Decreased food intake but increased work may be experienced by you when the fasting month arrives. Excellent logical performance and stamina are also needed so that you can still work optimally even though you are fasting. How, by exercising and maintaining a diet.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is obligatory for Muslims who can afford it. During fasting, food and drink are prohibited from entering the mouth from sunrise to sunset. The fasting month can provide its own challenges, especially for those who are actively working.
The absence of food and drink intake for 12 hours is more likely to affect the performance of the body and brain. And of course, hunger and thirst will come. Hunger usually appears about 3-4 hours after the last meal. And hunger will increase with time.
When you are hungry, your stomach will definitely growl. But not only that the effect of hunger on the body. Fasting can affect mood due to changes in food intake that change from a normal day. And when coupled with reduced hours of rest, stress may be stalking you.
Changes That Happen To The Body When Fasting
When fasting, your diet will trigger the body to adapt to changes in food intake. Reduced food intake into the body will trigger several changes in the body's metabolism, namely:
- Under normal circumstances, the body's main source of energy is obtained from blood sugar (glucose). When the supply of glucose is depleted, glycogen becomes a second source of energy for the body. At the time of fasting, the body does not get food intake for hours. This causes the body to use fat as an alternative energy source when glucose and glycogen are used up.
- Burning fat as an alternative energy source causes weight loss and body cholesterol levels.
- According to a study, a small amount of fatty tissue is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. In addition, it is also associated with a decrease in cell resistance to insulin. This means that cells become more sensitive to the signals given by insulin so that blood sugar can enter the cells more easily to provide energy.
Compared to when not fasting, the organs in the body experience changes in function, namely:
- The liver acts as the main controller of the body to provide energy reserves during fasting, namely by releasing sugar from its storage in the liver.
- Stomach acid production decreases during fasting
- The gallbladder thickens bile in preparation for the arrival of food.
- During fasting, the pancreas suppresses the production of the hormone insulin. The pancreas also releases hormones that tell the liver and muscles to release stored sugar. In addition, the production of the digestive enzymes amylase, lipase, and trypsin is reduced.
- When fasting, the movement (contraction) of the small intestine is reduced from normal to about once every four hours.
If not prepared properly, several possible health problems can arise while fasting, such as dehydration, headaches, stress, heartburn or ulcers (dyspepsia), and constipation. This can reduce the performance of logic and stamina in carrying out daily activities.
Tips for Keeping Logic Performance and Stamina Excellent during Fasting
During the fasting month, the working time may be less than other months. Coupled with the Lebaran holiday, which will shorten your working time. As a result, the workload may increase but the work must be completed more quickly and briefly. More physical performance, stamina, concentration, and logical performance are needed so that activity and fasting go hand in hand.
now, so that the effects described above do not become a barrier to your activities and fasting, there are many ways to keep your stamina prime and your logical performance to function properly while fasting. Here are the tips:
- Take care of your intake
So that fasting does not interfere with your daily activities, the supply of energy in the body is very important. This is obtained by not skipping suhoor and iftar (iftar). Sahur and iftar are both important to do while fasting in the month of Ramadan. Each has a different function. Sahur serves to provide energy during fasting while breaking fast serves to restore energy lost during fasting. Keeping the composition of the food in order to remain balanced and not excessive is also important.
When sahur, the type of intake must be a complete food menu with not excessive levels. Complete means that it contains all the main compositions of food types, namely complex carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit, chicken or fish meat, milk or dairy products, as well as foods containing sugar and good fats. During sahur, it is important to eat foods that are digested slowly by the body, such as foods rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates.
Fiber-rich foods will be absorbed slowly by the body. As a result, you will feel full longer. In addition, because it is slowly absorbed by the body, fibrous food will easily pass through the digestive tract, thus preventing constipation. Another benefit of fiber-rich foods is to keep bowel movements regular. Likewise, complex carbohydrates help the body release energy slowly during long hours of fasting. In people with type 2 diabetes, complex carbohydrates can help maintain blood sugar after eating. Complex carbohydrates you can get from whole grains and seeds, such as rice, oats, wheat flour, oats, barley, and legumes (soybeans, peanuts, kidney beans and green beans).
Instructions regarding these types of food also apply to the intake of iftar. However, do not immediately break your fast with heavy foods. Dates can be one of your early iftar choices. It is also advisable to avoid processed foods, foods high in fat and high in sugar, foods containing easily biodegradable carbohydrates such as flour, fried foods, and foods that are too salty during iftar until sahur.
For fluid intake, drink 8-10 glasses of water from breaking the fast until dawn. Avoid caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee because they can make you want to urinate more often. When breaking the fast, an option other than water is to drink fruit juice.
- Sport
Make no mistake, you should still do exercise routines while fasting because of its important benefits for the body, namely helping the body to stay fit, maintaining optimal body system functions, and maintaining the body's metabolic rate. However, it is important to remember, while fasting you can become dehydrated because the body continues to lose water and salt through urine, breathing, and sweat. When we do sports, the body can also lose more fluids, which is one to two liters in one hour of exercise. Lack of fluid intake during exercise can also cause a person to become dehydrated.
In order for exercise while fasting to still have a good effect on the body, careful planning is needed, including maintaining adequate intake and choosing the right exercise. Exercise with a light intensity is the type of exercise that is recommended to be done during fasting.
This is because light intensity exercise tends to use energy reserves in the muscles (glycogen) as a source of energy for the body. Meanwhile, vigorous-intensity exercise can cause the body to use fat as fuel for a short period of time, which can lead to ketosis. Excessive ketosis triggers the buildup of ketones which, if it occurs, will result in dehydration and a disturbance in the balance of chemicals in the blood. In addition, when glycogen is depleted, the body can also be forced to use muscle protein for energy. This is not good for the body.
Types of light intensity exercise that you can do while fasting can include walking, yoga, and tai chi. In fact, just gardening and cleaning the house can also be done. However, it is best to discuss with your doctor first about what exercise is suitable for you to practice during the fasting month and when it is appropriate, especially if you have certain diseases or health conditions. If you feel dizzy while exercising, stop the activity immediately. You are also advised to immediately break the fast if signs of dehydration appear, such as very little or no urine, feeling dazed, or fainting.
If during fasting it turns out that you eat and drink less, your calorie intake may also decrease. With reduced calories, it means that the energy for activities is also less and concentration will decrease. now, to work around this, you can also add health supplements to your menu. There are many health supplements on the market to choose from, but remember, well, you should really know what are the uses and side effects of each type of supplement. Choose supplements that are natural without preservatives, without chemicals, and do not cause side effects, as well as those that have been trusted and proven for generations. Or you can also take supplements as prescribed and recommended by your doctor.
Do not make fasting an obstacle in carrying out all your plans and activities. With the intake of healthy foods and beverages as well as adequate physical activity or supplemented with health supplements, you will still be able to maintain your logical performance and prime stamina to achieve the best every day. Fasting is smooth, the job is done.
