How do you maintain your weight during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr?

Fasting in the blessed month of Ramadan is one of the precious opportunities to control and manage eating habits. Ramadan enables us to use this time to learn to balance the diet so that it is more healthy, as following food habits and healthy daily practices contribute to this.

However, some may not be able to be disciplined, or practice healthy habits, and this is what leads to weight gain or loss during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr, to maintain weight in this blessed month, make sure of the following

-Maintain adequate caloric intake.

-Maintain nutritional balance, and make sure to eat meals on time.

-Not eating while watching TV.

-Drink the amount of water the body needs to avoid dehydration.

-Get enough sleep and rest.

-Stay away from anxiety and stress.

-Play sports and daily activities.

However, it is also important to maintain healthy eating practices as well as daily activities to avoid losing weight during Ramadan.

One needs to eat enough calories. So what does the daily calorie need depend on?

Obtaining your daily need of calories contributes to maintaining a healthy weight that suits you, as the body needs certain calories to maintain weight steadily, as consuming more or fewer calories than necessary leads to an increase or decrease in weight respectively.

During the holy month, some people skip suhoor or iftar meals, and this leads to an insufficient nutrients and calories intake, and this is one of the most prominent mistakes that contribute to weight imbalance, whether it increases or decreases during Ramadan.

It is important to make sure to eat what you need of calories without excessive increase or decrease, to maintain a healthy weight. Recommended calorie intake varies from person to person depending on the following:

-A person’s weight and height

-Age

-Sex

-Activity level

To calculate your recommended daily calorie intake, to avoid gaining weight as a result of eating too many calories or eating too few calories and losing weight, follow the following steps:

-Calculate your basal metabolic rate, through this equation:

Men: 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5

Women: 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) – 161

After obtaining the result of the metabolic rate of metabolism, it is multiplied by a certain number according to the extent of the activity as follows:

In the event that the activity is very little: where no exercise is done at all, the metabolic rate is multiplied by 1.2 to get the daily need of calories.

If the activity is low: light exercise is done at a rate of 1-3 times per week, then the metabolic rate is multiplied by 1.37 to get the daily need for calories.

Moderate activity: moderate exercise 3-5 times a week, multiplying the metabolic rate x 1.55 to get the daily calorie requirement.

If the activity is good: intense exercise 6-7 times a week, the metabolic rate is multiplied by 1.725 to get the daily calorie requirement.

If the activity is very vigorous: intense exercise twice a day in addition to other exercises, the metabolic rate is multiplied by 1.9 to obtain the daily calorie intake requirement.

It is important to maintain the intake of calories the body needs, which contributes to maintaining weight.

Drink water

What are the sources of getting adequate amounts of water? Perhaps one of the most important elements that the body needs to carry out its vital functions is water, as the human body is 60% water. During the fasting period in Ramadan, the body can suffer from the problem of dehydration.

The body’s daily need for water can vary from person to person depending on age, gender and activity level, but the rate of what it needs Adults have 2-3 liters per day, so it is important to get enough water or fluids in the body in the period before fasting or after iftar, and dehydration that occurs can be avoided through the following:

-Drinking water in abundant quantities as it is the main factor in preventing dehydration and maintaining moisture.

-Drinking unsweetened or low-sugar juices.

-Drinking milk.

-Including soups, in suhoor or iftar.

-Eating vegetables and fruits, especially those that contain in their ingredients a good proportion of water, such as zucchini. watermelon; spinach.

Organize your meals and pay attention to their size

It is important to eat meals at the most appropriate time, as eating the Suhoor meal helps the body maintain the level of energy necessary to carry out the functions of the body during the day, as well as iftar. In your meals to obtain nutritional diversity and nourish the body with what it needs from different foods such as:

-Grains, potatoes and bread.

-Meat, fish and chicken.

-Various vegetables and fruits.

-Dairy products.

-Foods that contain healthy fats and sugar.

It is important to make sure to eat the right amount and size of various foods to get all the nutrients your body needs.

Avoid eating while watching TV

Is eating in front of the TV a really bad habit? Many people prefer eating when watching TV, as they find it fun and relaxing, but unfortunately, these are habits that lead to an increase in appetite as it may cause:

-Distraction and eating without sufficient awareness, as a result of focusing on what you see.

-Not paying attention to signs that indicate satiety, which leads to eating a lot of food.

You should avoid eating in front of the TV to avoid eating unconsciously.

Get enough sleep

How much time do we need to sleep healthy? Perhaps one of the most prominent erroneous habits and practices that occur during the holy month of Ramadan and that lead to the body’s insufficient need for rest and sleep is staying up late and lack of sleep. This causes an imbalance in the body’s ability to perform its daily tasks and disrupts metabolism, digestion and many other problems. This can lead to the following:

-Sleep patterns can contribute to affecting the hormones involved in appetite.

-Imbalance in the body’s ability to properly regulate food intake.

Inability to perform daily sports activities correctly and adequately.

According to the US National Sleep Foundation: “Adults sleep between 7-9 hours per night, athletes can benefit from 10 hours of sleep, and sleep is as important as the importance of nutrient and calorie intake for athletes.”

One of the important basis for maintaining health, a healthy weight and the ability to perform the daily tasks of the body is to get enough sleep.

Exercise

It is important to choose the right time to exercise to maintain a healthy weight, as exercising is one of the important daily practices for a healthy body and obtaining energy even during the fasting period in the holy month. Exercise carries tremendous benefits:

-Improvement of metabolism.

-Improvement of insulin resistance.

-Improvement of blood sugar levels.

-Maintaining fitness, body strength and flexibility.

Exercising contributes to improving the body’s vital processes that are important for health.

Reduce stress

It is important to stay away from stress and anxiety, as they have a major role in the physical changes that occur, whether weight gain or loss and stress has a role in the production of some hormones that leads to various changes such as:

-Changes in metabolic processes.

-Change in appetite.

Impact on a healthy weight.

Stress can affect the hormones responsible for metabolism and appetite.

Stay fit and healthy in Eid al-Fitr

Few days separate us from the blessed Eid al-Fitr, and after the end of the holy month of Ramadan, many are keen to eat many meals throughout the day, without arranging or organizing the timing of the meals, and the foods that should be eaten because they contain the various vitamins that the body needs.

Through this report, we monitor a number of nutritional advice that must be followed when eating meals after the end of Ramadan.

Tips to follow when eating meals after Ramadan

-It is necessary to avoid excessive consumption of sweets on the morning of Eid and to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet by eating dates before going to prayer.

-Excessive consumption of sweets on the morning of Eid will confuse the digestive system and cause intestinal disturbances, in addition to the fact that it may lead to severe diarrhea.

-Eat sweets, chocolates and holiday cakes, in moderation because they contain a large amount of fat, sugars and calories. Excessive intake may lead to digestive disorders and weight gain.

-You should avoid consuming coffee, or tea on an empty stomach, this leads to esophageal and stomach disorders.

-We must take into account the amount and type of foods we eat, as it is preferable to start our food on the first day of Eid by eating a small amount of food, and to increase that quantity gradually throughout the day, as well as making sure to chew food well.

-Reduce the intake of foods that irritate the stomach and increase its acidity, such as fried foods and pastries, and those that contain spices.

-Avoid eating fatty and difficult to digest foods such as thick sauces, and unripe vegetables and fruits.

-Avoid inactivity, because eating food and then sleeping directly leads to indigestion, intestinal upset and bloating.