Maintaining Fitness during Ramadan – Everything You Need to Know - Leading Dietitian

People seeking fitness in Dubai often experience a major challenge, which is to stay fit during the month of Ramadan.

I have a lot of clients from Dubai who keep asking me how to meet their energy levels and stay absolutely fit while fasting a month during Ramadan.

I thought there will be a lot of other people in a similar situation. Hence, I am sharing this post to let all of you know and stay fit while fasting during Ramadan.

As most of you reading this post must be aware, Ramadan is the Holy month in Dubai, where millions of Muslims across the world fast uninterruptedly for the entire month.

As a result, many people get scared or concerned about losing or putting muscle mass, simply by consuming wrong things at incorrect timings or overeating during fasting.

To help such people, here I share some top tips that you must take into consideration.

Maintain an Appropriate Level of Fitness

To stay fit, it is wise to stay active. But this does not mean you must emphasize losing weight or become stronger.

It is best to make a goal to avoid overeating or extreme dieting. At the same time, try to maintain your existing body weight.

Even while eating, make sure to pick healthy choices.

Workout Only When it is the Best Time

When you are fasting, make sure you don’t exert yourself. It is because the same can lead to dehydration.

Hence, some of the best times to workout are:

After or before Iftar, which is the meal consumed to break the fast.
After Taraweeh or dinner time
Before beginning your fast, which is before Suhoor.

Exercises to Follow

In order to maintain fitness in Dubai during the month of fasting, it is vital to reduce the intensity of the workout.

It is highly important to continue and maintain the proper fitness level in Ramadan. The easiest way to do is by reducing the intensity of workout.
For runners or walkers, it is best to reduce the walk or run time to half. Moreover, avoid practicing heavy lifting or doing a high-intensity workout while you are fasting.
Light cardiovascular exercises are perfect to do. It involves light jogging, walking, and other forms.
If you love yoga then you can practice it to burn calories. Body balance and pilates are other forms ideal to improve stamina and maintain a healthy body weight.
For those who exercise in sets, it is best to reduce the number of repetitions. Increase the time to rest between each set so that you don’t lose out energy.
Try doing short workouts in Ramadan. For example, if you work for one hour you must reduce it to 30 minutes now.

How Long You Must Work out?

In order to maintain proper fitness during Ramadan, you must try exercising in short intervals and many times a week.

The best way to go is exercise on alternate days and take rest on any one of the days. Always plan ahead of time and know-how you can work out and commit the same.

Make sure you stick to moderate weight lifting and practice doing only light exercises.

Eating and Drinking During Ramadan

It is vital to consume enough protein even when you are fasting. Consume enough chicken breast, beans, pulses, eggs, and lean meat. They are rich sources of proteins and carbohydrates. Hence, they will keep you full longer.

Moreover, hydrate often. For this, you must drink plenty of water and avoid drinking salty, carbonated, and sugary drinks. It is because consuming such drinks will make you thirsty.

Finally, stay away from fatty and fried foods. It is better to consume wholesome meals.