Fasting for Ramadan...

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jtoz88
jtoz88 Posts: 9
in Food and Nutrition
So I don't know how many people on MFP are Muslim and actually observe Ramadan, but I thought I would give this a shot... Anyone else is welcome to throw in their two cents, of course...

Anyway, I've been fasting over the past week, but this is the first time that I've done it while restricting my calories to start with. I pretty much decided that any heavy exercise would be out of the question because I'd be too fatigued. I still drink water because of issues with certain medications.

My problem is that I've already lost nearly 4 lbs. in one week, and I don't want this to turn into an unhealthy trend. Even when I eat high calorie foods for sahur and iftar, I still fall way below my net calories for the day.

So I guess what I'm looking for is a healthy balance. Does anyone have any insight in observing the fast without putting your body into starvation mode? Or is it just impossible?

Thanks in advance. :)

Replies

  • SeanC86
    SeanC86 Posts: 88
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    I'm currently stationed in Afghanistan, and a lot of my translators are fasting over Ramadan. They said there isn't really much you can do to not lose some weight. Some of them say eating lots at nights helps counter-act the weight loss, but it's likely to cause you go gain weight in my experience. Here, they're fasting from 3:30am til about 7pm... so over 14 hours where they don't eat. In all honesty, to be safe, I wouldn't suggest working out during the day. Perhaps at night after you've had some food. Maybe eat something small after sundown, work out, and then eat a little more after that and you work up an appetite. Hope some of this helps.
  • demure_poetic
    demure_poetic Posts: 73
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    part of the point is to starve all day thats what we are supposed to do... that alone may cause the numbers on the scale to drop.... some sya you can gain if you over eat at night.... your going to feel restless no matter what, exercise so far has been okay on me...just started well see how it continues... if you feel like you are more than usual hungry and thirsty because of the exercising or restricting calories than stop... we aren't supposed to over eat though anyways, so don't do that either .... experiment and see how it goes for you....i plan to exercise everynight eat healthy breakfast lots of water for thirst and health reasons...and try to control myself at iftar time... if it doesn;t work out ill ease up a bit...godluck!

    edit : and oh ...don;t work out in the day!! you will wan't to drink water! do it at night after you eat and pray
  • helenium
    helenium Posts: 546 Member
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    I'm not Muslim myself, but with half my family from Turkey & several Muslim friends...

    From what I've gathered when my friends observe the fast, they do tend to put on weight from the large post-sunset meals. I'm guessing because it's the middle of summer it's harder to eat enough after sunset because it is so late (assuming you're in the Northern hemisphere atm). Perhaps you can fry foods with more oil, and drink more calories in the evening - small things that increase your calorie intake. My friends seem to manage to put on weight - so I think you should be able to manage to have a 1200+ calorie meal in the evening. A tablespoon of oil is 119 kcals, so try to incorporate more fried foods?

    Sorry I'm not more helpful (I'm atheist so don't observe the fast)!
  • jtoz88
    jtoz88 Posts: 9
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    In all honesty, to be safe, I wouldn't suggest working out during the day. Perhaps at night after you've had some food. Maybe eat something small after sundown, work out, and then eat a little more after that and you work up an appetite. Hope some of this helps.

    I personally thought it would be better to not work out entirely. I don't eat tons and tons of food for my meals. It's really just enough to get me through the day. But thanks, I will keep that in mind!
  • jtoz88
    jtoz88 Posts: 9
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    part of the point is to starve all day thats what we are supposed to do... that alone may cause the numbers on the scale to drop....

    Oh, I know that, but I guess I mean there's a difference between feeling hungry during the day and literally STARVING my body... I'm trying to prevent the latter. But thank you, sister, that makes a lot of sense. :)
  • jtoz88
    jtoz88 Posts: 9
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    I'm not Muslim myself, but with half my family from Turkey & several Muslim friends...

    From what I've gathered when my friends observe the fast, they do tend to put on weight from the large post-sunset meals. I'm guessing because it's the middle of summer it's harder to eat enough after sunset because it is so late (assuming you're in the Northern hemisphere atm). Perhaps you can fry foods with more oil, and drink more calories in the evening - small things that increase your calorie intake. My friends seem to manage to put on weight - so I think you should be able to manage to have a 1200+ calorie meal in the evening. A tablespoon of oil is 119 kcals, so try to incorporate more fried foods?

    Sorry I'm not more helpful (I'm atheist so don't observe the fast)!

    Ah, that's too funny! My family is Turkish, too :D

    But yeah, it is quite difficult because by the time we're finished eating and praying, it's almost bedtime, haha. We eat a lot of rice and grains, really bready foods and lots of cheese... Meat is usually beef, lamb, or fish. Frying seems like a good idea, though. I'll have to see about that. Thanks for the suggestion!
  • iamhealingmyself
    iamhealingmyself Posts: 579 Member
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    I'm not Muslim but have friends who are and have been very interested in Islam overall. I decided I wanted to participate in the fast this year after being an observer for the last 3. I break fast at home so I don't have to worry about the assorted foods and ingredients of Iftar although my friend did bring me some chicken and lamb from Mosque last weekend (YUM!). View my diary to see what I eat and still manage to get 1200-1500 calories. I don't recommend frying foods. Yes it will add calories but you can do so much better for your body. Nuts are a good high calorie food and will give you essential fats instead of those that will promote heart disease. Overeating at night is not good for your system either and that's what I'm facing. By the time I break fast (after 8pm) I'm ready for bed since my day starts normally at 5am anyway. I'm not presently working out due to medical conditions so that's not a factor for me, but I would agree with moving your workout time to when you can drink water if you want to continue to exercise. Of course, you could change your workout to just walking. This way you're still moving but not putting as much stress on your body. Remember the benefit of not eating during the day is to allow your body time to heal and focus on things other than digesting food. Don't over tax your system by trying to work out on top of this. Give yourself some time to rest and recover and just focus on your food choices. Everything else will fall into place soon enough.

    "Ramadan Mubarak!"

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