Most people fully understand that the food you consume has a direct impact on your overall health and well-being.  However, it is important to understand that when you are trying to manage your overall weight, eating something that may be healthy for your long-term vitality (such as fruit), may not necessarily be in line with your short-term goals of managing your weight.

The month of Ramadhan and daily fasting provides a unique opportunity for those who are struggling with managing their weight since dry fasting does not allow for the consumption of food or drink during the day.  However, when you analyze the limited studies done on weight management in Ramadhan, the results are mixed.  Many studies show inconclusive results and some even showed subjects gaining weight in Ramadhan. 

The question arises, if we are limiting ourselves to 1-2 meals per day after sunset, how can we not lose weight?

The Science of Weight Management:

The science is quite clear in terms of the most important nutritional factors that will determine your success in managing your weight:

1. Your calorie intake
2. The macro-nutrient (carbohydrates, protein and fats) distribution of your calorie intake.

It is important to note that other factors such as type of foods, minerals, vitamins etc are also important but do not play as integral of a role in terms of fat loss. 

Based on this, your total caloric intake is going to decide whether you gain weight or lose weight. 

What happens in the month of Ramadhan?

At the time of breaking of the fast, WE FEAST.  We prepare the most delicious snacks and indulge in very tasty meals.  Meals are often accompanied with milk tea and we can’t forget about ensuring we deal with our sugar cravings before we go to bed. 

What we need to consider:  Some of the factors at play are the total calories of the meal, the macros associated with the meal, often sleeping right after we eat and very limited physical activity.

Quick Fact:  If you eat more calories than you burn a day, then you will gain weight.

When we fast during the day, our energies are limited.  Since we do not eat our drink, we may sustain lapses in energy that make us sleepy and not as active as were prior to the start of the fasting period. 

Conclusion:  With limited exercise and physical activity due to lack of energy, combined with meals that are high in calories which are consumed prior to going to bed, its no coincidence that we have trouble managing our weight. 

Proposed Solution: 

The following are some ideas/suggestions that will benefit in you having more success in taking full control of your weight during this month of fasting.  Remember, you need to articulate what your goals are and make an action plan accordingly.  Be sure to private message me if you are looking for any further tips or suggestions.

Eating Breakfast (Suhoor) prior to sunrise:

• Eating prior to sunrise is highly recommended based on prophetic traditions. However, if you are trying to lose weight, you may want to consider eating something in the morning every second day.  This will allow you to have a longer fasting window every second day. 
• Regardless of whether you are eating or not, you must properly hydrate yourself prior to your fast beginning. This will help key functions within your body to function optimally.  Therefore, be sure to wake up prior to sunrise and drink several glasses of water.
• What to eat: This is a difficult discussion as, once again this depends on your goals.  If you are trying to lose some weight during the month of Ramadhan, it might be a good idea for you to minimize your carbohydrate (sugars and starches) intake – especially from processed foods like cereals.  If this is the case, you should consider having eggs.  Eggs are not only loaded with a variety of vitamins like Vitamin D (which can help strengthen your immune system), it’s a great source of protein and has very limited calories (roughly 72 calories).  If you prepare it using some healthy fats such as avocado oil or coconut oil, you will be able to allow the body to switch to using fats as an energy source instead of carbohydrates – Ketosis.
• Fibre: choose foods high in fibre like oatmeal and certain fruits like bananas.  Keep in mind these choices do have carbohydrates, but they will keep you feeling full for a longer period of time.  In addition, it’s important to understand that the fibre coats the inside of your intestine and acts as a barrier so that you don’t absorb all of the sugar fast — you absorb it slowly, which protects the liver from getting fat

Breaking the Fast:

• Be sure to re-hydrate slowly. Begin by drinking 2-3 glasses of water.  Add some salt to help your body recover from mineral imbalance during the day. 
• Custom is to break your fast with some dates. I would highly recommend this practice but limit the dates to 1-3.  Why?  Even though dates have a tremendous amount of nutritional benefit (we will save this for a future article), they are loaded with natural sugars.  If you have too many, this excess sugar will be converted to fat. 
• Have a small meal like a salad or some broth to begin with. We are too quick to inhale all of our calories in at once and the body doesn’t know what to do with all the excess calories.  This causes inflammation which is something that we want to avoid as fasting is meant to help with inflammation. 
• Lean Protein – protein helps with feeling full and thus have some lean chicken or white fish which will aid in muscle repair.
• Don’t forget the veggies – it’s essential that your bodies have the necessary nutrients to function effectively.
• Fats – eggs, fish and nuts are a great source of healthy fats that are often neglected in this month.=

Quick Tips:

• Eat whole foods and stay away from foods that are highly processed.
• Stay from sugar as much as possible – try to avoid fruit juices, sodas and sugary deserts.
• Eat more lean protein and try to limit the carbohydrates from your diet. This will help your body to use stored fat as an energy source which will aid in lowering your body fat percentage. 
• Stay away from unnecessary snacking.

Let’s be honest, many people will enter Ramadhan with a goal to lose some weight and become more healthy.  Yet, when they break their fast, they are endulging in greasy snacks and they lack the energy for any exercise.  As described above, there is a science to this process, so please be sure to subscribe to our newsletter as I wouldn’t want you to miss out on our future articles on Nutrution in Ramadhan and Exercise in Ramadhan. 

Until next time,

Be well,

Coach Mumdoo

604-861-4288

[email protected]