I am pretty excited, this will be the first Ramadan that I will participate in.
I converted or reverted (as some say) to Islam during Ramadan 2011 (August 18th, 2011) Alhamdulillah.

As-Salaamu Alaykum sis,
i did use mfp last Ramadan and i lost about 14lbs. i did exercise. i would usually wait until it about the time to break fast, so i would only do about 10-15 min of workout then i could drink water because it was time to break fast, and with that i did not much during iftar because of the water and not having much of an appetite. but i did not go without eating though, i would just eat pretty light. i won't e able to do that this yr. i am 23wks preggo.

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatallah wa barakathu.

Last Ramadan I was counting calories but hadn't discovered MFP yet. I wasn't as strict on myself as usual and didn't exercise but still lost two or three kilos. My hubby likes exercising directly before iftar and I've got to agree with him on timing. This year inshallah I'll be sticking to my calorie goals and maybe doing exercise or maybe not depending on other responsibilities. I'll be aiming directly for health inshallah rather than weightloss though.

Here is a repost from a Muslim fitness blog

This year, I want do much more healthier plan for Ramadhan, the fasting month. So, after a trial-and-error, evaluations, researches and observations (haha, sounds as if I'm doing a scientific documentation), I've come up with a plan that hopefully will give me good benefit for both spiritual and physically My plan contains three groups - Sleep (my most problematic area in my life!), Meals and Workout:


#1 Sleep: 6 hours/21:30 to 03:30
- I need at least 6 hours non-stop, no-suddenly-awake-in-the-middl
e sleep to get fully rested body and mind. So, as at night, I'll go to Terawih prayers that ends at around 9pm and I want to wake up very early to do extra voluntary prayers and Sahur (meal before fasting), I should be go to sleep at latest 21:30hrs and wake up as early as 03:30hrs.


#2 Meals: Twice light-to-medium meals, A Snack, 2 litre Water
- It's quite tricky for meals during Ramadhan month as I don't want to choke while eating for my pre-fast meal, trying to finish before the fast time starts and when I break my fast, I don't want to eat as if it's my last meal on earth or worse, I don't want to eat because loss of appetite (this always happened when I fast!). And the time between breaking the fast and Terawih prayers always feel so short, it's like triple-pressure of eating my meal for breaking the fast and at same time don't want to eat too fast. Hmm, what to do, what to do. So, this is when portion control comes knocking:
- For meals before and after fasting: Need to be light-to-medium (no need for heavy meals as in Ramadhan, the body sort of knows how to conserve the fuel, hehe).
- Snack: Between Terawih prayers and sleep, such as fruits, oat or wholewheat biscuits and a nice warm glass of milk.
- 2 litre Water: Drink (not gushing at once) 500 ml to 1 litre of water (if I wake up at 3:30am, should be enough time and no problem of feeling too much water in the belly). Drink the rest of water goal after I break my fast. Sometimes I can drink up to 3 litres on fasting days, it's all about timing, hehe.


#3 Workout: Daily 10 minutes light-to-medium cardio, 3x Strength with weight/resistance, Daily pilates
- Conserve energy but I still want to do workout, hmm, a challenge, eh? Luckily, I have make some experiments before this, hehe. And if doing at one time is too much, I can split up the workout throughout the day (but not nighttime!).
- Cardio: 10 minute of medium-intensity cardio daily
- Strength: This will be exercises with or without weight/resistance, three times weekly.
- Pilate: This will be light exercises and was recommended by my trainer to do daily to strengthen my core and my flat back.

So, to summarize everything:
- Sleep: 6 hours/21:30 to 03:30
- Meals: Twice light-to-medium meals, A Snack, 2 litre Water
- Workout: Daily 10 minutes light-to-medium cardio, 3x Strength with/without weight/resistance, Daily pilates

Should be fun and fasting isn't hard and scary, still can be healthy and robust on Ramadhan!

it just hit me that Ramadan is only a week away.

thank you for the advice, i am also going to try to follow the routine.

my challenge for Ramadan will be resisting sweets.

I'm also the same as Sheilah!! First Ramadan for me ;ooooo;
That plan for Ramadan looks really really good.
So... Light eating, making the best of sleep hours...
I don't think I'll do exercise this year during Ramadan... Probably going to feel too stressed in the first few days going 'but is my body okay without water during the day? am I getting tired?' etcetc >.<;;;;