Another Texas VC

For those of you who know me personally, you are probably aware that religion plays an important, albeit understated, role in my life. My Muslim faith is the reason why I don’t drink, nor eat pork, and spend the month of Ramadan in a dazed caffeine free stupor.

I would be lying if I said that I enjoyed the dawn to dusk fasts during Ramadan. They are terribly inconvenient, severely impact my productivity, and wreak havoc on my metabolism. My sister sniffs coffee beans to try to survive the fasts without falling asleep at her desk, while my wife takes frequent naps. Ramadan is hard.

But that is the point. Ramadan teaches me that I can do anything I put my mind to. After a month of starving, the rest of life seems awfully easy. I usually walk out of Ramadan with a series of new-year style resolutions, many of which I actually stick to.

This year I am resolving to straighten out my diet in conjunction with the fasts. That means eating in a lot more often, eating a lot more vegetables, and cutting down on meat. About halfway through this Ramadan I feel like the diet changes are making a difference, with many of my old pants actually fitting!