Here we are again welcoming the holy month! Ramadan is the holy month, in which God has entrusted us to fast to purify our bodies from harmful toxins, purify our souls from the soul that leads to evil, feel for the less fortunate, and appreciate the goodness that surrounds us in every aspect of life.

As we are accustomed to you, Madam, and we were with you in this month of every year, we have now returned with the plan for Ramadan 2024, as nutrition in this month is an important part, because we will need energy and hydration of our body during the day, so we need to develop a health plan to regulate our eating and remain healthy, whether we want to gain weight or reduce it.

You must be wondering what you should do in preparation for Ramadan. Do you want to learn new cooking recipes?

Follow this article, as we will inform you of the Ramadan 2024 plan for slimming and tightening, learn about a nutritional program, and attach a Ramadan nutrition guide that was developed by fitness trainer Sara Popfit, which you can download from store.

The Importance of Planning and Setting a Plan for Ramadan 2024

During the month of Ramadan, meals are eaten at somewhat unusual times during the day, so preparing for suhoor and iftar meals will make things easier for you and make the month go smoothly.

The Ramadan 2024 plan helps you ensure that you get all the ingredients and nutrients, avoiding overspending, and ensuring that you eat healthy and delicious food.

Planning for the next week of Ramadan gives you a comprehensive overview of the ingredients you will need so that you can include them in your shopping list and purchase them. It also gives you enough time and opportunity to think about cooking healthy, balanced meals consisting of the important nutrients you need to remain active and raise your energy, as fasting causes changes in the body such as:

• Consuming stored glucose and fats in the blood for energy
• Consuming protein stores leads to muscle weakness
• Fatigue and headache
• Dizziness and difficulty concentrating

Ramadan Plan Goal 2024 with Sara Popfit

To avoid the annoying symptoms we mentioned previously, you must think carefully about your food and drink and maintain your nutrition. This is why the Ramadan 2024 plan has been developed specifically for you, as it aims to:

• Losing fat and increasing muscle mass
• Increasing the rate of burning fat in the body to speed up the metabolism
• Reducing the feeling of hunger during fasting
• Power up
• Maintain activity rate
• Hydrate the body and maintain fluid levels in the body during fasting.

Things to Record Before Starting to Implement the Ramadan 2024 Plan

To be encouraged, notice the difference, and know the extent of your body’s response, you must record and monitor some things before you start implementing your Ramadan 2024 plan:

• Take your waist, arm, abdomen, and hip measurements correctly
• Take pictures of your waist, arms, abdomen, and hips after taking their measurements.
• Record your current weight and the weight you would like to reach after following the Ramadan 2024 plan
• Stay away from the items on the list of fattening foods that we will mention in the following paragraphs as much as possible.

Fattening food list

Before you start implementing the Ramadan 2024 plan, you must take into account the foods that increase weight and avoid them as much as possible, as they are as follows:

• White sugar
• Starches with white flour
• Sweets
• Fries of all kinds
• Sweetened drinks, juices, and soft drinks
• Salt
• Trans fats

Understanding the Body's Nutritional Needs

You should drink plenty of water and eat foods rich in proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins to meet the amount of nutrients and energy that your body needs during the month of Ramadan, but we are not telling you to eat everything you want at once during the suhoor meal! If you do this, your body will not consume all the energy you obtained at once, and thus your weight will increase because the metabolism adapts to the eating patterns in Ramadan.

Adults should drink at least 3 liters of water. You may think that you get it from foods, tea, fruits, juice, and other drinks, but this belief is wrong, as, in addition to the above, you should drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day (that is, the equivalent of drinking two or three cups every hour after iftar)

Meals and Rules for the Healthy Ramadan 2024 Plan

Some people tend to eat iftar followed by light meals until they suppress their appetite, then they go to sleep without paying attention to the suhoor meal, and they remain fasting until the next iftar, but this behavior is wrong!

You, my dear, should always eat the suhoor meal, especially immediately before fasting, because neglecting the suhoor meal leads to low blood sugar, dehydration, and feeling dizzy and distracted the next day.

Iftar meal

As a fasting woman, you will certainly crave food, because kitchens in the month of Ramadan are full of delicious and varied cooking, and in the Ramadan 2024 plan, we will enjoy tasting all the delicious cooking, but in specific and studied quantities, because this action is our key to the door to fitness and reaching the goal, and the ingredients for iftar should be as much as possible as follows:

• Fist of carbs
• A fistful of protein
• Very small grams of fat
• A fist of soup
• An open quantity of salad, provided there is a variety in choosing its ingredients.

A light and healthy iftar is one of the best choices you can make during the month of Ramadan. We will mention some good options for iftar:

• Dates can be eaten to break the fast, as they provide natural sugars and minerals such as potassium, manganese, and copper, and you can try other dried fruits such as raisins, apricots, figs, and plums.
• Gluten-free hamburger
• Stuffed zucchini
• Healthy okra stew
• Oven-baked meat kofta
• Salmon with lemon sauce
• Shakiriya
• Foods that contain natural sugars such as milk and fruits

Here are some tips that you should take into consideration:

• Eat Iftar with easy-to-digest foods
• Do not eat too much food too quickly after long hours of fasting
• Try to break your fast with soup, then drink water, ayran, or fresh fruit juice, so you can adequately hydrate your body after a long day of dehydration.
• Eat the main dish for iftar after 10 or 15 minutes, as this reduces overeating by giving you a feeling of fullness, which helps your digestive system and facilitates digestion.
• Chew food well
• Walk for an hour or two after iftar, as it helps your digestive and cardiovascular systems

Snack meal

It is a meal that is eaten in the period between iftar and suhoor, and it must contain as many fluid-rich foods as possible to raise the percentage of water in the body, fight dehydration, and prevent the appearance of sagging and facial wrinkles, such as:

• Watermelon
• Citrus fruits
• Celery
• Avocado milkshake
• Coffee smoothie
• Cranberry sandwich
• Peanut butter cookies
• Date balls
• Chocolate protein cup

If the snack is sweets or fruits, it should only be the size of a fist

Suhoor meal 

What should you eat during suhoor to feel more energetic during the day?

Drink plenty of fluids, and choose foods rich in fluids to keep your body hydrated the next day. Also, eat carbohydrates to get energy. Focus on foods rich in whole grains, as they make you feel full and help facilitate the digestion process thus reducing constipation. Before the sun rises, you can eat :

• Egg and avocado toast
• Grilled halloumi toast
• Stuffed eggs
• Mountain mushroom toast
• Grilled halloumi salad
• Smoked salmon toast
• Dairy products such as labneh
• Fresh vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers
• Eggs
• Whole wheat bread provides more fiber
• Pasta
• Couscous
• Bulgur is rich in carbohydrates and fiber
• Dates, walnuts, and almonds
• Oats
• Yogurt is a good choice for suhoor, as it provides protein, potassium, calcium, and vitamin B
• High-fiber breakfast cereals, fortified with fiber and minerals

In addition to what was mentioned, you can enjoy eating soup, vegetables cooked in olive oil, and fruits, and stay away from meals that make you thirsty, such as fish, cheese, and salty foods, and reduce carbohydrates. This combination ensures that you meet your body’s daily needs for vitamins, protein, and energy, and makes you feel full for long hours during the day.

Exercising in the Ramadan 2024 Plan

Contrary to popular belief, fasting during Ramadan does not prevent you from exercising and being active. It is safe for everyone, and light to moderate-intensity exercises are recommended to maintain your activity during periods of fasting. It indeed seems difficult, but you can set a schedule for physical activity in Ramadan.

If you are a housewife and do not work outside

You should break up sitting times as much as you can, start slowly with light physical activities, and continue moving. Keep the activities simple and incorporate them into your daily schedule:

• Do household chores such as scouring, mopping, cleaning, preparing Iftar for the family, and sweeping
• Use the stairs and walk longer
• Walk instead of driving when you go grocery shopping
• Move around the house, while watching TV, move off the couch, go to the kitchen or bathroom while watching advertisements, and also walk around the house while calling your friends or family members.
• Monitor your step count, and try to increase it step by step more than your average steps in previous days, for example at least 10,000 steps per day.

If you are an active and busy employee

If you are an online employee, working from home gives you more flexibility to take advantage of your time, and in addition to doing household chores, you should exercise and run to maintain your general health. These are some of the physical activities that you can do:

• Run outdoors at least twice a week
• Practice cycling, walking, jogging, and climbing stairs
• Go to the gym to do weight-lifting exercises
• You can do push-ups, planks, and squats at home
• The goal of exercising during Ramadan is to maintain your exercise schedule and physical activity routine before starting fasting, and not to lose your physical fitness, not to achieve great progress or break personal best records.

Always listen to your body, and reduce the frequency, intensity, duration, and type of exercise accordingly.

The Best Time to Exercise in Ramadan 2024 Plan

You will harm your health if you put pressure on yourself and exercise a lot during the daytime in Ramadan, due to the high temperatures and lack of water intake. That is, we do not advise you, my dear, to practice weight-lifting exercises and intense cardio exercises during periods of fasting. Rather, you must reduce and lower the frequency of exercises, and the appropriate time to exercise. Exercising depends on your personal preferences. You should know that there are some advantages and disadvantages to consider at different times of the day. Here are some appropriate times to exercise:

An hour and a half before sunset

When you do light and easy exercise in this period before sunset in the cooler part of the day, it will enable you to replenish your energy, and give you the benefits and advantages of exercising on an empty stomach, but it is important that you know and focus on that any exercise that you do at this time must It is easy, light and simple. You should focus on stretching and resistance exercises, and if it is a weightlifting exercise, reduce the number of repetitions and weights. This time of day is also a suitable time for a quick walk or light jog.

After your iftar

Performing cardio exercises may indeed be difficult on a full stomach, but one hour of your time after iftar is the most appropriate period to do weight exercises. On the days when you plan to exercise after your meal, think about adding a little extra food to nourish your body and provide it with energy, and focus on drinking plenty of water to rehydrate your body.

Between 11 in the evening and 2 in the morning

This time of day is suitable for you if you are a person who likes to stay up late, as at this time your body has fully regained its hydration and digested its food, and the weather is cooler than during the day, and you will have some additional hours of sleep until you wake up to start your next day.

Between 3 and 4 in the morning 

If you like to wake up early, the best time to exercise may be the period immediately before the suhoor meal, as from the previous meal you will gain energy and get the benefits of exercising on an empty stomach.

Meal Ingredients and How to Prepare Them

We will learn the components of the Ramadan 2024 plan meals and how to prepare them in detail, so continue reading, my dear:

■ Egg and avocado toast

It is one of the meals eaten at suhoor during the Ramadan 2024 plan, and everyone is looking for its precise and healthy ingredients:

Ingredients

• A slice of toast bread
• Two tablespoons of labneh
• Half an avocado
• One egg
• A teaspoon of olive oil
• Two dried tomatoes
• 2 sprigs of dill

How to prepare 

1. Toast the toasts in the toaster
2. Place the labneh on toasted toast
3. Cut half the avocado into thin slices and place it over the labneh on a slice of toast
4. Put olive oil in the pan and fry the egg
5. Place the eggs on the avocado
6. Garnish with dried tomatoes and dill

Dill: It is considered a very aromatic herb that gives food a distinctive flavor

Grilled halloumi toast

Ingredients

• One slice of whole-wheat bread
• Two tablespoons of labneh
• Two slices of halloumi cheese
• Two cherry tomatoes
• A tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
• A tablespoon of pomegranate

How to prepare 

1. Toast whole wheat bread in the toaster
2. Put the brick on it
3. Fry the halloumi cheese in the toaster
4. Place the halloumi cheese and cherry tomatoes on the labneh
5. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve with pomegranate molasses

Stuffed zucchini

It is one of the most delicious meals served for Iftar, and here it is:

Ingredients

• 4 zucchini pieces
• 200 grams of fat-free minced meat
• A quarter cup of washed rice
• A chopped onion
• Two chopped tomatoes
• Two tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
• Half a teaspoon of salt
• Half a teaspoon of black pepper
• Half a teaspoon of cumin
• Half a teaspoon of paprika

How to prepare step 1

1. Saute half the amount of onions in a frying pan
2. Add the meat to the onions and stir until it is almost cooked
3. Add the spices and half the tomatoes
4. Leave it on the fire for 5 minutes
5. Add the rice after it cools

How to prepare step 2

1. Spray the pan with the remaining olive oil
2. Add the remaining onions, garlic, and tomato paste with the spices
3. Add water until the pot is half full
4. Leave it on the fire for 5 minutes
5. Take out the zucchini core, clean it well, and stuff it with the meat and rice filling
6. Put it in the tray
7. Add tomato broth and cover the tray with tinfoil
8. Place it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes.

■ Healthy okra stew

Do you hate eating okra? After you know this magical, healthy way to prepare healthy okra stew, you will change your mind! Let us learn together about its ingredients and preparation method:

Ingredients

• 200 grams of okra
• 200 grams of meat
• A tablespoon of tomato paste, equivalent to 20 grams
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 10 garlic cloves
• Vegetable oil
• 150 grams of cooked rice

How to prepare

1. Put the oil on medium heat
2. Add the chopped garlic and cook it well
3. Add the minced meat to the mixture and continue cooking until the meat is browned
4. Add the tomatoes and cook until the mixture becomes thick
5. Add water to the ingredients and leave the mixture on the fire until it boils
6. Reduce the temperature and leave the mixture on low heat
7. Add the fried okra to the air fryer and let the mixture boil again
8. Cook the mixture over low heat for approximately 20 minutes until the okra becomes soft and tender.

For more healthy meals, download the free Ramadan 2024 plan guide with Sarah PopFit, and benefit for free from Ramadan tips and recipes that will maintain your fitness and health.

At the end of our article, we say to you, Ramadan Kareem. Maintaining your fitness is indeed difficult during Ramadan.

But you can still enjoy fasting and enjoy the spirit of Ramadan just by drinking plenty of water and watching what you eat during suhoor and after iftar.

Link to download the Ramadan 2024 plan booklet with Sarapopfit

FAQs about Ramadan 2024 Plan with Sarapopfit to Lose Weight

● What is the goal of the Ramadan 2024 Plan with Sarapopfit?

Losing fat, increasing muscle mass, raising the rate of fat burning in the body to speed up the metabolism, reducing the feeling of hunger during fasting, raising energy, maintaining the activity rate, hydrating the body, and maintaining the percentage of fluids in the body during fasting.

● What are the quantities allowed to be eaten for Iftar in the Ramadan 2024 plan?

A fistful of carbohydrates, a fistful of protein, very small grams of fat, the size of a fistful of soup, and an open amount of salad, provided there is diversity in the choice of its ingredients.

● What is the appropriate time to exercise during Ramadan 2024 plan?

We advise you, my dear, to exercise at one of the following times:

An hour and a half before sunset, after your iftar, between 11 in the evening and 2 in the morning, or between 3 and 4 in the morning.

● What should I do to reduce the feeling of thirst during Ramadan 2024 plan?

Drink ample amounts of water, meaning at least 8 cups of water distributed between iftar and suhoor, and hydrate your body well, as it is also necessary for the immune system. Stay away from drinks that contain caffeine, such as coffee, as caffeine is a diuretic and may increase your chances of becoming dehydrated. 

● What fruits contain a high percentage of water?

Watermelon, orange, apple, berries, cucumber, tomato and spinach

● What are the symptoms of dehydration?

Dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, dark urine, feeling extremely thirsty, nausea, muscle cramps, and fast heart rate.

You can download the booklet from the store:

Lose 6 kg in Ramadan

Written by: Haidy Soliman

Translated by: Ph. Marah Mohamad

Sources:

Herbalife

Women’s Health

the national news

Health x change.sg