JEDDAH: As the holy month of Ramadan is halfway through, Muslim dining tables have been bejeweled with a vast variety of dishes. Along with that comes complaints of gaining weight.
Ramadan must-haves are different in different countries. but they have something in common. As well as delicious, they are also often fried, which causes a lot of trouble. And the most common side-effect of fried food and sugar-loaded drinks is obesity.
Dr. Vivian Mohammad Wahbe, a nutritionist, said: “You can bake things instead of frying them, using whole wheat instead of white flour, low-fat milk and yoghurt. You can replace sugar with natural sweeteners."
She also recommended eating a bigger portion of fresh salad and fruit salad, “as they tend to make the person fell full and have low calories.”
"Consider this month as the beginning, so you control the amount of calorie intake, switching to a healthier lifestyle. Because if you control yourself in Ramadan you can control yourself later.”
RK Fit’s founder and coach Reham Kamal encourages people to exercise whether it is before or after breaking their fast during Ramadan.
“I recommend moving while fasting -- it helps blood flow. I recommend doing light cardio or mid-low intensity exercises an hour before the iftar, because drinking water and replenishing your body with nutrients will aid in recovery, which helps lose fat.” Kamal told Arab News.
“For those doing weight and high-intensity exercises, I recommend they do it two hours after iftar because the body will be well-hydrated and has the fuel to make more effort,” she added.
Another coach, Najm Al-Hashmi, said: “We would advise someone trying to reduce body fat to exercise about half an hour before breaking their fast. They have to eat healthily and well for the glycogen to be restored in the muscle.
“I see that exercising half an hour before iftar is good, but it must be a mid-intensity type of exercise, for example, brisk walking."
