Ramadan, you and your health

Ramadan, you and your health

Alhamdulillah the glorious month is here again. The month to reap multiple rewards and gain nearness to Allah.  Although it’s a month of losing sins, we can still make it a month of losing weight and getting used to healthy eating habits.

Ramadan is when you can potentially lose a lot of muscle tone and hinder your fitness goal. You don’t have to spoil all the hard works you have been doing all this while. You should understand your goal and be realistic.

With Ramadan, you can learn how to manage your eating habits, improve self-control and discipline.

Ramadan, you and your health

Normally, the body enters into a fasting mode 8 hours after the last  meal, when the gut finishes absorption of nutrients from the food.

In the normal state, body glucose which is stored in the liver and muscles is the body’s main source of energy.

However, during a fast, the stored glucose is used up first to provide energy. Later in the fast, once the stored glucose runs out, fat becomes the next stored source of energy for the body. As Ramadan fast only extends from dawn till dusk, there is ample opportunity to replenish energy stores at pre-dawn and dusk meals.

This provides a progressive gentle transition from using glucose to fat as the main source of energy and prevents the breakdown of muscle for protein. The use of fat for energy aids weightloss, preserving the muscles and in the long run reduces your cholesterol levels.

After a few days of the fast, higher levels of a certain hormone called endorphins are released resulting in a better level of alertness and an overall feeling of general mental well-being.

To benefit maximally from this month and improve your health, here is my advice:

  • Your meals must contain adequate level of energy food such carbohydrates and healthy fats to prevent muscle breakdown.
  • Meals should be simple and not different from your everyday diet.
  • Your diet should contain complex carbohydrates that will help release energy slowly during the long hours of fasting. Consider eating foods such as oats,  wheat, millet,  beans and  lentils for this purpose.
  • Also consider fibre rich foods such as grain, wheat, potatoes, vegetables, because they are digested slowly.
  • Avoid heavily processed fast burning foods that contain refined carbohydrates. These foods come in form of sugar, white flour, cakes, chocolate etc.
  • Avoid too much fatty foods.
  • Stay away from caffeine as it stimulates faster water loss through urination.

What you should eat

For the pre-dawn meals, chose slow digesting foods that are filling and provide energy for many hours. Examples of such foods are:

  • Sweet Potato
  • Brown rice
  • Ofada rice
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Oat
  • Banana

Bananas are high in potassium. A banana at this  time can control your thirst level throughout the day.

Other sources of potassium  are

  • Milk
  • Dates
  • Avocados
  • Dried peaches
  • Pistachios
  • Pumpkin
  • Peas
  • Dark chocolate

Balance your food and water fluid intake. This is very vital. You should take lots of water between Iftar and Suhoor. Drinking enough water at Suhoor is important, but not as much as drinking it throughout your non-fasting hours.

Now to break your fast, (Iftar), consider the following foods:

  • Dates, because they are refreshing and provide the energy you need.
  • Fruits in form of juices and smoothies should also be included.
  • Meals at Iftar should also be light. This will help you to remain alert for the Tarawih prayers.
  • You may have desserts after Tarawih prayers.
  • You may also decide to have cups of tea but avoid meals very close to bedtime.

May Allah accept our fasts.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions concerning your diet and fitness routines. Also, go here to download a free meal plan I designed to ease your eating options this month.

RAMADAN MUBARAK FROM ALL OF US AT SLIM FIT U SOLUTIONS.

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How to reduce calorie intake without starving

Calories in nutrition are likened to consuming energy through eating and drinking. This implies that anything you eat as food or fluid, aside water, contains calories. You should be aware of what you eat, so as to avoid negative health implications such as:

  • Hormonal disorders
  • Weight gain
  • Overall health risk as well as elevated triglycerides,
  • Breathing problems,
  • Diabetes
  • Coronary artery disease, etc.

Calories are essential to human health but the key is taking the right amount of it. If you consume just the number of calories your body needs each day, you will enjoy a good and healthy life. Health authorities have come up with calories requirement for men and women. They are around 2700 and 2000 per day for men and women respectively.

The fact remains that high calorie intake poses some health risk, and people undeniably are making efforts to control it which have resulted into starving for some individuals. Starving on its own is not good for the body system.

Here are some healthy ways you can reduce calorie intake without starving

Eat fewer carbohydrates

This category of nutrient is the main source of added calories in a typical diet. It is a good place to start cutting calories. Cut down carbohydrates filled foods such as yam, garri, bread, pasta and trans fat from your diet. The body stores excess calories from these foods as fats which leads to weight gain and subsequently, weight gain related ailments. Endeavour to replace them with oily fish, nuts, seeds, vegetables, plant based oil and sesame.

Always drink plenty of water

Drinking water before you eat is a trick that will make you feel full, resulting in the consmuption of little food when you eat. Water also increases the amount of calories you burn. It is more impressive to note that cold water intake makes the body use extra calories to warm the water up to body temperature and this can drastically help in calories reduction.

Eat more protein

Eating more protein filled food than carbohydrates is the way to go in calorie reduction. If you replace carbs and fat with protein, you can actually reduce the hormones which boost hunger and cravings for more food and calories. So a maximum boost of satiety hormones, will lead to a major reduction in hunger, which means less intake of calories.

Workout

Exercise is the best bet to help you cut down on calories. If you eat excess calories, you should expend them with exercise. You may feel lazy to do aerobics and other strenuous exercises but simple movements such as cleaning the house, walking around your neighbourhood, and taking the stairs can go a long way in helping you expend energy. The most important thing is to get your heart pumping and breaking a sweat to burn significant amount of calories.

If you like this article, you will also like our weightloss challenge where we encourage you to lose 5kg in 15 days through healthy lifestyle modifications. Join us here.

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