ramadhan and willpower

I eat my TDEE during the night and forget about losing fat, I focus on maintaining, because going for so long during the day with no food, then not getting enough during the night, there'd be a risk of muscle tissue loss then rebound fat gain during Eid.

Also I use my inactive TDEE not my usual one, due to not exercising etc so much.

Main thing though is to be really careful what you eat at iftaar, because you'll be starving hungry and ready to overeat, and dunno where you are but where I live iftaar is all deep fried pastries and samosas and stuff that you really don't want to overeat on. So try to fill up on healthy stuff at iftaar and save the unhealthy stuff for when you don't feel hungry. Also the sunnah of breaking your fast with 3 dates and a glass of water is very important - the water and dates will help to curb your hunger before you eat iftaar.

Also for suhoor protein + healthy carbs (wholegrain) is what's going to keep you going for a long time. Steer well clear of unhealthy/processed carbs as they'll raise your blood sugar for a while then it'll crash and you'll be very hungry and possibly have other problems for low blood sugar... for the whole of the rest of the day

Ramadhan isn't too far away now!

The main problems I have during Ramadhan is lack of energy and thirst. I drink a lot of water during the day (6 pints), and this is what worries me most during the holy month. I try to drink as much as my body can take during sehri and iftar though.

Hi Everyone,

I need some advice regarding my future fitness plan.

I am a muslim which means i will be fasting for the month of ramadan starting july 20th to august 20, this means i will not be eating from sunrise to sunset, thats 19 hours...

however i do want to continue working out, what do you think if i say i want to do jillian micheals 30 day shred at 2:30 in the morning before i start fasting....i will get a chance to eat right after the workout...that way i dont slack and gain everything ive worked so hard for....is it a healthy idea

any support is welcome

don't worry about exercise in ramzan. store your energy. the best thing to do is to eat low fat at iftar and drink plenty water. if you lose weight great or atleast maintain not gain. we'll go back to exercise after ramzaan.

why eat low fat? fat keeps you fuller longer!

wont be able to sleep during the day maybe have an hours nap when I am back from work? .. But no samosa's for me.. I dont fancy fried starters straight after I like going to clean and filling main meal.. i wouldnt mind kebabs though? Grilled Chicken kebabs lol! Also feeling thirsty is the main thing i think i will struggle with .. and people eating around me lol! But we'll get through it.. I will make sure i get enough cals in.. and dont go under or over cals too much.. might do abit of walking after the nap? then prepare for iftar

Good Luck everyone! x

I am thinking of not fasting this time around. I know this is something I have not done since I was very young but I am afraid if I stop taking my regular sized meals for a month then I will lose motivation and won’t be at the top of my fitness plans. I don’t want to do this but I am just confused since it took me so long to get my act together about my fitness. Maybe I need to do other good deeds to compensate for this.

My Ramadan eating plan:

Inactive TDEE: 1600 cals - (eating for maintenance)

600 cals suhoor

600 cals iftaar

400 cals midnight snack

plus loads of water through the night.

I'm used to eating 300 cal meals (deficit: 1500 cals, 5 meals of 300 cals each!!) so this is going to be a challenge, eating 600 cals in the middle of the night before fajr time!!!!!! I'm thinking of making suhoor in a big batch and putting it in containers in the fridge, all portioned with the correct number of calories, to put in the microwave each day for suhoor. (yes I'm lazy with cooking!)

I am thinking of not fasting this time around. I know this is something I have not done since I was very young but I am afraid if I stop taking my regular sized meals for a month then I will lose motivation and won’t be at the top of my fitness plans. I don’t want to do this but I am just confused since it took me so long to get my act together about my fitness. Maybe I need to do other good deeds to compensate for this.

this seems to me to be quite an all or nothing approach, i.e. anything that stops you from being on top will sabotage you. Apologies if that's not what you meant, but that is how it comes across.

The thing is in life there will be many things that throw you from your plans or make it difficult for you. The thing that I've learned is that it isn't about how well you do when everything's going right.... it's about how you handle it when stuff comes up that gets in the way, because this is a lifelong journey and life will throw things at you that make it very hard. Ramadan is something that can potentially throw you, depending on what your goals are. Make a plan for how to keep progressing towards your goals during Ramadan, or even just (like me) plan to maintain during Ramadan then make a new plan for after Eid. My after Eid plan is to build muscle and lose fat, through a programme that involves periods of deficit for fat loss and periods of a small surplus for muscle gain (plus good training and nutrition all along). Being adaptable with plans really helps you to stay on track when life stuff gets in the way.

Look up some of the information on intermittent fasting, because with the right approach you can minimise any potential damage (e.g. preventing muscle loss while fasting).

For people who miss fasts and can't make them up there's a certain number of hungry people you have to feed for each fast, though I can't remember the details. I have to pay this due to missing fasts due to pregnancy/breastfeeding which I haven't been able to make up in the meantime (for a whole combination of reasons) you'd probably have to check the exact details.