The idea of writing an article of Navaratri Fasting Tips sprang up as most of my clients asked me for suggestions. I thought it would be better to help others with these navaratri fasting tips too.

This religiously significant phase in the Hindu Calendar also has deep science behind it. Due to lack of proper interpretation people tend to ignore best practices during the fast as they don’t comprehend the reason behind it.

Sharad Navratri marks the end of monsoon and is a time of  drastic climatic change which tends to effect your immune system.  This is the reason many people shift to lighter food, less on fat and sugars, so as to protect themselves from illnesses.

The fasting is relatively relaxed based on the allowed foods, which itself is an indication that, it is not a religious sacrifice which you will be rewarded for, but the reward lies in ensuring good health by managing your food choices.

Navaratri Fasting Tips

First of all try finding the balance between religious fanaticism  and lifestyle benefits of the moderated diet, through proper interpretation.

It is foolish to imagine that you can spend 300  days of unhealthy eating,drinking and other lifestyle choices  and detoxify and purify your sins in the remaining ones.

ou are fooling your God and yourself if you think that just by fasting for 9 days you will be able to elevate beyond the imbalance of thought and action in the remaining 356 days.

Try to use this phase to instill a sustainable approach towards life and food choices.

Here are some Navaratri Fasting Tips which will help you maximise your fasts:

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1. TREAT SUGAR LIKE MEAT –When it comes to balancing your appetite sugar is worse than meat, so people quitting meat and overdosing on sugar wont be able to detoxify themselves at all.
2. STAY HYDRATED WITH EVERYTHING EXCEPT JUICES – Use water, coconut water, green tea, buttermilk, milk to stay hydrated .
3. MAKE HEALTHY SNACKS INHOUSE RATHER THAN BUYING PROCESSED ONES – Get raw snacks and roast them at home with minimal salt as processed goods have high salt and chemical content which will dehydrate and have a toxic effect on your body.
4. HAVE FREQUENT SERVINGS IN SMALL SIZES – Distribute fruit or allowed food serving throughout the day rather than having too much of it at one time.
5. HAVE SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, DON’T OVEREAT THEM – A fast doesn’t imply that you have the freedom of overindulging in fruits, take small servings and avoid them after dark.
6. DON’T IGNORE PROTEIN RESOURCES – Protein is the most ignored macro nutrient during fasts,  your body needs anywhere between 15-25% of its nutrient needs to be satisfied with protein, due to the low absorptive capacities of vegetarian proteins try to have buttermilk, low fat paneer, greek yoghurt and whey protein.
7. DON’T FAST FROM EXERCISING – Moderate your exercise don’t stop it.
8. HAVE YOUR DAILY MEAL POST WORKOUT – The heaviest meal of your day can be placed post your workout for best absorption.
9. CARE ABOUT YOUR GUT HEALTH – As  this phase is primarily important for detoxification, you need to use it to improve your gut health, don’t indulge in fatty and sugary snacks, have more curd and water to ensure your digestive tract is healthy.

The most important element of the  Navaratri is to detoxify the mind, body and soul. Only sacrificing meat wont do that, you have to rid yourself from worries, indulge in compassionate thinking and use this time to  mold your mind and body to its best version.

The Navaratri fasting tips will help you take care of your food choices while doing all the above.