Re: Weight, health, Nutrition, and exercise

[Khalil_Allah]

Dear brothers and sisters in Islam (and non muslims too :) )

I just wanted to share some of my knowledge regarding these issues, because I keep seeing sisters upset about their weight.

This is base knowledge and guidelines, and I am not a professional at this stuff, but I have spent a lot of time dealing with exercise and nutrition because I actually am too skinny. On one end of the spectrum are people that can eat very little and it will still stick on them like fat, and on the other end are people like me who can eat an entire cow and it will be gone in a day.

It seems that women are more prone to being the former, that is, they eat and gain weight easily. So, I will address what these women should know and do to achieve the results they want.
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Take care of diet, and then move to exercise. Diet is not (necessarily) about eating less, but about eating right. What is right for one is not right for another.

So what do you do?

Step 1) Begin to log everything that you eat in a personal journal, while maintaining your normal diet.

Step 2) Get online and get rough estimates of the nutritional value of what you have eaten in four categories: 1) calories, 2) carbohydrates, 3) protein, 4) Fats. The most important category for the time being is 1) calories.

Step 3) Begin to get a good idea after a few days about what you are consuming in terms of calories. Likely, the amounts will vary significantly from day to day.

Step 4) Go to google and type in basal metabolic rate. find a website that will let you calculate your BMR. This number is the amount of calories you use each day by sitting on the couch!

Step 5) Compare your average caloric intake each day to your BMR.

Step 6) Begin the routine of EVERY morning, when you wake up, drinking a glass of cold or luke-warm water. This kickstarts your metabolism for the day.

Step 7) when you are working on this stuff, DRINK MORE WATER.

This is all you have to do. If you are consuming more calories than your BMR, then you are not going to lose any weight! (of course this is not set in stone, there are ways like exercise and choosing certain types of food where you can eat more than your BMR and lose weight, but don't worry about that) If you are consuming less calories than your BMR, then you may begin to lose weight, just by sitting on the couch!

SO START WITH ADJUSTING YOUR DIET!
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But adjusting your diet alone is not the end-all of weight. So you are eating less than your BSM and you are losing 1 pound every two weeks and you want to lose more faster?

Now we introduce exercise. Exercise increases your metabolism (which makes you naturally more energetic and happy).

You are an overweight woman, and you want to get in shape, does this mean that you go start lifting weights in the gym or riding the bicycle for hours on end? NO! You create your workout based on your diet, which you should already have adjusted prior to starting your workout problem.

I would recommend starting slowly. Park your car farther away from the store (not at night though, because you are our sister and we don't want anything bad to happen), take the stairs instead of the elevator, go on a walk after dinner, etc. These are forms of exercise.

When you are eating right, drinking lots of water, and doing these common forms of work out, but you are not seeing the results you want, then it is time to step up into what people generally think of as EXERCISE! WOOO. or BOOO is more likely :)

If you are trying to lose weight, then you want to focus on cardiovascular exercises. These are good for your heart and for general calorie burning. A cardiovascular exercise, for our purposes here, is any exercise that keeps your heart beating faster than usual for an extended amount of time.

Cardiovascular Exercises:

Warning: these types of exercises may be uncomfortable, but it is WORK that brings results. Nevertheless, err on the side of caution. If things don't feel right, abandon the exercise! Don't push it only to injure yourself!

If you have been trying to take the stairs and going on walks and whatnot, let's move to the treadmill or make for a longer walk. Time yourself and make longer walks. Or pick up the pace a little bit. Walk faster and get your heart beating and your breathing should become a little heavier. Push yourself, but not too hard. This isn't a race!

Cardio can come in any form as long as you notice your breathing become heavier and faster, and as long as your heart is safely beating faster than under normal circumstances.

The benefit of the gym, or of a gym equipment, is that you can track your progress very easily. If you are getting your cardio by, say, walking the track, then you have to count laps or time the laps to track your progress.
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Again, I am no fitness expert, and I don't pretend to be a personal trainer or anything. However, I have done lots and lots of research on these things, and I can tell you that what I have laid out for you is a VERY VERY VERY GOOD START to achieving your fitness goals when you are coming from being completely unaware of the world of diet and exercise.

Also, remember that it takes time and patience. You aren't going to lose 15 pounds every exercise. You just have to be consistent. When you fall off of the train, get back on and keep it up. YOU WILL MAKE PROGRESS, INSHALLAH.

Also, remember that the BMR and the calories are just guidelines. Your actual BMR will vary from day to day. You will not be able to eat the perfect amount of calories each day, but if you are getting close, then you are doing well enough. Just keep it up. Soon enough, you can just eye food and know what you should or should not eat. Just keep up with my diet guidelines for awhile so you get into the habit of considering every bit of food that you consume.
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Again, this isn't perfect, but inshallah if you follow what I have said, you will be well on your way.

:sl: wr wb

[true_muslimmah]

Jazakallah, that was indeed a very good read.

[Khalil_Allah]

it is my pleasure sister.

If anyone has any more detailed questions, you can PM me and I will get back as soon as I can. I am here to help!

Maybe it is ok that I can talk to a sister about this with respect to more personal questions? I don't know. But you know, I have been made fun of for how skinny I was!

I don't make any judgments about anything because the body is a gift from Allah swt and we get it how he gives it to us. Like I said above, some people have naturally low metabolic rates, and living like a normal person, they cannot help but pack on weight.

I just feel for these people because I am naturally skinny, and it is by no doing of my own. And while all these people want to be skinny, I got made fun of for being too skinny! Now I like to eat and work out for maximum weight gains, and following the formula laid out above, I have achieved great results, alhamdulillah!

[Afraa]

Jazakullah Khair brother. Thank you for the wonderful tips.

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[Liberty]

Yeah I need more toning.
And muscle!
I guess exercise is the next step, I've got a reasonably good diet going on at the moment, lots of fruits, cereal etc

[Re.TiReD]

What's BMR? Isnt it BMI? Body Mass Index?

[Periwinkle18]

JazakAllah for sharing. i do skipping every day, it really helps.

[Khalil_Allah]

What's BMR? Isnt it BMI? Body Mass Index?

:sl:Sister,

BMR stands for BASAL METABOLIC RATE.

This is the amount of calories that your body will burn each day at rest. Of course, when you calculate it online, it won't be perfect.

I have found that the most important foundation for a good workout and nutrition plan is knowing your BMR. You start with your BMR, and if you want to gain weight, then you eat more than your BMR. If you want to lose weight, then you eat less.

When you eat less than your BMR, and you work out, then your body will start to use its fat for energy. THIS IS WHERE THE BIG WEIGHT LOSS STARTS! :thumbs_up

[ziyad786]

salam,

I'll give you a better adivce one that originates from the sunnah inshallah....

Eat small portions throughout the day dont diet!.....that is the sunnah.........execerise much as possible be active....that is the sunnah too....eat fat or w.e you desire if its halal just eat small portions

and watch soon inshallah you will have good body.