Archive for the ‘supplements and vitamins’ Category

Ramadan Day 11- “During Ramadan, we’re kind of forced to sit as a family”

Posted: July 30, 2012 in Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, Health, Islam, laughter, lifestyle, Ramadan, supplements and vitamins
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Iftari at the Shaikh house, its to early to take pictures of Sahoor. I usually am not of sound mind to take an appropriate picture at the time so I share our table scape when we break the fast.

I recently was interviewed by Mona Shadia for her column “Unveiled: A Muslim Girl in O.C.” about Ramadan and Sahoor (the really early morning meal to start off the fasting day). She’s a is a reporter for Times Community News. An Egyptian American, she was born and raised in Cairo and now lives in Orange County. Her column includes various questions and issues facing Muslims in America. Follow her on Twitter @MonaShadia. Below is an excerpt from our conversation for her piece titled “The benefits of Ramadan are truly endless“, go support her!

Affad Shaikh [thats me], a Muslim American of Pakistani descent whom I know from the Council on American-Islamic Relations [I did that, and loved every minute of it], left his Newport Beach [love living there] apartment for the month to spend Ramadan with his family [SUPER excited about being able to do this, its like I am a fat kid in a candy store all alone type of excitement].

Affad, 29, recently quit his job [I hate not having an income] and is attending law school [which I suggest people not do]. He’s out for the summer [SWEEeeeeet!], which presented the perfect opportunity to spend Ramadan with his parents and younger brother [on twitter at @shaikhster] and sister [on twitter @ashaikh3] in Palmdale for the first time in a few years.

The family’s alarm clocks go off right at 3:30 a.m. [more like my mom starts the stove and i realize the scrumptious goodness I'm about to miss out on if I don't wake up], the lights go on and all members of his household gather in the kitchen for fried or boiled eggs. Mom prepares Paratha [yummmmmmy! Give me some of 'em right now!], which is like Pakistani tortilla that Affad and his brother like to eat with honey and dad prefers with banana. Affad makes himself a protein shake.

When the food is ready, everyone sits together to eat, talk and laugh. Affad said they talk about the news, about their plans for the day. Because their dad leaves to work at 5:30 a.m. [God bless his soul and let us kids be even a tiny bit disciplined like him. Ameen!], it’s a great chance to spend time and talk with him in the morning.

“I definitely appreciate being with family for suhoor,” he said. [so nice to not be sahooring/iftaring alone]

Once the family is done eating, they get ready to pray Fajr, which is the first prayer of the day. They also read the Koran and then, Affad said, “I’m usually knocked out.”

“During Ramadan, we’re kind of forced to sit as a family because of the time constraints,” he said. “It’s very communal. You get to come together to do these things.”

…and thats how we do things at the Shaikh household. Great post by Mona, check out some of her other pieces, totally tearing stereotypes and misperceptions about Islam and Muslims in her column. Also you can find me on twitter to get in on the Shaikh family escapades- @SOCALMOSLEM

Ramadan Day 10- You shouldn’t be gaining weight

Posted: July 29, 2012 in 70 day challenge, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, diet, fitness, Health, health and fitness, Islam, lifestyle, obesity, p90x, Ramadan, suhaib webb, supplements and vitamins
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graphic courtesy of Muslim Matters

Muslim Matters posted a ‘5-Step Guide to Healthy Ramadan Weight Loss‘ which is worth your time to read (its a bit long), but in summary the 5 Steps in brief are:

  1. Stop speed eating at Sahoor
  2. Don’t obsess about food
  3. Exercise (Duh)- doesnt take Sherlock Holmes to figure that out.
  4. Stop feasting after iftar
  5. Be Mindful of other- something I wrote about already in my previous Ramadan posts.

I personally am following the Rehan Jalali Ramadan Nutrition and Workout Plan (which is on Suhaib Webbs blog) this year.  I made some modifications to it because I needed it to suit my lifestyle a bit better, but for the most part I started on Ramadan Day 1 and have been going strong.  While I have been successful in not gaining weight the past four years, and the past two years actually losing weight, I wanted to take things up a notch and get back on track for my 70 Day Challenge which abrubptly came to a stop on Day 35 (Law School, things not working out with a girl, law school, midterms and tests, moving out of apartment, law school doubts).

Day 8- 70 Day Challenge- Change You Can Believe In

Posted: February 19, 2012 in 70 day challenge, Affad Shaikh, American Muslim, diabetes, diet, Health, health and fitness, obesity, supplements and vitamins, Television
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Checking in for Day 8 on my 70 Day Challenge- hold me accountable at youtube, pinterest, and twitter. I went out to run an 8 mile trail near my apartment early in the morning today, it was amazing.

Funny that our society spends time eating everything and sitting on a couch doing nothing.  With such little physical activity we are faced with being overweight, obese and suffering from all sorts of diseases that are easily curable.  The irony is that we want to loose that weight over night.  There is the lap-band, you can take pills, you can sit in front of your TV while an electrical pulse goes through your abominable muscles to give you that rock hard 6-pack.

We want the shortcut to get out of the problems we have spent years putting in our efforts to acquire.

The fitness industry is a 25 billion dollar industry in the US with a .9% growth.  The diet industry is a $40 billion dollar industry, supplements and vitamins net in $20 billion a year (stats from here).  This is a massive industry- its aims are to get your money by utilizing your soft spot- desire to loose weight without the effort.  Gyms know that you will pay monthly installments and probably only show up a few times a year- around the “Fat Seasons” spring/summer transition, post Thanks Giving and Christmas/New Year resolutions.  They bank on your weakness to not follow through with those goals, to eat without thinking and to continue to reveal in your bad habits.   This industry preys on your real desire to loose weight and the video exemplifies how the vultures use tricks and short cuts to present something that is credible.

At the end of the day you are the tool for any change that needs to happen in your life.  Don’t rely on these shortcuts and don’t sit around looking for short cuts, get out there and start living the change that you are capable of making in your life!  You are the change that you need to believe in.

Day 7- 70 Day Challenge- Goals and Reality

Posted: February 18, 2012 in 70 day challenge, diet, Health, health and fitness, obesity, supplements and vitamins
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70 day challenge

Checking in for Day 7 on my 70 Day Challenge- hold me accountable at youtube, pinterest, and twitter. I done good and went for a run at the gym, did a crap load of sit ups and push ups, the best was the fact that I ran my mile under 11 minutes.  Tomorrow I am thinking about going for a run on a local trail that is about 10 miles long.  I haven’t run something like that since cross country days, should be interesting.

They can because they think they can~ Virgil

I can totally see myself doing this, I already am seeing the results and I believe that this will be a good all around.  So get off your butt and start changing your life!

If you continue to reflect on the past and fantasize about what can happen, but you do absolutely nothing to achieve your goal, then you aren’t truly thinking that you can ever be that healthy person.