If your plan was to lose weight, you have absolutely nothing to worry about! Ramadan will be even more of a blessing in that sense
BUT if you are like me and are trying to gain weight, it really isn't that hard!
Firstly, you find out what your Maintenance Calories are, which means at how many calories consumed do you neither gain nor lose weight. Mine is at 3000 calories, so let's go from there.
HAVE A HUGE BREAKFAST!! Stuff yourself in the morning! You aren't going to be eating for 8+ hours the rest of the day (roughly 5AM-8PM this August ), make sure you consume as many calories as you possibly can!
My advice, have a couple eggs (protein), a bowl of cereal (carbs) or oatmeal, and a protein shake (you can find some that give you 900 calories in one shake!), this will give you 1000+ calories in just one sitting! DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AFTER, I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!!
Now, I recommend hitting the gym 1 hour after sehri, you will have the most energy then, and you will get done with your workout early in the day, so no need to stress about it later!
For iftaar, I recommend having A LOT OF protein, chicken, beef, fish, anything you can get your hands on, as well as another protein shake, this will easily give you another 1000+ calories!!!
Now, I usually go pray 8 travi'i, unless it is a weekend, I will then pray more. My advice, as soon as you come home from prayer, have a small meal, a small FATTY snack, and a protein shake! This will also give you 1000+ calories, keeping your protein high, carbs in balance, and your fats low *but fats are essential in a diet as well*... obviously throw in a small salad in there, and you'll find yourself consuming 3000+ calories in a day, and you won't lose weight like most people do during Ramadan!
Ramadhan is not the time for stuffing ones face. Eat good food and in reasonable quantities. Do not have so much that you feel bloated afterwards which will surely affect the amount of worship will do afterwards. Also eating a lot means that one will find it difficult to go to Tarawee and getting up in the morning for Sehri. The whole point of Ramdhan is to control ones desires and get closer to Allah and eating too much is contrary to the teachings of Ramadhan.
I would also not recommend having 3 protein shakes every day instead just have one. A protein shake should not be used as a meal replacement and protein should be gained naturally from fish and lean meat.
Increasing your intake of junk foods and greasy foods is not a good way to gain weight. Junk foods usually contain unhealthy trans fats or saturated fats. Even though you need to increase your calorie consumption to gain weight, those calories should come from foods that are good for you. Also eating fried and foods high in saturates will make one lethargic and lazy for prayer and worship therefore avoid it.
Go for foods with healthier which fats include omega-3 essential fatty acids sources like tuna, salmon, flax, and walnuts. Good sources of protein include lean meats, fish, poultry, nuts, seeds and legumes. Healthy carbohydrate sources include fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Instead of white rice, bread and pasta go for whole grain rice, bread and pasta.
Eating good food at the right quantities will ensure that you feel good and will worship properly optimising the time we have in Ramadhan. For Sehri do not stuff yourself as this will mean that you will feel lethargic throughout the day as your body will have to work hard to break the food down. Never over eat at any one time. Instead have porridge oats which is full of good protein and carbohydrates. Have a boiled egg with two slices of whole grain toast with a reasonable amount of olive oil spread.
For iftaar have dates with fruit salad and then some healthy lean meat or fish with either brown rice, brown pasta or potatos with vegtables. Have a small meal and then a little while later before tarawee have your protein shake. Then when you come back again have a small healthy meal packed with good carbohydrates from whole grain bread, pasta or rice with vegtables or salad.
For those wanting to lose weight i recommend having a nice and healthy Sehri- that means no parathe and fried eggs! Have a nice bowl of porridge oats sweetened with a little honey and some chopped fruit like strawberrys, banana or even some mixed nuts or seeds. Ontop of that have a boiled egg. For those wanting to lose weight i would stress to cut down on bread even if it is brown but if you will have one then make sure it is wholegrain and put as little margarine on it as possible. This would be an ideal Sehri for someone wanting to lose weight.
For Iftaar one has to be very careful especially if one is from a family from the indian subcontinent where there is usually a whoe table filled with all kinds of foods with a very high content of saturated fat. The big culprits are pakore which soak in so much oil and are very high in saturated fat. It is best to ina a nice and gentle manner try and encourage the family to eat healthy and maybe once a week go all out with the samose pakore etc. One needs to tell ones family the purpose of Ramdan and having too much food on the table everyday at Iftaar time defeats the purpose of Ramadhan and ends up making one lazy and lethargic and not being able to do adequate worship of Allah.
So those wanting to lose weight need to be very careful and when you see those food which are high in saturated fat then see them as blocks of fat and try to discourage your minds from taking from them and putting it on your plate even though it is difficult especially when one has not eaten all day. Instead i would say eat a lot of fruit at iftaar time. Make the effort to buy a lot of fruit and cut up various fruits and have that for iftaar. Then go and pray Maghrib. For those who have Masjids nearby then walk to the Masjid.
From my experience the worst places to have Iftaar is the Masjid unforuntley because there is so much very bad food at iftaar time and because the Azhaan is only 10 minutes from iftaar time people are literally stuffing their faces with fried and fatty foods and when the Azhan goes off then people will stuff as much as they can in their mouths. It is like a binge eating competition. That is why i open my fast at home and walk to the Masjid rather than open it there. Then whilst the Maghrib prayer is being led people are burping away very obviously uncomfortable and bloated from the binge eating at Iftaar time. This takes away the purpose of Ramadan and one should not be binge eating at Sehri or Iftaar time. One should eat a reasonable amount so one can worship at ones optimum levels instead of feeling bloated and lethargic.
After Maghrib one should come home and have a nice and healthy meal which contains brown rice and one should try and limit bread and roti as this has a lot of carbs in it which do not help those who are wanting to lose weight. Instead have potatos or brown rice and limit roti or brown bread to 2 times a week. Also have lean meat like chicken and also fish. Have red meat 1 - 2 times a week and make sure it is lean. Have plenty of vegtables or salad. Also be sure to drink plenty of water and avoid sugary fizzy drinks at all costs. Also limit how much fruit juice you drink as these contain a lot of sugar and the quickest way to consume calories is to drink a big glass of concentrated fruit juice. Instead have plenty of water.
Go to tarawee and know that Tarawee is a brilliant workout as well as great rewards. So ensure you pray it everyday. Always try to walk to the Masjid for all prayers because aswell as walking being one of the best and easiest forms of exercise one will also gain great rewards. Women can also take a walk after having evening meal with a mahram.
When you come home then do not waste this time or just hang around as this may cause one to get tempted to eat and also one may waste precious time. Instead if one has nothing important to do then go to sleep. This will ensure that one can wake up a little before Sehri so that one can pray Tahajjud and then eat for Sehri. If one over eats then one will become lazy fopr prayer. One should also walk to the Masjid if it is walking distance.
May Allah help us to make the best of this Ramadan and to help us to optimise every second and may Allah help us to eat the right foods at the right quantities so that we may become healthy and fit for the worship of Allah.
and Allah knows best in all matters
Last edited by Hamza Asadullah; 07-18-2010 at 08:46 PM.
jus wanted to ask id u wrote all that by yourself?
anyways thanks for sharing
Asalaamu Alaikum Wr Wb, yes i did akhee. Make the best of Ramadhan and eat right and eat the right quantities and you will feel better than you have ever felt and lose weight as well as have a lot of energy for doing lots of Ibadah. Let us make the optimum use of every second we have now and especially in Ramdhan and that means do NOT over eat but control what you eat and you will feel the true benefits of Ramadhan
I am normally hitting the gym for a good workout after work, and I don't really have time in the morning to go to the gym so this is what I did during last year's ramadhan:
I left office at around 4 pm, and the hit the gym right after, which gave me around 1 hour gym time for 45 mins of cardio and 15 mins weights before shower and it's almost maghrib when I was leaving the gym (at 6 pm this year).
According to doctors, Muslims do not need to stop sport activities when fasting, but it's better if Muslims do those sport activities in the afternoon and not too hard. But according to Ulama, Muslims must avoid swimming when fasting.
There is nothing wrong doing exercise while fasting, as long as it is not too strenous or super intensive.
I have been doing the same routines when I am doing my sunnah monday-thursday fastings, and I must say it has improved the quality of my sleep and general well-being.
I left office at around 4 pm, and the hit the gym right after, which gave me around 1 hour gym time for 45 mins of cardio and 15 mins weights before shower and it's almost maghrib when I was leaving the gym (at 6 pm this year).
45 mins of cardio without water? You must be in excellent shape... or a camel.
45 mins of cardio without water? You must be in excellent shape... or a camel.
LOL.
Alhamdulillah I love doing cardio, in my normal workout I usually run for an hour.
In that 45 mins cardio I usually do this: 20 mins run - 5 mins power walk - 20n mins run
But I have to do it before maghrib, so when I've finished the gym time, it's time to drink a gallon of water lol.
I can never do exercise in the morning when fasting or I'll pass out from thirst
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
), make sure you consume as many calories as you possibly can!
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks