Diet and training considrations while fasting in Ramadan

[3dosh]

Hello everyone,
Ramadan is tomorrow and I don’t see my self meeting my calorie intake requirements. I’m going to be fasting for 16 hours starting from 4 Am till 8PM so I only have 8 hours window to eat.
Training is going also to be tough since I’m going to be dehydrated and very fatigued at the end of the day, caffeine is going be off limits also since the break fast is close to my sleep time.
I’m 95 KG about 6 feet going on my 4th week of the 12 week template training 4 days a week.
Any tips or things to consider ?

[Jordan_Feigenbaum]

I would attempt to eat ~4000calories between 8PM and 1AM. You’ll be okay, but skip the caffeine.

[tjleak]

Hey,

The most important thing I would offer is to make sure you are mentally prepared to de-train during Ramadan. Those are tough conditions under which to train. Set as a goal minimizing de-training, not progressing. You have eleven months of the year to train productively, and then one month a year you know you’ll just try to tread water.

Otherwise, focus on your RPEs, not the weight on the bar, as stress from lack of sleep, lack of food, and exercising while dehydrated will curb your ability to also recover from training stress, not to mention, make it tough to perform at prior training levels.

Also, make sure you have 50 grams of high quality protein waiting every morning to scarf down before the first call to prayer, 20 grams from whey and 30 grams from cottage cheese are quick and easy to eat. And then make sure you get another 50 grams as soon as you can after breaking fast in the evening.

Try training in the morning. You’ll have maximum calories and minimum fatigue from fasting.

Try to train without sweating. Keep your gym as cold as possible, and if you can’t control the temperature, ice cold clothes on your forehead and neck may help, though I personally never found that to work very well.

Shorten your workouts by training seven days a week. A little every day is better than dying part way through a workout that’s too hard given the circumstances.

Make sure you load up on food during the evening meal. Eating as much as you can when you can seemed to help a lot when I was going through extreme physical events. I may not have gotten much for lunch, if anything, but I ate as much as possible during breakfast and dinner. Don’t lose weight, at any rate, but also, obviously, watch your waist line.

[Jordan_Feigenbaum]

@tjleak

Hey,

The most important thing I would offer is to make sure you are mentally prepared to de-train during Ramadan. Those are tough conditions under which to train. Set as a goal minimizing de-training, not progressing. You have eleven months of the year to train productively, and then one month a year you know you’ll just try to tread water.

Otherwise, focus on your RPEs, not the weight on the bar, as stress from lack of sleep, lack of food, and exercising while dehydrated will curb your ability to also recover from training stress, not to mention, make it tough to perform at prior training levels.

Also, make sure you have 50 grams of high quality protein waiting every morning to scarf down before the first call to prayer, 20 grams from whey and 30 grams from cottage cheese are quick and easy to eat. And then make sure you get another 50 grams as soon as you can after breaking fast in the evening.

Try training in the morning. You’ll have maximum calories and minimum fatigue from fasting.

Try to train without sweating. Keep your gym as cold as possible, and if you can’t control the temperature, ice cold clothes on your forehead and neck may help, though I personally never found that to work very well.

Shorten your workouts by training seven days a week. A little every day is better than dying part way through a workout that’s too hard given the circumstances.

Make sure you load up on food during the evening meal. Eating as much as you can when you can seemed to help a lot when I was going through extreme physical events. I may not have gotten much for lunch, if anything, but I ate as much as possible during breakfast and dinner. Don’t lose weight, at any rate, but also, obviously, watch your waist line.

I dislike almost everything about this post. I bolded the useful stuff.

Don’t nocebo folks on here.

[3dosh]

@Jordan_Feigenbaum

I dislike almost everything about this post. I bolded the useful stuff.

Don’t nocebo folks on here.

Thanks for the reply and the tips. I plan on progressing every week as I should unless my 1@8 at the first two days tells me otherwise. Its the 5th day of ramadan already and my numbers are going up regardless of fasting. I followed your advice and Im eating as much as possible, i try to get 50 gr protein at break fast and 90+ gr after workout which is at 10pm, two hours after eating.
I cant get up at night to eat since its very hard to go back to sleep after
Only problem im facing now is hydration, I sweat alot while working out that I have to change my shirt 3 times. I live in place where humidity is high which doesn’t help. Any help well be appreciated
​

[Jordan_Feigenbaum]

@3dosh

Thanks for the reply and the tips. I plan on progressing every week as I should unless my 1@8 at the first two days tells me otherwise. Its the 5th day of ramadan already and my numbers are going up regardless of fasting. I followed your advice and Im eating as much as possible, i try to get 50 gr protein at break fast and 90+ gr after workout which is at 10pm, two hours after eating.
I cant get up at night to eat since its very hard to go back to sleep after
Only problem im facing now is hydration, I sweat alot while working out that I have to change my shirt 3 times. I live in place where humidity is high which doesn’t help. Any help well be appreciated
​

I would plan on drinking a water/salt solution during training. In a pinch you could do gatorade cut with water 50% and some added sodium. You’ll be okay!