[t00 g00d for u]

(Original post by silent ninja)
It can happen if you pig out, but then again you are free to pig out all year so if you don't then why do you do that in Ramadhan? People think they've earned the right. Fasting is about practicing patience. If you can abstain from food, you can abstain from a lot of things. I don't think I've ever gained weight in Ramadhan and have actually done many fasts on a single meal very comfortably -- this year I will try to have 2-3 small meals and squeeze the odd gym session at midnight.

I don't think it's the case of pigging out, but more of what is on offer. Usually for Iftar, there will be an assortment of sweets after which you wouldn't usually have daily if you weren't fasting. And it's easier said than done to abstain when all your uncles and aunties are joining in haha. Plus as I said, a lot of water weight is lost, so even though it might not be clear on the scales, in reality you might do.

For the bodybuilders amongst us we're used to abstaining from certain foods so it's chilled. Tbh there's a practice called intermittent fasting which essentially follows the Ramadan protocol anyway

[. . .]

(Original post by FunkeyMunkey)
And what do you think is the point of it? The main point of Ramadan has nothing to do with food.

No **** sherlock.

[. . .]

(Original post by planetearth)
Hmm, must be representative of all 1.6 billion Muslims then no doubt.

In that case you cannot argue to the contrary either. Just because you know people that don't doesn't mean it's representative of the whole Muslim population does it?

[MW58]

Why not do it all year round?

Because Islam teaches moderation and doesn't what ppl to harm themselves as fasting everyday would certainly harm you, although its good in moderation, and many Muslims engage in the voluntary fasts throughout the year on certain days when its recommended.

Plus, doing it in this special month just makes it more amazing and special, rather than doing it everyday and getting used to it.

[callum9999]

(Original post by FunkeyMunkey)
That and, you also feel less in need of all material things. It gives you time to think about more important things in life and allows you to increase your connection to God. Its like a cleanse of the mind... thats how i'd personally describe it

No offence intended, but it always boggles me (with all religions) why you need a special event to trigger that. If it's important, do it 24/7/365. If it isn't that important, why bother at all?

[otrivine]

to anyone doing fasting Ramadan Kareem

[MW58]

(Original post by otrivine)
to anyone doing fasting Ramadan Kareem

An early Happy Ramadan!
Watching Islam Channel at the moment. It's really good to get into the spirit of it, and the 2 presenters are fantastic!

[Perseveranze]

(Original post by electriic_ink)
Then why not do it all year round?

There are people that do. It's a sunnah of the Prophet(pbuh), where he would fast every Mondays and Thursdays.

Fasting can have its benefits;

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Fasting can help protect against brain diseases, scientists say


Claim that giving up almost all food for one or two days a week can counteract impact of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's



A vertical slice through the brain of a patient with Alzheimer's, left, compared with a normal brain, right. Photograph: Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Library

Robin McKie, science editor
The Observer, Sat 18 Feb 2012 20.36 GMT

Fasting for regular periods could help protect the brain against degenerative illnesses, according to US scientists.

Researchers at the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore said they had found evidence which shows that periods of stopping virtually all food intake for one or two days a week could protect the brain against some of the worst effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other ailments.

"Reducing your calorie intake could help your brain, but doing so by cutting your intake of food is not likely to be the best method of triggering this protection. It is likely to be better to go on intermittent bouts of fasting, in which you eat hardly anything at all, and then have periods when you eat as much as you want," said Professor Mark Mattson, head of the institute's laboratory of neurosciences.

"In other words, timing appears to be a crucial element to this process," Mattson told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver.

Cutting daily food intake to around 500 calories – which amounts to little more than a few vegetables and some tea – for two days out of seven had clear beneficial effects in their studies, claimed Mattson, who is also professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Scientists have known for some time that a low-calorie diet is a recipe for longer life. Rats and mice reared on restricted amounts of food increase their lifespan by up to 40%. A similar effect has been noted in humans. But Mattson and his team have taken this notion further. They argue that starving yourself occasionally can stave off not just ill-health and early death but delay the onset of conditions affecting the brain, including strokes. "Our animal experiments clearly suggest this," said Mattson.

He and his colleagues have also worked out a specific mechanism by which the growth of neurones in the brain could be affected by reduced energy intakes. Amounts of two cellular messaging chemicals are boosted when calorie intake is sharply reduced, said Mattson. These chemical messengers play an important role in boosting the growth of neurones in the brain, a process that would counteract the impact of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
"The cells of the brain are put under mild stress that is analogous to the effects of exercise on muscle cells," said Mattson. "The overall effect is beneficial."

The link between reductions in energy intake and the boosting of cell growth in the brain might seem an unlikely one, but Mattson insisted that there were sound evolutionary reasons for believing it to be the case.

"When resources became scarce, our ancestors would have had to scrounge for food," said Mattson. "Those whose brains responded best – who remembered where promising sources could be found or recalled how to avoid predators — would have been the ones who got the food. Thus a mechanism linking periods of starvation to neural growth would have evolved."

This model has been worked out using studies of fasting on humans and the resulting impact on their general health – even sufferers from asthma have shown benefits, said Mattson – and from experiments on the impact on the brains of animals affected by the rodent equivalent of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Now Mattson's team is preparing to study the impact of fasting on the brain by using MRI scans and other techniques.

If this final link can be established, Mattson said that a person could optimise his or her brain function by subjecting themselves to bouts of "intermittent energy restriction". In other words, they could cut their food intake to a bare minimum for two days a week, while indulging for the other five. "We have found that from a psychological point of view that works quite well. You can put up with having hardly any food for a day if you know that for the next five you can eat what you want."

m.guardian.co.uk

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[Iqbal007]

(Original post by . . .)
How many Muslims do you know that follow every hadith and sunnah to the tee? Just because it says it in a hadith or is sunnah doesn't mean it is practiced by every Muslim does it? After all it is sunnah and not wajib or fardh.

Firstly every Muslim tries their best to follow such guidlines, doesn't mean they all ignore that specific sunnah, some do and some don't, but doesn't form the basis of a reason that all Muslims have large Muslims.
Yes thats true, however in your original statement you stated "I love how the majority of Muslims completely bypass the point of it by having a large meal at sunrise and another large meal at sunset." based on your opinion "Yet every Muslim that I have talked to say they do have two massive meals or at the very least one massive meal at the end of the day. " that doesn't mean every Muslim does that? Some do, some don't.............you also forget that a large amount of Muslims live in 3rd world countries or countries less well-off, so would they be able to afford such meals.

My issue with your statement is that you say "majority", you can't say that based on your opinion considering many other factors.

[. . .]

(Original post by Iqbal007)
Firstly every Muslim tries their best to follow such guidlines, doesn't mean they all ignore that specific sunnah, some do and some don't, but doesn't form the basis of a reason that all Muslims have large Muslims.
Yes thats true, however in your original statement you stated "I love how the majority of Muslims completely bypass the point of it by having a large meal at sunrise and another large meal at sunset." based on your opinion "Yet every Muslim that I have talked to say they do have two massive meals or at the very least one massive meal at the end of the day. " that doesn't mean every Muslim does that? Some do, some don't.............you also forget that a large amount of Muslims live in 3rd world countries or countries less well-off, so would they be able to afford such meals.

My issue with your statement is that you say "majority", you can't say that based on your opinion considering many other factors.

Neither can you argue the contrary in that case.

And just because we are being pedantic. You say every Muslim tries their best to follow such guidlines I have heard Muslims say "It's not fardh or wajib so I don't need to do it". So that throws every Muslim out the window.

[otrivine]

(Original post by MW58)
An early Happy Ramadan!
Watching Islam Channel at the moment. It's really good to get into the spirit of it, and the 2 presenters are fantastic!

Yes from which middle east country are u from

[MW58]

(Original post by otrivine)
Yes from which middle east country are u from

Not from a Middle Eastern country lol.

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by . . .)
Neither can you argue the contrary in that case.

I don't see how you can argue for it either...

"And just because we are being pedantic. You say every Muslim tries their best to follow such guidlines I have heard Muslims say "It's not fardh or wajib so I don't need to do it". So that throws every Muslim out the window."

Ok let me get this straight, so you hear a few Muslims say that, which automatically means what I said is wrong...................all it tells me is that the best they can do is the basic fardh which is pretty good, plus you didn't mention sunnah, so i'm guessing those lot do it, unless it's an error on your part which means your writing up lies

[otrivine]

(Original post by MW58)
Not from a Middle Eastern country lol.

So where ar eu from ?

[MW58]

(Original post by callum9999)
No offence intended, but it always boggles me (with all religions) why you need a special event to trigger that. If it's important, do it 24/7/365. If it isn't that important, why bother at all?

No offense taken pleased you're asking a q in a nice way. This is just a quick off the top of my head reply, but..

Of course it is promoted to do good and feel closer to God and serve God by serving others etc throughout the whole year, but what Ramadan does, is it helps those who perhaps couldn't be bothered to do so and encourages them to. It's quite hard to strive to be perfect the whole year, so it's a good reminder with lots of benefits and more reward.
Then the effects of Ramadan should last for some time. As you know, you need 21 days to form a habit, ramadan is 29/30.

Also, Ramadan has many physical health benefits to those who can fast and have no illnesses which would harm them if they did fast. Ramadan gives the digestive system a well-needed rest, helps it rejuvenate etc so its not just for the mind, but the body as well.

As others have mentioned, there are also other voluntary fasts that can be done throughout the whole year, but of course it can't be done everyday, otherwise it would harm the health.

http://www.islamchannel.tv/

[Umer786]

Can't wait to get started!!

[abc101]

It feels awful.

I'm absolutely dreading Ramadan and can't wait until it's over.

[abc101]

Also it isn't good for your health - the shorter days of fasting are, but a month of 18 hour days and you feel like a zombie halfway through. I spend Ramadan tired, ill, and irritable.

[FunkeyMunkey]

(Original post by callum9999)
No offence intended, but it always boggles me (with all religions) why you need a special event to trigger that. If it's important, do it 24/7/365. If it isn't that important, why bother at all?

No offence taken We are meant to do it 24/7...Muslims pray 5 times a day. However, Ramadan gives you a chance to forget meaningless things and focus on worship and you learn so much. Its like an opportunity to learn and improve yourself. Its hard to explain to someone who isn't a Muslim so I hope you understand now...

[FunkeyMunkey]

(Original post by abc101)
Also it isn't good for your health - the shorter days of fasting are, but a month of 18 hour days and you feel like a zombie halfway through. I spend Ramadan tired, ill, and irritable.

... so why are you going to fast?