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Weight Loss & Health Issues in Ramadan (Ask a Fitness Trainer)

Timea Aya Csányi
12 May, 2019

Salaam `Alaykum dears brothers and sisters,

We would like to thank you for joining us in this Counseling Live Session.

We would like also to thank our counselor, sister Timea for answering the questions.

Thursday, May. 16, 2019 | 13:00 - 14:00 GMT

Session is over.

What shall I eat for sohoor? I feel my stomach is puffed up all the time. I usually eat either cereal with fruits, or 2 eggs with vegetables.



Salam Aleikom,

Thank you for writing to us.

You can find many materials for how to eat in Ramadan. I am going to just highlight some I find important and relevant to your problem.

The problem you describe indicates an issue with your digestion. Your stomach has problems digesting the food you have eaten. Do you feel it is your sohoor that causes you these problems? Maybe you eat something for iftar that cause these problems.

 

Take care of the amount

How much do you eat for iftar and sohoor? Try eating little portions and not all at once. And try to avoid very heavy, oily food, or food with lots of sugar. Keep it simple and healthy. Eat slowly.

Or maybe is it that you eat too much vegetables, too much fruits? These food are full of fibers that might cause you a puffed up stomach. While they are healthy and good to dugest the food, too much of it can cause you the problem you have.

 

Test

Maybe your stomach does not like a certain type of food. Test which food might cause you this problem. For the next few days, try to eat cereal, and see how things are. Then eat eggs with vegetables, and see how your body reacts. Try eating only eggs without vegetables, or the opposite. Or maybe it is one particular type of vegie that causes problems. Lentils, for example, are known to cause this trouble with your stomach.

 

Sleep

How do you sleep during Ramadan? Do you stay awake all night or do you sleep right after eating? Your stomach needs time to digest (especially if you filled it with plenty of stuff or heavy stuff). So I recommend that while you keep your meals simple, you also try eating them at least 30-45 minutes before going to bed. Do not sleep right after eating, especially if the amount was more than enough.

Ramadan kareem,

Is a flat stomach encouraged in Islam? Many are fighting over BMI not being a good indicator of health, but is it a good indicator of whether we are overweight? Then what should I follow because I am in denial otherwise that I am actually pre-obese.



Salam Aleikom,

Thank you for submitting your question to us.

 

Yes, BMI (Body Mass Index) tells you whether you have normal weight, you are too skinny or you are overweight. However, to give you a fuller picture, I encourage you to measure not only your body weight but your body fat rate, your muscle weight, and the visceral fat rate as well. This will give you a more punctual picture of your body. Your weight includes all these, plus the weight of your bones, the water in your body, etc. What we care about – what causes the problems – are the body fat rate that includes the visceral fat, the type of body fat that’s stored within the abdominal cavity. It’s located near several vital organs.

 

There are many places you can measure these such as certain fitness centers or health centers. I advise you look for one in your local place and check these.

Being overweight is not Ok first and foremost because it can cause many serious health problems (and not because you look fat.)

Therefore, I highly encourage you to start eating healthy and exercise.

Muslims are particularly encouraged by Islam to live a healthy lifestyle as health is going to be among the three questions the angel of death will ask from us after our death.

 

“The son of Adam will not be dismissed from his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about five issues: his life and how he lived it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and he spent it, and how he acted on his knowledge.”

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2416

I do not recommend following a psecific diet for a short period because 1, in the first weeks you will only loose water and not fat. So, in the first few weeks you will feel happy that you are losing weight but then this will stop and you will get unmotivated and go back to your regular eating routine, which we do not want.

 

Instead, look for a healthy lifestyle that you can keep easily with little sacrifice. Forthe first round, try to change the quality of the food (whole grain stuff, Eritrit instead of sugar,…) Because you want to lose weight, it would be important that you follow up with how many calories you take per day. Just for a few days, and then try to cut this back. A personal trainer or nutritionist can easily help you calculate how many calories your body actually needs for functioning and can help you create for you a plan how you should start eating from now on.

 

You can find plenty of materials, even from Muslims, on how to live a healthy lifestyle online, so I am not going to go into too much details, I am sure you already know some.

 

What I would like to emphasize is the importance of eating verious type of foods, various fruits and lots of lots of vegetables. (If you are not allergic or they do not cause you problems to your current illnesses.) Also, take care of your liquid intake; drink approx. 8 glass of pure water (2 L) every single day. Good food and water are essential for your immune system and your whole body to work well and feel energetic, so please, please make living a healthy lifestyle your top priority.

 

And of course if we are talking about healthy lifestyle then I must encourage you to exercise regularly. I certainly believe that exercising is the ultimate solution for our modern age problems. Indoor, outdoor, online trainings; there are lots of opportunities. Just stick to exercising at least 30 minutes per day. It can be walking, cycling, yoga, gym, whatever you feel is your sport. Just do it! If your aim is losing fat, then you will need lots of cardio exercising along with strengthening training. You will need both for an optimal weight loss.

 

I highly encourage you to seek help from a trainer Personal Trainer who will be able to help you changing your lifestyle to a healthier one. He or she will also help you to exercise in a preventative way so that you do not get injured or have other health problems.

 

Mind & Body Connection

I also encourage you to look at your mental health as well. Obesity and emotional eating are often created by too much stress, anxiety, depression, or conflicting relationships because we humans are holistic creatures; our mind and body works together and affects each other. Have a look at your life: do you find these in it? Do you suffer from stress, anxiety, or depression? Do you tend to eat snacks, or overeat when you feel stressed? If so, please do something against them.

 

Seek professional help from a psychologist or life coach, if you need. Try to solve these issues and you will see your physical problems will decrease at the same time.

 

For emotional eating, try to socialize a lot. Emotional eating is often indicator of not having deep human connections in our life. So, try to work on them and pursue your goals you want to achieve in your life.

 

Regarding flat stomach in Islam: Islam encourages exercising so that you to look good, especially if you live in marriage, but the main emphasis is that you must exercise to stay healthy and fit, to feel good in yourself.  Fat stomach is promoted by the Western fashion and fitness industry. Do not fall for them. We are more valuable than a sexy body. This is not the point.

 

Why do you need a flat stomach? What is the function of it in your life? What if you have some fat on your stomach?

 

There is no any need for our stomach to be flat. We do not need a six pack abs. These are fake beauty ideas, unless it is a challenge for yourself maybe, that you can do this and it gives you self confidence. But right now, your priority should be losing weight, having a normal body fat rate and decreasing the risk of any health problems that comes with obesity.

 

Please do seek professional help!

Salam,

Salaam. My family includes myself, my wife and parents. The problem is all of us get ill regularly and almost half our house expenditure goes to medicines. Can someone guide what could be the reason and how to overcome this?



Salam Aleikom,

 

Thank you for submitting your question to us.

 

Not knowing your illnesses and the seriousness of the illnesses makes it a bit hard to answer your question. Therefore, I am going to advise you in general, inshallah.

 

Unfortunately, many doctor tend to only focus on the symptoms of an illness when prescribing medicines and not the rote cause of it. And people tend to like this tendency because taking medicines is a quite comfortable and fairly easy way to heal. So, we live in a vicious circle.

 

Alternative medicines

What you can do right now is looking around and going to a doctor who has a more holistic view and who does not only think healing is only by prescribing tons of medicines and antibiotics. I am not sure of the health insurance system of your country, but usually you as a patient have the right to choose which doctor you want to go to. Or look around and go to a private one.You can look for alternative medicines by yourself as well. See, for example books on Prophetic medicine. Black seeds, honey, olive oil are just a few things the Prophet (saw) advised us to use for certain illnesses.

 

Keep in mind, however, that although alternative medicine exists and can very well work, they might take a longer time than normal medicines.

Healthy Lifestyle

Striving to live a healthy lifestyle is a must for every person on this planet if they do not want to spend their time and money on healing from illnesses.  Muslims are particularly encouraged by Islam to live a healthy lifestyle as health is going to be among the three questions the angel of death will ask from us after our death.

 

“The son of Adam will not be dismissed from his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about five issues: his life and how he lived it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and he spent it, and how he acted on his knowledge.”

Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2416

You can find plenty of materials, even from Muslims, on how to live a healthy lifestyle online, so I am not going to go into too much details, I am sure you already know some. What I would like to emphasize is the importance of eating a various type of foods, various fruits and lots of lots of vegetables. (If you are not allergic or they do not cause you problems to your current illnesses.) Also, take care of your liquid intake; drink approx. 8 glass of pure water (2 L) every single day. Good food and water are essential for your immune system and your whole body to work well and feel energetic, so please, please make living a healthy lifestyle your top priority.

 

 

And of course if we are talking about healthy lifestyle then I must encourage you to exercise regularly. Indoor, outdoor, online trainings; there are lots of opportunities. Just stick to exercising at least 30 minutes per day. It can be walking, cycling, yoga, gym, whatever you feel is your sport. Just do it!

I highly encourage you to seek help from a health coach or a trainer Personal Trainer who will be able to help you changing your lifestyle to a healthier one.

 

Mind & Body Connection

I also encourage you to look at your mental health. Many times physical illnesses are caused by too much stress, anxiety, depression, or conflicting relationships because we humans are holistic creatures; our mind and body works together and affects each other. Have a look at your life: do you find these in it? Do you suffer from stress, anxiety, or depression?  If so, please do something against them. Seek professional help from a psychologist or life coach, if you need. Try to solve these issues and you will see your physical problems will decrease at the same time.

Wish you all the best,