Ramadan - Effected me big time - need help

[maxpayne]

Hi,

I recently started fasting(hence Ramadan), and i have been having major issues. Firstly, waking up at 4am is a real pain, and we have to eat something normally, so i tend to have cornflakes and a glass of juice. Now, i can never stay awake after 4am, i seriously need my sleep lol.

Anyways, i have to go the whole day without water or any form of food unstill sunset which is quite late. I used to be quite fit but as of late i feel i am becoming fat. Arm muscles are now shown a little decrease and becoming flabby and im beginning to *gulp* grow man boobs :| . I do light weights during the day as i dont wanna do anything heavy just incase i throw up, which invalidates my fasting.

My ass has grown fatty too Not a good sign

Anyways, i seriously need to get back into shape during this month and dont know how to do it.

Anyone have any suggestions?

thanks

[wildstang]

Originally Posted by maxpayne

Hi,

I recently started fasting(hence Ramadan), and i have been having major issues. Firstly, waking up at 4am is a real pain, and we have to eat something normally, so i tend to have cornflakes and a glass of juice. Now, i can never stay awake after 4am, i seriously need my sleep lol.

Anyways, i have to go the whole day without water or any form of food unstill sunset which is quite late. I used to be quite fit but as of late i feel i am becoming fat. Arm muscles are now shown a little decrease and becoming flabby and im beginning to *gulp* grow man boobs :| . I do light weights during the day as i dont wanna do anything heavy just incase i throw up, which invalidates my fasting.

My ass has grown fatty too Not a good sign

Anyways, i seriously need to get back into shape during this month and dont know how to do it.

Anyone have any suggestions?

thanks

\

first off the fasting is doing you harm by putting your body into starvation mode making it store whatever nutrients it gets as fat stores. next step it does is make your body consume muscle mass to fuel itself. 4 whatever your fasting is 4 it is hurting any muscle mass gains! the man boobs is a result of excess estrogen building up from a decreese in testosterone from fasting.

[tooncesthecat]

I don't quite feel like I understand. Are you concerned about lifting weights while fasting or are you concerned about getting fat? It seems that this fasting will help you lose weight if anything. I am not familiar with the entire customs of Ramadan. Do you need to fast as you described each day? Certainly you have to eat at some point. Are there certain days without any food and water and others where you can eat as you normally do?

[maxpayne]

Originally Posted by tooncesthecat

I don't quite feel like I understand. Are you concerned about lifting weights while fasting or are you concerned about getting fat? It seems that this fasting will help you lose weight if anything. I am not familiar with the entire customs of Ramadan. Do you need to fast as you described each day? Certainly you have to eat at some point. Are there certain days without any food and water and others where you can eat as you normally do?

Im concerned about both aspects. I feel as though if i do heavy weights or any form of cardio, i will end up breaking my fast, because no way can i do cardio or heavy intense exercise without any form of water or anything to eat or drink. Since i havnt been doing any form of exercise this month expect very light weights(trying to burn off fat from arms), its caused me to gain weight, ontop, muscles feel a littler smaller, probably because some muscle has been now converted to fat?

Basically for Ramadan, you wake up before Sunset, like 4am, and eat. after that, You cannot have anything to eat or drink until sunset, which is around 7-8pm, in which you can eat however much you like. This is something one must do for 29-30 days.

[illiniballfan112]

Hakeem Olajawon (Hall of Fame basketball player with the Houston Rockets in the 1990's) did the same thing, and he did it during basketball season. We all know basketball is one of the most gruelling sports around fitness-wise, so maybe try googling "Hakeem Olajawon Ramadam" and see if you can come up with something. If anyone has documented any tips to deal with what you are, it's this guy

[tooncesthecat]

Originally Posted by maxpayne

Since i havnt been doing any form of exercise this month expect very light weights(trying to burn off fat from arms), its caused me to gain weight, ontop, muscles feel a littler smaller, probably because some muscle has been now converted to fat?

Well, based on what you told us, it will be a good idea to do some light lifting and very little cardio during this month. Fat and muscle are different and cannot be changed from one to another. Just try to maintain your body weight and worry about getting into a full fledged workout program next month once you can get back to a regular diet.

[ckn]

OK, here's a way to work with Ramadan, from a fitness freak muslim friend I was talking to last year about this. He stacks up on slow release foods just before daylight, including making sure he's not overdoing the fluids to ensure he's not flushing his blood of those nutrients early in the day. Apparently, that's one of the big failings of many muslims at Ramadan who enjoy fitness work, they eat a good meal before light but flush it away by having too much water meaning their body is almost hypoglycaemic by the end of daylight.

He then has a lunch-type meal at first dark, does non-cardio workouts once it's settled then has a main meal. He also has a light snack before bed, not ideal but it keeps his blood sugar levels high.

He writes off Ramadan as a period for high-cardio work as it just causes him too much trouble but he does admit that he could do it if he put enough effort into getting his nutrition right.

[maxpayne]

ok thanks for replies Just one final question, is it possible to get rid of man boobs and is there a specific exercise for it?

thanks

[JoeBAR]

Originally Posted by maxpayne

ok thanks for replies Just one final question, is it possible to get rid of man boobs and is there a specific exercise for it?

thanks

no. no more than doing light weight will rid you of arm phat.

Muslims in my gym train normally during fasting, but train just before prayer, so they can eat post workout. The solution isn't ideal, but like everything to do with beliefs, it's your choice and yours to compromise with.

EDIT:
I also have a friend who change his clock during ramadan, and basically sleeps from midday to prayer to limit the impact on his training, and train after prayer, have a normal 'day' overnight, including work...

[tooncesthecat]

Originally Posted by maxpayne

ok thanks for replies Just one final question, is it possible to get rid of man boobs and is there a specific exercise for it?

thanks

There is one exercise. The put down and push away: Put down your fork and push away the plate.

[wildstang]

not overly familiar with ramadan, but cant a person still use supps such as BCAA's, blended protein powders such as syntha-6 during ramadan?

[JoeBAR]

Originally Posted by wildstang

not overly familiar with ramadan, but cant a person still use supps such as BCAA's, blended protein powders such as syntha-6 during ramadan?

Sure, they can eat/drink anything that's 'Islam approved', just not between day break and sun set.