Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Ramengdan

Last year, I tried to observe the fasting rules of Ramadan. Over the hottest and longest days of the year, I didn't eat or drink in daylight. I'd been intrigued by one of the core principles of Ramadan -- taking time to think about being a better Muslim. Well, in my case, just a better person.
I found the experience a bit lacking -- I had no one to commiserate with during the hungry days, and really no fellowship over the course of the experiment. I wasn't sure if I'd do it again.

Over the year, I watched this movie, Letters from a Dead Man. A small group of survivors eek out an existence at the very bleak end of the world. They struggle daily to come to grips with their impending deaths. There's a scene where they eat an extremely small meal.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqk75f_letters-from-a-dead-man-04_shortfilms
At 8:55, you can see the priest sit down to what looks like a couple spoonfuls of chickpeas and 2 olives.

Having always been a fan of post-Apocalyptic settings, I loved the whole movie, but I was especially moved by that meal scene. Not only because of the farewell speech given by a living dead man, but also the sheer frugality required to survive in the face of nothingness.

This month of Ramadan (6/17 - 7/17), I will build up a stockpile of nonperishable food. My daily calorie limit will be 2000. The rules:

  • I can eat throughout the day; there's no time rules like Ramadan.
  • I can drink as much water as I like
  • if anyone wants to share a meal with me, I'll be glad to include them, but it'll come out of my rations
  • at the start of every day, I'll roll 2 dice. If it comes up snake eyes, I'll skip a meal that day
  • I'll take some multivitamins to try to get normal levels of essential nutrients. I'll also try to balance the fat/carbs/protein calories
Here's a link to my food supply:

I pretty much fatted myself up for this challenge, getting lots of cravings out of the way.

I'll be blogging daily to run down what I eat and what my thoughts are as the month goes by.

See also:

  • Fallout 3
  • Oryx and Crake trilogoy
  • Book of Eli
  • The Night Land
  • When the Wind Blows

No comments: