and Monday, I felt great pretty much all day, despite the fact that I was fasting and still on only 800kcal per night. I enthusiastically helped out around the house, made dinner and spent a lot of time with the boys, with no energy drain. I expect that this will continue throughout the rest of Ramadan (God willing!) . There are no sugar-lows or extreme hunger. I even feel like I could exercise during the day (but won’t, mainly because of water).
So, what happened? How come on Day 5, I suddenly had a lot more energy and wasn’t finding the fasting as challenging…?
The Scientific Explanation:
In a word: ketosis.
By not intaking calories for very long periods of time, our bodies do something very intelligent. Instead of depending on a constant in-stream of energy coming in through our mouths, it switches to depending on ketones, which come from our fat stores. We all have an abundance of body fat, which contains a huge amount of energy (3,500kcal per pound of fat). Most of the time, our body doesn’t need to tap into these massive warehouses of available energy, because we keep giving it more food. However, by fasting, then eating sensibly, the body is given the signal it needs to switch.
The moment this happens, you feel much more energetic, even without intaking any food. Your body doesn’t need food any more – it’s got an abundance of energy to do everything it needs at its disposal, and it’s started using it.
The effects of doing 800kcal per day:
- Shock the body with very few calories so it has to start burning fat for energy (ketosis)
- Reduce insulin levels to the minimum levels possible so your body stops depending on sugar for energy. (Basically by avoiding dry carbs and sugary food).
- After switching into ketosis, the daily fasting that you’re doing anyway, which is meant to be the ‘hard part’ of Ramadan, actually becomes pretty easy.
- With only 6 hours to eat in the evening, you’ll still be plenty full on 800kcal – and feel good about not eating more because you don’t want to end the magical effects of ketosis
Essentially, eating 800kcal per evening, and focusing on foods high in fibre, protein and healthy fats, causes us to burn fat 24/7 until we eat something sugary (which spikes insulin, and tells the body to switch back to primarily getting energy from our food, instead of from our fat stores).
The main difference between what’s happening now with my body, versus most other people doing the Ramadan fast, is that at this point, (God-willing), my body is in ketosis and will stay here throughout the rest of the month, resulting in much higher energy and easier fasts.
Does this happen to everyone who fasts?
No. If you eat your normal 2,000kcal per night when you’re fasting and include sugary, fatty, fried foods, your body doesn’t need to switch into ketosis. As a result it spends little if any time primarily depending on your fat stores for energy, because it knows you’re about to feed it whatever it wants. You might get a mild ketosis effect towards the end of the day, but it will re-set back to depending on sugar as soon as you eat your evening meal. You also won’t get any weight-loss effect, because you’re taking in your normal daily calories.
