7 Tips To Keep In Mind When Fasting

The festive season is here, and fasting is one of the many ways to celebrate and renew one’s faith. Fasting is known for its health benefits. It cleanses and detoxifies the body, and can also help you lose excess weight if you follow up with healthy meals on breaking the fast. Here are some tips to keep in mind while fasting:

1. Stay hydrated: Water is essential for the body and it is important to ensure you get the adequate amount needed to replenish essentials salts and minerals. Once you break your fast, make sure you also drink at least 8-10 glasses of water until the beginning of the next fast. This will ensure you do not end up being dehydrated.
2. Eat healthy: Avoid overeating when you break your fast. It is easy to get tempted by sweets and other rich delicacies, however take small and limited portions of these. Instead, fill up your plate with wheat, oats, whole grain rice and lentils. Fresh fruits also provide your body with the sugar it needs. In addition, rich protein sources like eggs, lean meat, milk etc can also help bring your blood sugar to a stable level.
3. Break the fast gradually: If you have not eaten much or at all during your fast it can be easy to just dive in and eat a lot in one go. However, you must break your fast gradually to avoid spiking your blood sugar levels suddenly after a whole day of it staying low.
4. Exercise: The importance of exercise cannot be emphasized enough. Do some light exercise like walking, jogging or yoga after breaking your fast for at least 30 minutes so that you stay fit and let your body burn any excess calories from the post-fasting food.
5. Avoid food with lots of sugar and salt: Stay away as much as possible from too much of candy, sweets, processed/canned food, since the body breaks it down rapidly. The sooner your body breaks down food the faster you’ll get hungry again. Instead, substitute these with fresh fruits and vegetables or oatmeal.
6. Never skip breakfast: It can be tough to wake up at the crack of dawn but still, it is vital never to skip breakfast when you’re fasting. The meal is important because it will sustain you throughout the day. Eat generous servings of whole cereals, fruits, milk and nuts to stay energized.
7. Avoid smoking: Smoking is not only bad for your health in general but could also worsen your appetite when you fast and make you believe you are not hungry even when your body needs nourishment. So avoid smoking when you are fasting – it could even motivate you to quit!

These tips are sure to guide you through the festivities and enjoy them even more so that you are healthy and energetic at all times.