Avoiding Weight Gain Whilst Fasting

LOL. A religion with 1.6 billion people in it isn't going to suggest something as crazy as not eating anything for 30 days. xD You can actually eat EVERY day. Just not all day long hahaha.

:laugh: I never underestimate what people will do for their faith. Plus, I at first wasn't sure if there were Muslims who observed Ramadan more strictly than others.

You can't ever underestimate people :laugh:. Religion and the need to be thin make people do crazy things haha.

The time of day or number of meals you eat has no bearing on weight loss. All you need to do is stay under your calories for the day. Further reading by someone that has more knowledge then I:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/529002-a-compliation-on-meal-frequency

Honestly, I'd recommend NOT fasting. If you're not getting any benefit out of it, why do it?

Ramadan is a religious fast observed by Muslims. It's a Very Big Deal.

I get that.
I simply don't recommend doing harm to your body, whether it be in the name of a deity or a custom or otherwise. Ultimately it's personal choice, but that's my recommendation.

Fasting sun up to sun down is not going to harm your body. OP- count your calories at night, just as you do during the day. I would suggest, if you are currently trying to lose weight to eat at maintenance for the week to give yourself some extra room to work with. It is only a short time. Whatever you do gain will be mostly water weight anyways and should come off quickly.

Try to eat your carbs/protein/fat/dairy during your morning meal (Sorry I don't know the names!) try to get in lean protein (white meat/eggs?) and fruits/veggies in at night, but not dried fruit try to stick with whole fruits & veggies.
If you can manage to not eat any meat/dairy/bread/etc at night, some studies say the body digests fruit & veggies very easily especially when eaten without any meat or bread so that can help keep the problems of going to bed after eating at bay since they are digested faster.

I don't fast, nor am I Muslim. If I did I think I'd still make and PLAN meals before you have them to ensure they are within your 1200 calorie allowence. I'd also think about getting up earlier to ensure I can get in 2 meals a day. One in the morning (early before the sun) and one as soon as it goes down.

I don't know the science behind it but a few people on here have said that it doesn't actually matter when you eat the calories as long as you get them in and dont go over them.

In England at the moment its light really early and doesn't go dark straight away so I would struggle really badly getting up before the sunrise, good luck to you

P.S. I would read up on some "intermittent fasting" articles, because tha's pretty much what you'll be doing. I think they might help!

Warda,

The only thing you can do is keep tracking and logging your foods and remain in a calorie deficit under your maintenance (TDEE). Use the fasting opportunity to your advantage. Do cardio and weight train WHILE fasted.

There are so many reasons for fasting, one of which is learning *self control*. And *respect* for things that you don't see the reason for now but might later, respect which should extend to traditions unless you see an obvious reason that the custom is degrading or destructive, which this one really isn't. There's been tons of research on the health effects of Ramadan and it's perfectly sound. I love some of the respect I see going on for other's cultures and religions here and I'm gonna ignore the people who aren't.
I've fasted for several Ramadans now and I've lost a small bit of weight each time and DID NOT gain it back, it's not a diet it's a ritual which is different.

EDIT:
I've never met anyone that felt like they didn't have a choice, because forcing someone or pushing them into fasting is actually against the religion, you have to do it because you *want* to or it doesn't count. So forcing someone to fast would be quite counter-productive to the point, never heard of anyone doing that. I know tons of Muslims that choose not to fast due to everything from health reasons to personal reasons.

Beautifully said; I'm not Muslim and am currently fasting now for my spiritual beliefs as a Christian. Fasting for the right reason is an awesome feeling! :flowerforyou:

Yes with only 1200 calories this should be easy for you to do. I would just be sure that like an earlier person expressed be sure that your morning meal consists of alot of slow burning carbs. I am new to the whole dieting thing but I know that with my body when I eat high protien meals i seem to loose more weight. So at night I would be sure to eat high protien foods. That away you will burn while sleeping vs gaining because you have had alot of sugar and carbs at night. Good luck and hope this helps.

The only thing I would add is that you may want to consider eating at maintenance or at a smaller deficit than usual (TDEE - 10%) during Ramadan if you feel that it's too hard to stay within your low calorie goal.

Honestly, I'd recommend NOT fasting. If you're not getting any benefit out of it, why do it?

Ramadan is a religious fast observed by Muslims. It's a Very Big Deal.

I get that.
I simply don't recommend doing harm to your body, whether it be in the name of a deity or a custom or otherwise. Ultimately it's personal choice, but that's my recommendation.

THIS! Religion is very dangerous to women and children. :-)

Our family does fasting as well during Ramadan but are not muslim and i find that if i ease into it before the start of Ramadan it helps. I remove sugary and fatty foods( most of the fatty foods cause i still crave it) and then i make sure we have salads and fruits to eat that have beans and nuts etc to give us our protien. Fasting is a good way to cleanse the body and helps one focus on prayer and God. there are many benefits if one chooses to see the whole person not just the body,it helps the mind, body, and spirit. if you need support add me ill be glad to fast with you for suppor

Honestly, I'd recommend NOT fasting. If you're not getting any benefit out of it, why do it?

Ramadan is a religious fast observed by Muslims. It's a Very Big Deal.

I get that.
I simply don't recommend doing harm to your body, whether it be in the name of a deity or a custom or otherwise. Ultimately it's personal choice, but that's my recommendation.

THIS! Religion is very dangerous to women and children. :-)

Children't are NOT supposed to fast before they're teenagers, and women don't have to for a week and/or if they are pregnant or sick. I love that people are interested in other cultures but it's recommended to do a three second google search before making a statement condemning/criticizing someone's religion.

Anyway, OP, my family is Muslim and what my parents do every year is eat very lightly when they first break their fast (like soup and salad or something), then they go pray and wait a little bit, like 30 minutes or so until they eat a second, larger meal. They don't go crazy with the sweets and fattening foods like a lot of people do - they just eat the same way they usually do for the most part. They basically never gain weight during Ramadan and usually they lose a few pounds, even. So it's definitely possible.

I'm not very religious and I actually skipped Ramadan last year because I was so focused on losing weight (I know, terrible), but I think I might do it this year since I'm very near goal at this point (hopefully will be at goal by then). I basically do Intermittent Fasting most of the time anyway, so it's not much of a leap. I suggest reading up on Intermittent Fasting if you want more info. Basically, if you stick to your calorie limit you will lose weight. A lot of my relatives gain weight during Ramadan but that's because they gorge themselves during the eating period. That's not healthy. In the end, calories will always matter much more than meal timing, so watch your calories and you'll be okay.