anyone fasting for the month of ramadaan

I'm not but my good friend at work is. I try to be as encouraging as possible by not talking about food while he's fasting.

it i just a misconception of people saying that they find Ramadan as an opportunity to lose weight. like i said in my earlier post as well, ramadan is not at all meant to focus on losing weight. helooo people, it has much greater significance and importance. we need to focus on spiritual things and purify ourselves and ask for forgiveness from Allah for all our bad deeds in this holy month since Allah accepts our forgiveness in this holy month much much more than any other month.

A fellow asked about people who cannot go without eating due to problems such as diabetes. Allah is not strict in any manner. So, fasting is not obligatory on people who cannot afford to keep it. if someone has logical and authentic reason for not fasting, then he she is not obliged to do so. and if anyone refrains from fast just for some fake reasons, they should know that Allah knows us inside out and HE knows everything best!

as far as healthy eating is concerned, yes, people in my culture (i m from Pakistan) do eat foods which are not much healthy. but yet again, moderation is preferred. and once u get used to healthy eating, trust me, you cannot eat oily and such fat rich foods at all. So, it varied from culture to culture regarding food choices during ramzan. but if we look into what Allah has said, there is no such literature which says that at Iftar time (the time for braking the fast) you should eat unhealthy and oily foods.

Islam appreciates moderation in every case!

for now, since Ramadan has started, Happy Ramadan to all the mfp's here! stay blessed!

great post!

But I have question about dates? I put in "madjool dates" in my food calculator which are staple for month of Ramadan but the calories were off the charts.

Should we eat dates in moderation? The sugar is really high too.

they are full of natural sugars. The sunnah is to eat 1 or 3 and drink water to break your fast. After a day's fasting your body needs the sugar, the dates + a glass of water, then praying, before sitting down to eat iftaar... this gets some sugar into your system quickly after you finish fasting and also may help stop you from overeating at iftaar. IMO 1 or 3 dates is moderation. i.e. it's 1 or 3, not the whole pack. For suhoor and iftaar eat heatlhy meals, you don't need to make dates part of these.

lol at the not eating the whole pack of dates. Dates are yummy. Any of my muslim brothers and sisters are welcome to add me, and anyone else for that matter. Would love to discuss food ideas during this holy month. Ramadam Murbarak everyone!

I'm fasting too, day 6 just finished, its an 18 hour fast here in Ireland but its not going too badly! I usually do gain weight during Ramadan but this year I'm just trying to maintain my weight more than anything - if I could just not gain any extra I'd be delighted! I do find though that as I break my fast at around 9.45pm and fajr is at 3.30am, its very hard to fit in any exercise, so I'm just trying to control my intake..

My main efforts so far have been centred around controlling portion size.. I always find that I can eat a lot less than I think I'll eat before iftar so the first few days were experimenting, but now I've found my exact portion size and only cook that much - I eat alone so its easier to control! I break my fast with a date, a glass of orange juice, a glass of water and some vegetable soup. I find this helps my body adjust to food again and then when I come back to my main meal, I try to eat slowly and stop immediately when I'm full. I eat one chicken breast stir-fried in some sauce or another with 4 spoons of rice, and usually that's more than enough. I then leave the table and IF I'm hungry later or really craving something sweet, I try to stick to fruit for dessert. Tonight I gave in and had a slice of apple cake though! And I try to drink at least 2 pints of water before bed!

I've no idea if this is working or not, will weigh myself at the weekend again to see the damage but fingers crossed And I came across this article today that some of you might be interested in:

http://www.lebootcamp.com/weightloss_au/article/index/category/0/id_news/139

Oh, and Ramadan mubarak everyone And even if you do gain weight this month, its definitely not the end of the world - this month is about so much more than the number on the scale!

Ramadan is half way over and I haven't gained any weight or lost any weight. Trying to eat healthy but watching portion sizes. I do miss my pool time and working out.

Ramadan Mubarak! I hope everyone has a lovely Eid!!!