Your Diet during Ramadan
 

When I say the word diet, I don't necessarily mean "diet" as in to lose weight, but the actual dictionary defintion of the word

"The usual food and drink of a person".



Hello/Salam to my fellow muslim and non-muslim friends!

I thought it would be a nice idea to start a thread to help each other whilst we fast during Ramadan, and give each other support and encouragement during this year's Ramadan. We can share our thoughts on certain aspects of our lives that we want to improve on and work on, on what we ate and what we got up to during the day. Maybe share what we are thankful for, even small blessings, like being able to walk -stuff like that :) Maybe everyday we can all say one thing we are thankful for.

I was just wondering if there are any other muslims out there, that will be trying to eat healthily during Ramadan.

I found this very nice and inspiring article about advice during Ramadan. Ramadan is a spirtual cleansing month not only for the soul but also for the body.
http://www.islamonline.net/english/S...article5.shtml

I know for me personally, each Ramadan I have had a tendency to over-eat after breaking my fast. But this time, I want to really practice constraint, and listen to my stomach when it is comfortably full.

I have started for the past few days, following the concept of eating slowly and stop eating when I have reached satisfaction or I am comfortably full (Paul Mckenna's golden rules). I hope to continue doing this during Ramadan.

And I once heard about the Hadith that the Prophet (pbuh) said that leave 1/3 of your stomach for water, 1/3 for air, and 1/3 for food.

I was just wondering how other muslims are going to cope during this Ramadan. I know Ramadan is not about losing weight, but I know personally for me, I would like to use this opportunity, to address my issue of gluttony and use control and constraint on what I eat. As in the past I have had a tendency to overeat and then feel uncomfortable and stuffed.

Also I will try to get in some exercise during Ramadan ,I haven't decided when I will get in the exercise, and what I will be doing exactly.

And another interesting article

http://www.crescentlife.com/spiritua...ng_ramadan.htm

{quote} Normal or overweight people should not gain weight. For overweight people Ramadan is an excellent opportunity to lose weight. Underweight or marginally normal weight people are discouraged from losing weight.

It is recommended that everyone engage in some kind of light exercise, such as stretching or walking. It's important to follow good time management practices for Ibada (prayer and other religious activities), sleep, studies, job, and physical activities or exercise.

Ramadan fasting has spiritual, physical, psychological, and social benefits; however, man-made problems may occur, if fasting is not properly practiced. First of all, there is no need to consume excess food at iftar (the food eaten immediately after sunset to break fast), dinner or sahur ( the light meal generally eaten about half an hour to one hour before dawn). The body has regulatory mechanisms that activate during fasting. There is efficient utilization of body fat, El Ati et al.(3) . Basal metabolism slows down during Ramadan fasting, Husain et al. (4). A diet that is less than a normal amount of food intake but balanced is sufficient enough to keep a person healthy and active during the month of Ramadan.

In summary, intake of a balanced diet is critical to maintain good health, sustain an active lifestyle and attain the full benefits of Ramadan. {end quote}

I wish you all a Blessed month of Ramadan. And I look forward to your posts during Ramadan, which I believe will be starting end of this week, possibly friday/saturday.

hey salaam!

great 2 see u are planning for Ramadan. I usually have gained weight during ramadan in the past because all of the good food being served is so good!! but this ramadan i'm planning to break my fast with healthier higher protein options instead of filling up on empty carbs and oily foods. i'm trying to just eat the same way but just moving around when i eat what. i definitely plan to eat something high in protein and fiber for suhur. i love ramadan! can't wait. i'll post here too

Hey Salam Caliyah! how lovely to have you join me in this thread!! thanks so much for your lovely message and your kind words!

That sounds like a great plan!

I am also planning on breaking my fast, with dates, and milk, and fruit. and then pray and then have a nice meal. :)

I cant wait too, its going to be an exciting challenge! I'm looking forward to it :)

ps well done on your weight loss so far! that is great!

thanks echo! we can do this! = ) inshA

i decided for this ramadan that samosas and fried foods are off my list until Eid! and definitely no visits to 'snackalicious cinderella falafel cafe' in new york lol it's going to be hard = / honestly...i would do the whole calorie counting and all but when it comes to ramadan cooking i can't stop at just one. i totally understand how u feel helwa.

there are some stuff that i found on ramadan/dieting etc. that i'll try to post here when i can inshallah

hugs ladies

Hey Salam Helwa! welcome !! glad to have you on board, and that is such a great idea to eat healthy during Ramadan :)

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Caliyah - hehe exactly, together we can do this!! inshaA.

oooh i love keema (meat) samosas, so yum! but yes, i will keep fried things to a minimum also!

wow that cafe sounds lovely!!

that would be super if you could post things about ramadan and dieting. thanks!! :)

:hug: :hug: to you both :)

Oh, I am soo glad I found this thread!!
I have been reading the same articles you posted about ramadan and weight management.
For me the key is to force myself to eat before Fajr (I live in montreal so it's 4:30am at my time). Eating proteins, and taking some vitamins is probably a good idea.
Then exercising is the other issue. But I read an article somewhere (can't find it again :-( that if you want to exercise then you should probably eat a small fruit and drink some water/juice then work, and then eat your meal.
But I agree with of the authors, Ramadan helps to clean your body and your mind. So we should try to use it to achieve goals (spiritual ones and physical ones). It's not easy but we will feel great at the end.
I'm excited about this thread!

Yai Salaam, I was seriously looking for a thread about Ramadan as well. My plan has been to lose 10 lbs every month and I hope I lose 10 lbs in Ramadan as well. We can share our tactics and eating habits here.

Ramadan Mubaruk to all

lol helwa - i could samosas everyday! hehe

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Miss Maya! :welcome3: so nice to have you join us!!!
I am the same as you, exercising being an issue, i really like exercising first thing in the morning. so i'm not sure how i am going to arrange my exercise around fasting, but will figure it out!
that's a really good tip about exercising after breaking your fast with fruit and water.

Aww i'm so happy you like this thread!
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Alias! :welcome2: !! so glad you found us ! 10lbs aim each month, is so awesome! I agree, we can share what we're doing during ramadan.

Khair Ramadan Mubarak.

exciting, its nearly here!!

its going to be a very good challenge for us.

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I just found out i have my viva examination on 28th of september, so i'm going to be studying/revising during ramadan, so i think i will aim to get majority of my studying done when i wake up for iftari/fajr - in the morning..., cause i might struggle later on in the day to study when i start to get hungry, as i lose concentration.

inshaAllah I hope to get God's blessing in my studies during Ramadan.

Good luck everyone!

Ramadan Mubarak!! It's been confirmed that fasting will start on saturday, for London (uk), I just printed out the time table. the first fast on saturday for london, will start at 4.06am.


http://www.ramadantimetable.co.uk/

fast 1:

Hey Salam Girls, i hope you all are doing okay.

i thought i would just update on my day so far.

i woke up early, did some exercise and then had some breakfast, I wasn't really hungry but I ate anyways.

i ate: 1 piece of toast with magarine (its a blend of olive oil spread) with some mince lamb. 1 cheese and cracker. and one very small bowl of fruit and fibre cereal and some water.

feeling abit sleepy now, but i want to study for abit, whilst i am not hungry, and then maybe take a nap later on.
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how was your morning meal? what did you girls have to eat?

ps i just wanted to share something with you girls.

i was looking for shin stretches, and would you believe it , a good stretch for shins, involves the same position, we sit in , after we prostate, ie sitting on your legs, when we are sitting down. isn't that amazing :)
prayer is not only good for the soul, but good for the physical body aswell. :) i think i once read that its good for the lymphatic system, but i will need to check that out to make sure :)

good luck everyone on your first fast.

this is a wonderful thread !

this morning our fast officially began at 4:31 AM ( i live in nyc )

so far so good im actually not hungry (yet lolz)

for breakfast this morning i had 1 paratha 1/2 cup dahi yogurt (seasoned with salt and cayane pepper ) (channa and cucumbers in the yogurt) a peach and a xl cup of tea ... (1/4 cup milk 2% milk 2 tbs sugar )

im afraid of doing excersize in the morning incase i feel sick during the day i plan to do 2 miles walking tonight and keep it up 3x a week ( its not as much as i usually do but i want to see how i do with that first )

LOLZ @ chubby chick only liking samosas during ramadaan ,

my aunt that we usually break our fast with lives in jackson heights ( its an indian neighboorhood in NY, TONS of resturaunts ) ..... i hope i have what it takes to pass kabab king without buying anything unnessicary ......

they make the best chicken tikka massala .... :(

i really really hope that i find the strength to not eat like crazy when fast breaks i keep on telling myself that is not how allah intended the fast to go .... and that its gluttonus so far i think thats had an impact on how i see the breaking of the fast ... ive never really considered that when i break my fast and eat like crazy that defeats the whole purpose of the fast ....

thanks for the great thread its great to have other ppl to talk to on this subject ....


ramadaan muhbarak ladies

-khuda hafiz

awww thanks so much! so glad you found us and joining in!! :hug:

your morning meal sounds very good and yummy! and wow i love chicken tikka masala myself!!

you are so right, about not eating crazy when breaking fast hehe. you're so right in that it defeats the purpose, i am more aware of it now. it definately helps to talk about it, to keep remining myself too.

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