My Ramadan Goals in 2023

Salam and Ramadan Kareem to all my muslims readers.

Alhamdulillah, we're now in our 5th day of Ramadan. Almost a week of fasting and to be honest, it has beem such a breeze fasting this year compared to last year as I was actively breastfeeding my son. This year we're down to only one time breastfeeding which is at night, since he's almost 2 years old so I'm slowly weaning him off.

Let's talk about my goals for Ramadan this year.

Praying Consistently

My first goal is obviously fixing my prayers. To be consistent in praying on time and not missing any prayers. I've also tried to fix my postures during prayers, you know how to properly sujud, how my arms and legs should be positioned, etc. So I do some of the research and tried to implement it on a daily basis.

So far I'm proud of myself for trying to improve myself. Looking back to the previous years, I say this year has been the absolute best for now. There are few mistakes and lateness but insyaAllah I'll fix it.

Cook At Home Instead of Buying From Bazaar

I've improved a lot of my cooking skill since becoming a wife. I wasn't a good cook before, heck, I don't usually cook when I'm singled back then. But after marriage I slowly learned a few dishes and recipes from my mother-in-law, with a lot of practice and everyday cooking to sharpen up my skills, I can now cook confidently. So to all the makciks saying that anak dara kena pandai masak before kahwin, I proved you wrong haha.

Anyhow, I promised myself to cook as much as I can during this Ramadan just to berjimat cermat. As you all know the current economy, prices are so ridiculous right now. Last Saturday, I closed the kitchen for a day and my husband took us to bazaar Ramadan to iftar with my mom. Oh my when I look at the prices, I'm shooked. My nasi ayam penyet is RM10. A plain white rice with thigh fried chicken, and some tauhu, tempe, sambal, soup and non-cook sawi on the side. I also bought kuih koci hitam, I think it was RM1 per piece, but the filling were a disappointment. Can't taste the gula melaka, less filling, and I thought it was covered in santan version but it was not. So sad. But the worst part was the lepat pisang, it was almost stale.

I don't fully blame the sellers, I do understand that the increasing prices of the supplies makes them increase their food prices. However, I do feel like they should have at least make sure the quality of the food is good. If the quality is good then people will not complain about the prices.

Hence, why I wanted to just cook at home this Ramadan. I think that would be my last visit to the bazaar this year. I want to support people's businesses but I rather not be disappointed again.

Actually Losing Weight, For Real.

Another reason why I wanted to cook at home is to watch what I put in my body. I really want to lose some kilos. So in order to do so I need to eat clean, eat healthy, and be in calorie deficit. 

I have lost at least 3.3kg since started fasting. From 71kg to 67.7kg in just 5 days. I was suprised as well because I thought initially to lose 1kg or 2kg per week. This actually motivates me to continue the journey. Be consistent. So far so good. I've not caved in to any cravings, or any binge eating habit. I controlled my portion and I control my sugar intake or I just don't take sugar at all.

My aim is to lose at least 9 kg in total before Syawal. I'm very hopeful and confident that I can but we'll see soon. 

Less Caffeine Intake

As I'm typing this, I had just took another sip of my ice latte that my husband got for me from his trip to the vape cafe earlier. Oops!

It was my first coffee after 7 days of no caffeine. Yes, I started to cut my daily dose of coffee 2 days before Ramadan start and gosh the drawbacks from the caffeine was hell. I had migraines for 3 days straight. I was moody as hell too. Everything was very upsetting. I couldn't focus and overthink so much. I didn't knew caffeine had this kind of effect on you.

But okay la, I'm better now. I am trying to cut off coffee for real now because I'm getting old and I wanna be healthy. Not to say coffee isn't good, it has its benefits but I want to cut down my sugar and I only only drink coffee with sugar and milk so in order for me to do so I need to lessen my coffee intake or maybe cut off for good? Who knows.

But the goal for this Ramadan is to be hydrated, hence, no coffee as it dehydrates your body. 

I guess that's it for this year's Ramadan. I hope I can manage to follow these goals and make Ramadan this year a very meaningful one.

Enjoy your iftars with your family and loved ones.

Until the next post, bye!