Observing a 16 hour fast can at first invoke many difficulties in balancing your daily nutrition and hydration. However, it can be used to your advantage from a body compositional perspective, depending on the food choices you make. Intermittent fasting is a popular nutritional strategy adopted by many people around the world looking to reduce body fat. This style of eating fits perfectly into the timings for Ramadan in the Middle East. The 16 hour fast, 8-hour feeding are the exact guidelines for intermittent fasting, and all you need now are these Ramadan health tips I’ve prepared to guide you.

But before we get to the tips, you have to remember that the key to your success comes down to your mindset. The 8 hours of food consumption should be looked at as nourishing your body and providing it with high quality, nutritionally dense foods that help to repair and restore. The 16 hours of fasting is a perfect opportunity to rest your digestive system, allow your liver to detoxify and provide an environment to activate your parasympathetic nervous system with prayer and meditation.

Now, let’s get to those Ramadan health tips:

Breaking the Fast

Breaking your fast will have long-standing family and cultural traditions, but can still be modified for optimized health. I would recommend you to remember not to overload your digestive system, and slowly bring your body out of its fasted state. It is important to stabilize your blood sugar levels, and not create a blood sugar rollercoaster that will result in a huge overconsumption of food later on.

Rehydrate with water and coconut water as this provides a nice supply of minerals and electrolytes whilst minimizing simple sugars. Remember your body does not need sugar. Yes, it will be craving it, but you can survive very easily without simple refined sugars (your body doesn’t physiologically need it).

Keeping with cultural traditions, dates are a great way to break your fast. Adding a large handful of mixed raw nuts will also help to stabilize your blood sugar levels. This creates an environment that is less likely to increase heightened cravings because your blood sugar levels are balanced.

Exercise and Non-Exercise Iftar Nutrition

If you are breaking the fast and not immediately exercising within (10-20 mins) I like the following:

4-6 dates
A handful of raw nuts of your choice
Water

If you are going to exercise immediately after Iftar then I like to do this:

Handful of dates
400-750 ml of water & coconut water combined
10 Grams of essential amino acids

What I don’t promote:

Consumption of fruit juices (especially orange, pineapple and apple for example). They are loaded with sugars and don’t provide the nutritional support like their fresh counterparts.
Processed, fried foods, pastries, and bread as they cause large levels of inflammation.

Post Iftar

The same principles apply when it is not Ramadan. Try and approach this as any normal meal or daily food intake. If your daily intake of calories is higher than your expenditure, then you will gain weight (body fat). If you are in a calorie deficit, then you will most likely drop body fat. This is a very simplistic view, but essentially we can look at it as a math’s equation.

If you are not exercising then you do not require as much food, so you should take this into consideration. Your metabolism is bolstered by activity, so with less activity comes fewer calories needed.

Recommended Foods

I would recommend that your main meal of the day should be filled with fresh foods. Grilled or roasted meat in plentiful amounts with large salads, greens, and as many colorful vegetables as possible would be ideal. Take light proteins such as eggs, white fish, seafood, chicken, and turkey.

The things I would suggest removing from your meal are bread, pastries, fruit juices, fried foods, soft drinks, and sweets. These items will move you further away from your body composition goals. It is ok for you to treat yourself if you have stuck to your nutritional rules for the previous few days; then a small portion of your favorite dessert is not a problem. After all these Ramadan health tips are all about balance and moving closer toward your goal, and aligning your personal choices with them. If it fits in, then proceed, if it moves you further away, then abstain.

Suhoor

Awaking just before the sun rises is an excellent way to provide supportive nutrition and hydration for your body. Typically you might be feeling tired, not very hungry, and wish to go back to bed for a few hours. This is when liquid nutrition is the most effective.

A drink/shake is made best when including protein, good fats, fiber, and water. This provides your body with a well-balanced nutrient intake. I strongly encourage you to include good fats and fiber, not just protein in your shake. This will exit your stomach at a fast rate, causing a slow release of nutrients that keep your blood sugar levels nice and constant.

Hydration

These won’t be the best Ramadan health tips if I didn’t mention hydration now, would they? The often overlooked most essential component of successful fasting is water, water, and more water. Look to rehydrate your body as frequently as possible in order to keep all bodily functions running smoothly.

Do you have any routine Ramadan health tips you’ve followed over the years? Feel free to share in the comments below.

About the Author

James Heagney is the founder and Head Coach of the exclusive D5 Gym and has worked in the fitness industry for over 15 years. The success of his concept of a “5-dimensional” approach to health led to the opening of D5, which has allowed him to pass on his D5 ethos to a wider demographic.