Ramadan Diet Plan and Weight Loss Tips for Muslims

Fasting in the month of Ramadan is mandatory upon every Muslim and Muslims all over the world make special preparations and follow proper guidelines for this Holy month. In addition to the excessive praying and Quran recitation, one other factor that is a change compared to regular life routine is the diet plan.

Healthy Ramadan tips for weight Loss

Muslims do not eat from dawn till dusk during the fast in Ramadan, which definitely is a great shift in the regular eating habits of Muslims and which makes the two meals (Suhoor and Aftar) and the time between them more than important in terms of food selection. Eating of right foods at this time can help greatly pertaining to weight loss, as during the rest of the day the body is in a state of fast. Therefore, right eating plan can be a major contributor to increasing the pace of weight loss in Ramadan.

The lines below give some general instructions pertaining to eating in Ramadan and give the kind of foods that one should eat during the meals for effective and greater weight loss.

General Instructions:

In addition to the fact that the foods one consumes during Ramadan has a direct effect on the fast a person keeps, the foods also directly affect the weight loss objective as well. Following are the general eating habits that a person needs to observe during Ramadan to aid in weight loss.

Bring Variety in Foods – The first thing that needs to be done in order to ensure that the fast is easy and that the weight loss keeps on taking place is bringing variety in the foods eaten during Ramadan. Dieting or eating a single food throughout the month is never the solution to excessive weight, rather to keep the weight loss healthy, there is the need of bringing diversity in the kind of foods a person eats. Therefore, instead of emphasizing on a single food or total deprivation of foods, one needs to keep things balanced and incorporate variety of foods in the two meals that a person has during the month of Ramadan. This way the body will be provided appropriate nutrition for the fast, in addition to aiding in weight loss.

Carbohydrates – the duration of varies from region to region, however, it generally longs from eight hours to fourteen hours in different countries of the world, therefore, there is the need of eating sufficient that helps a person go through such long period without suffering from excessive hunger. Carbohydrates being slow digesting foods are a good option in this regard, therefore, they must be made a part of Suhoor where a person can eat them in sufficient quantity and then enjoy a good fast. Moreover, carbs also ensure that the body burns fat during the fast instead of burning the muscles, therefore, they aid in weight loss by making it healthy.

Hydration – Water is an integral component to weight loss. Sufficient water helps boosting the metabolic rate, which in return burns more fats. Therefore, in order to ensure that you get through the fast without dehydration and a metabolic rate that causes more fat burn you need to drink as much water as possible at the time of Suhoor.

Avoid Fats – Usually it’s the spicy foods that are rich in fats because of the way they are cooked. Therefore, if you are on a weight loss program during Ramadan, then you need to strictly avoid the spicy foods throughout the month especially those that are cooked in oil of any kind.

Ramadan Meal Planning:

Usually in the month of Ramadan Muslims rely on two major meals which are at the time of breaking fast called ‘Iftaar’ and the second at the time of closing fast called ‘Suhoor’.  However, there are others who include the additional meal in the form of dinner as well. The lines below give the recommended foods that a Muslim on weight loss should consume during these three meals.

Iftar – At the time of Iftar, provided that you are having dinner afterwards, the foods that you need to eat must include two to three dates, a serving of juice of any fruit and a vegetable soup. All these three foods help in replenishing all the energy loss that has occurred because of fasting. The juice provides vitamins and minerals, dates provide protein whereas the soup helps sooth the stress that has occurred because of food deprivation. All these three foods are also an excellent combo for people on weight loss providing them the nutrition that they require to keep the metabolic rate high.

Dinner – Those who prefer having separate dinner instead of eating a full fledged meal in Iftar should select from a variety of foods to make their dinner more assistive to weight loss and replenish energy reserves. In this regard, you need to focus on foods containing proteins and minerals, as both these elements are necessary when it comes to losing weight without losing muscles. Moreover, both these types of foods also give boost to metabolism causing maximum calorie burn. Moreover, drinking milk with light dinner can also help the cause of healthy weight loss.

Suhoor – This predawn meal is perhaps the most important one pertaining to fasting during the month of Ramadan. For this meal to assist in weight loss as well as ensure a less hungry fast, it is imperative that it comprises of foods high in complex carbohydrates. The complex carbs are the slow digesting carbs and take longer time to digest. Therefore, by eating such foods you ensure that during the fast body has energy reserves available using, which it keeps on burning fats. Hence, complex carb foods in addition to fruits are the foods that need to be included in Suhoor meal for a good fast and weight loss.

Bottom Line:

Although the fasting along with a good diet plan are sufficient enough for weight loss in the month of Ramadan, however, if one wishes then he or she can also include a workout routine as well for greater weight loss. The workout session should be either after the Iftar or before the Suhoor meal to attain maximum weight loss benefits.