5 things I will miss during Ramadan (and the 5 things I am looking forward to)

The holy month of Ramadan will most likely begin this coming Thursday. For those of you who are not familiar with its culture, it is the month in which fasting is required from muslims from dawn to dusk. The act of fasting isn't limited to refraining from eating and drinking only, but also refraining oneself from harmful acts and words and devoting oneself to a spiritual cleansing and a little bit of soul searching.

But this post isn't about what Ramadan is, rather it is about the 5 things that I will dearly miss during the coming month starting this coming Thursday (depending on moon sighting), as well as the 5 things that I am looking towards to.

5 things I will miss:

My morning coffee

Though I have never been a big tea or coffee consumer, over the past few years a love relationship has been built between me and coffee. Coffee doesn't ask questions, coffee understands. With coffee in the world, how bad could things be? Life begins after coffee! I guess you catch my drift, so definitely not looking forward to the major caffeine withdrawal symptoms that I will probably be having over the next 4 weeks!

Cardio workouts

I have been in a constant self battle to adopt an active lifestyle. I definitely do not consider myself as a fitness benchmark. When you have a metabolism rate that is as dysfunctional as a flat tyre, you tend to appreciate any work out that you can maintain consistency in (well sort of), and for me, I have found consistency in jogging and boot camp workouts. The problem with these exercises during the coming few weeks is that it tends to get you feeling dehydrated most of the day, which you will need to compensate with a major intake of water. The fact that temperatures hover around the 50 degrees mark don't help out as well, so I guess during the holy month of Ramadan, Carlo (our OFC boot camp trainer) will be spared from yelling 'yalla yalla' at me.

New movie releases

Ok, I am big cinema fan. I will practically watch anything that has a rating over 7.0 on imdb. Anything! But what movie theatres in the UAE tend to do during the holy month is postpone the release dates of all major blockbusters until Eid to ensure attraction. Good bye cinema, see you in a month!

Normal hours

Due to the fasting, the daily routine changes. Life returns to normal after the breaking of fast (which is around 7.15pm), and night outs will be mostly on a regular daily basis as Ramadan specific venues open up across town. Work productivity will be affected as working hours will be reduced, which means you shouldn't hold your breath for any major work decisions during the coming weeks.

Friday brunches

I will certainly miss the mother of all cheat meals, and that is our family Friday brunch. My favourite spots, without dispute, remain both Ewaan at the Palace Downtown and Kitchen 6 at JW Marriott Marquis. Good bye my lovers, good bye my friends! 

and the 5 things I am looking forward to...

Ramadan Iftars: It's like having Friday brunch every single day! Hooray!

Strength training: Yes I will be stopping cardio, but I have no intention on dropping on maintaining fitness. Hello weight lifting.

Reading books: Having to work less hours, only means that I now have more time to spare for reading. Gotta keep that mind sharp, and soul cleansed.

Ramadan Tents: with many expected to open up around town, it will be interesting to check out what each has to offer (do revisit the blog in the coming weeks as I will be posting reviews).

Bonding with family and friends: Ramadan is a time that promotes for people to come together and be closer to one another. Interestingly, over the past years, it proved to be a time to meeting new friends as well. Let's see what this year has got to offer.

Can you relate to any of the above? What are the things that you will miss during Ramadan, and what are the things you are looking forward to? I'd love to hear from you :)