Go from Fat to Fit this Ramazan!

Finally the holy month of Ramazan is around the corner. It’s that special time of the year where our divinely-ordained worship blossoms into a beautiful month of passionate devotion, rigorous spiritual purification, profound remembrance, unshakable inner serenity, and selfless compassion.

Here I am going to discuss various physiological and lifestyle changes that will help you to stay fit in Ramazan. Intend that this Ramazan of yours will not be a food festival but one that will get you in shape, In sha Allah! Remember Ramazan is all about ‘fast’ and not ‘feast’.

Here are some points to be taken care of in Ramazan if you want to stay fit and lose weight in a healthy way:

1. Give priority to Ibadat and not cooking: Ramzan is all about fast and prayers to get closer to Allah. We fast for the sake of Allah so it is not important for me personally to reward myself with luxurious exceptional meals, when my true rewards are already written down with Allah. So this Ramazan lets enhance ourselves spiritually and let the food concerns be the same as it’s throughout the year.  
2.  Wake up early for suhoor/sehri: you have only 5min to Fajr and you eat as fast as you can. Does anyone relate to this? Just try to wake up early and have your meals slowly in morning. Don’t just binge anything unhealthy, have a meal to give you a kick start and energy throughout the day. Don’t skip the suhoor meal.  
3. Follow the golden rule: We all know this hadith of our beloved Prophet “A human being fills no worse vessel than his stomach. It is sufficient for a human being to eat a few mouthfuls to keep his spine straight. But if he must (fill it), then one third of food, one third for drink and one third for air.” Follow this rule of Prophet and you will not gain weight and feel energetic throughout. Fasting has numerous physiological benefits and supports weight loss by giving you an opportunity to re-evaluate your meals and improve your eating patterns.  
4. Workout: Fasting is not an excuse to exercise. Try working out atleast 5times a week for atleast 20minutes either before suhoor or after maghrib prayers. No intense or heavy weight lifting workout but only cardio or brisk walking.
   
   
5. Practice mindful eating: Many of us don’t consider what we eat in iftar but it’s very important to have healthy and nutritious meals as your body is in anabolic condition by fasting for more than 14hours. So avoid those greasy and oily foods which make you lazy and tired in Tarawih prayers and just opt for right food.
   
6. Eat this not that: Try to avoid fried, greasy, sugary, salty and processed food items (pakoda, samosa, cakes, sweets, pasta, ice ceram, desserts, baked items etc). You can cheat once a week but just have one third portion of what you eat normally. Eat nonveg which are shallow fried or grilled or made in tandoor. Indulge yourself in variety of fruits, vegetables, soups and salads. Break your fast with weight loss foods that are high in fiber and protein that will stabilize your blood sugar, kill hunger & prevent overeating. Avoid sodas, salty food, tea or coffee which make you dehydrated and feel thirsty.
   
   
7. Fasting benefits: During a fasting state when your fuel starts to run on empty, your body begins producing hormones which naturally target your fat and energy stores and begin slowly burning them throughout the day to keep you going. Allah has given you an incredible body that keeps you constantly monitored on energy and sugar levels. That’s as natural as you can get with automatic weight loss. You will be burning more body fat during fasting days versus non-fasting days, because intermittent fasting allows the body to use fat as its primary source of energy, instead of sugar. Fasting gives your digestive system a rest, and this can boost your metabolism to burn through calories more efficiently.
    
8. Stay hydrated: Drink 2litres of water daily.
   · Two glasses at iftar (the breaking of the fast)
   · Four glasses in between iftar and suhur (the meal before the fast) - not more than one glass per hour
   · Two glasses at suhur
   Don’t drink too much at a time it will make you feel bloated   Now or never diet plan for Ramzan:
   
   
   
    
   * Protein shake or smoothies like bluberry/ strawberry /banana /apple /orange /pineapple smoothie, yogurt almond and flaxseed smoothie, cucumber apple and mint shake, spinach mint celery pineapple smoothie, oats and carrot smoothie, Carrot orange drink, fig walnut drink much other recipies are available online. Choose your favourite ones.
   
   
   Ramzan Mubarak to all. 
   Stay fit, stay healthy, stay motivated!!