One of the hardest tasks is to gather information about what to eat and how to train during Ramadan, and since I met Dr. Bader Al-Shibani for an interview about his Doctors for Humanity organization, who happens to be a fitness and nutrition expert, I thought “hmmmm this could turn into a great reference article for this Ramadan and future ones to come”.

So let’s get those Q&As rolling:

Q: What are the best training times during Ramadan?

A: Let me first set the stage, we will take a normal average case, then readers can build their thought over this model. Let’s say the last meal you would have had would be Suhour, somewhere between 4 to 5AM, After that usually people would sleep till 9AM where they will wake up for work, then they would stay awake for more then 8 hours with no food and no water.

Now what happens in the bodies physiology is that carbs in our food converts to Glycogen, which gives us temporary fuel for the next 4 to 5 hours, if the body runs out of it, then it will reserve to fat or even muscle tissue to fuel its self.

So if you want to train, you want your body to use glycogen to burn instead of your muscles. If you train early in Ramadan somewhere around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, you will finish your workout and continue to be fasting till sunset where you can have breakfast, in this case the body will break the muscle tissue down, and when it tries to rebuild it with Nutrients, it won’t find any available, so your body will use your muscles as fuel.

To loose weight we recommend that people do light exercises half an hour to an hour before breakfast.

Q: What type of cardiovascular exercise would you recommend for people who want to loose weight during Ramadan?

A: Oh this is an extensive topic, that we need to shed more light on in another Q&A, but let me cover it up really quick. You see when someone wants to workout they would go out, buy the outfit, the shoes, and start walking or jogging, a week later he or she would notice that they lost a couple of kilos, another week passes by and more losses, but as we get into the third or fourth week the body will stop losing weight, since it got used to this system it stops responding to it, you want to loose weight yet the body want to preserve the energy (fat), so it will calculate your activity and instead of spending too much energy to do the walking or jogging or even pumping your heart, it will spend just enough to get them done and stop, so it would stay in its safety Zone. Now the right way of doing it, is trying to fool your body every 2 to 3 weeks by changing the whole workout system you’re using, or using interval workout routines.

Q: In my case, I do my weight lifting, then once am done, I move on to my cardio workout, but in Ramadan, by the time you’re done lifting you won’t have any energy left in you, so should I skip cardio?

A: If you are doing fast light lifting, then you can skip cardio, since you’re burning calories in the process. So go low weight, more repetitions, higher speed. and minimum rest between sets.

Q: Would that work for a person who wants to build up his body?

A: No, in this case, if you need to shed some water and fat, and build mass, you can do your cardio half an hour before breakfast, then after having your dinner you can do your heavy lifting, since you will have all the energy and pump you need. I never recommend any one to do heavy lifting while fasting.

Q: But in most cases, people would get so bloated after breakfast and dinner they won’t be able to even exercise. Why is that?

A: Because some people don’t know how to break their fast properly in Ramadan, imagine waking up in a normal morning, would you sit to have breakfast, lunch and dinner all at the same time? Of course not, you will have something light for breakfast, then lunch, and then dinner. Unfortunately that is not the case in Ramadan, people want to eat everything at once, oh and with a lot of simple carbs, which helps in making you feel drowsy and sleepy because of the quick sugar-rush you get once they enter the body.

What I recommend is sticking with the Sunna, by having dates and water, these are one of the greatest simple carbs, they will inject the needed glucose into your bloodstream, after that finish your prayers, then you can come back to have something with carbs and protein, like soup with pieces of meat or chicken, which is warm and easy on the Stomach. If you crave for Sambosa or dessert, don’t go crazy on them, three would be enough whether pieces or spoons. Because this amount is what gives you the taste and flavor, anything more is filling your stomach.

Q: So after all that, when should you hit the gym?

A: Depends, if you eat a light breakfast, you can head to the gym within an hour, or you can have a heavier dinner and come after Taraweeh prayer. In my case I like doing my workout right before Suhoor.

Q: What are the best sources of nutrients to have in Ramadan?

A: Let’s start with carbohydrates, there are simple and complex, you need the simple carbs on breakfast to supplement the body with the needed sugars since it was in starvation mode, so you can have some sweets, Sambosa, or even juices for breakfast.

On the other hand complex carbs are preferred at Suhoor, since you need to sustain the energy once the body switches back to starvation mode, or fasting. You can get them from pasta, or oatmeal. Always try to avoid simple carbs during Suhoor, and salty or fried foods.

Now concerning proteins, you will need lots of them after Taraweeh prayers, or even for Suhoor.

Q: How about you give us an hourly plan for Ramadan?

A: In Islam it is better to have an early breakfast and a late Suhoor, so the first step is to follow the Hadith, that helps narrowing the gap between them. I am against the idea of having an early Suhoor, since your body will have a longer time to cover into starvation mode. After that you should plan your meals every three to four hours accordingly and stick to the explanation I mentioned about types of carbs and protein intakes. So you can have a meal after Taraweeh, then another one at 12 or 1AM, get some sleep, then wake up for Suhoor as the last meal for the day. With this system you can build your body and loose fat.

Q: What if we have a case where someone built this great massive body and they want to maintain it during Ramadan?

A: My advice in a case like this is to control your movements, try not to do any activity if it is too hot outside, and stay in air-conditioned environment.

Q: Last question, I can’t stop. What about “Fool” (Fava beans), you know many people like to eat “Fool” during Ramadan, so can we consider it as a good source of protein?

A: I have a simple theory, if the source of protein doesn’t have a face, it’s not protein. Now I am not saying it’s bad, it is an extra, but I don’t count it.

The last thing I want to add, is that Ramadan is a good time to loose some weight, do light exercises like walking before breakfast, and try to control what you eat. You can have sweets or dessert but with moderation, two to three pieces won’t hurt you. and try substitute sugars if you can, and go light on salt.