Fast=Fit or Fat?!

How many have suffered from weight gain during Ramadan? Do you struggle to maintain a healthy diet while enjoying the tastiest food during this month? And how to stick with you workout routine?

It’s not as hard as u imagine, just follow these tips to stay in shape without feeling frustrated and deprived:

• Never skip souhour: though it sounds out of question for many to wake up to eat and go back to sleep, souhour is a very important meal that will help you get through the day, it is the breakfast you are always advised to have. It doesn’t have to be a heavy meal, you can have  cereals, oats, muesli or a fruit bowl with some yoghurt  and for salty side an egg white omelette, boiled eggs or sandwich  labneh, white cheese or zaatar with veggies.

• Make the bottle of water your companion  between iftar and souhour. And fill it frequently. It is preferable over juices, even natural ones, or jallab and amareddine. If you like add some lemon juice, ginger, cucumber or cinnamon for a different taste.

•  Now we come to iftar! The general tips I can give you, are the ones I follow: start by taking the dates and some water, than indulge in your soup (broth based one, my favorite is the lentil soup to which I add some black pepper, cumin, a sprinkle of flax seeds and a teaspoon of yogurt try it and let me know what you think!) If you like finger foods (like me:p) try to have really small portions (seriously like halves of three kinds max!) and grill them instead of frying them. Then finally take the fattoush (also sprinkled with flaxseeds) with the main dish (I am not gonna preach you again to go with lighter options you know the lesson very well!) I will give you some recipes to try this month too.

• And here comes your conscience, remember it will still be summer after Ramadan so don’t mess with that shape you worked so hard to get. Yes i know you love halawet l jibn and atayef and mafroukeh among the varieties of desserts that are offered during this month, but moderation is the key! So my dears as usual satisfy you cravings with small portions and preferably not daily. So don’t be too strict and still watch out a bit. These years we have the privilege of having all the summer fruits to indulge in and refresh  any thrust so dig in!

• Finally and most importantly is when to squeeze your workout, my advice is to dedicate the last hour before iftar to your workout routine, enough will be the motivation that when you are done you will drink and indulge in the delicacies your mother is preparing in the kitchen! And to help you stick with the routine I find it very useful to follow YouTube workout videos, the best ones I recommend are Blogilates.

So this Ramadan, make the change. Profit from the opportunity to purify your body, heart and soul.

Enjoy this TED talk about the effects of fasting on your brain!

And tell me how do you manage to stay healthy in Ramadan?