Your Weight Loss During Ramadan
Welcome Welcome to your Weight Loss During Ramadan guide. We know that losing weight can be hard during the holy month and that it can be easier just to give up your weight loss diet for a month. However, we know what having a month off you weight loss can do to your health and well-being and we want to support you through Ramadan. We have spoken to our dietitian and Dr Jane Glazebrook and they have put together their expert advice on how to stick to your weight loss diet and how to continue to take your weight loss medication whilst you are fasting. If you need more help during Ramadan, don’t forget to keep in touch with us. You can contact us on 0800 917 9334 or info@theslimmingclinic.com whenever you need us.
Best wishes The Slimming Clinic
Contents Your Diet During Ramadan
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Your Weight Loss Medication During Ramadan
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Dr Jane Glazebrook
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Your Diet During Ramadans Over the years we have been operating and helping patients to lose weight, we have had a number of questions surrounding Ramadan and how patients can fast whilst sticking to their weight loss journey. Questions like, when they do eat, what sort of foods they should be looking to, to ensure a healthy, balanced diet that ensures nourishment and hydration. We asked our Dietitian, who has cast experience in helping patients who are observing Ramadan, to give us her top tips on how they can ensure they are getting all they need in terms of diet, over the holy month.
Iftar Having a balanced iftar is important as it’s the meal that replenish energy stores and help sustain your fast the following day. If you only have a short window of time to eat try to make it as nourishing as possible, so every mouthful needs to count to maximise this.
Hydrate before eating Drink plenty of fluids such as water, freshly squeezed juice, or milk. This will prevent dehydration and provide your body with the essential fluids it needs whilst fasting during the day. Water remains your best source of hydration. During your window when you can eat and drink, try to take in a glass of water per hour plus add more fluid to your meals i.e. make meals such as curries more water-based. Something to be a little cautious of is special Ramadan drinks because they contain a lot sugar and calories.
Break your fast with dates and fruit Traditionally, dates are eaten at the start of your iftar meal. They are great as they are high in fibre, potassium and are a slow-release sugar, meaning you’ll have more energy for longer. Just be careful of the volume of dates as the average medjool date is 60kcals and you can get lovely ones that are stuffed with beautiful nuts, orange peel, cream cheese and some are deep fried, which you should moderate your consumption of. Chopped fruit is another great way to start your Iftar as it is full of fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Make sure to include juicy fruits like melon, watermelon etc that, again, offer more fluids to keep you hydrated. Again, just be careful of adding cream, ice-cream try natural yoghurt instead or fruit juice.
Have a bowl of soup Soups are an indispensable dish in iftar. They’re rich in water and are a really great help to enabling you to hydrate. When picking, or making, your soups, opt for soups such as lentil, chickpea or bean soups with tomato and stock bases. These types of soup are higher in fibre and protein and will make you feel fuller for longer. Be wary of any soups with added cream or dairy, as this adds unnecessary calories.
Eat your greens The more colourful vegetables in your dishes or added salad, the more health benefits it holds. It also provides a feeling of fullness, ensuring you eat less on your main dish. Aim for at least two servings of vegetables per meal. One serving equals about handful of raw or cooked vegetables or leafy raw vegetables.
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Choose good carbs Your iftar meal should contain a source of carbohydrates, preferably complex, as these keep you much fuller for longer. Complex carbohydrates include brown rice, whole grain pasta or bread, potatoes or buckwheat. Complex carbs provide a more stable and sustainable source of energy in addition to fibre and minerals.
Incorporate lean protein At iftar, you should aim to eat high quality protein sources that are highly digestible and contain all the essential amino acids. Your body uses these to build and maintain muscle mass. Beef, milk, yogurt, eggs, lentils, pulses, cheese, fish and poultry are all complete high-quality proteins. By choosing lean proteins, you also get the benefits of protein with very little saturated fat. Examples of lean proteins include fish, skinless chicken or turkey and low-fat dairy and if you’re vegetarian, you can select other protein sources such as legumes, beans and nuts.
Avoid foods high in fat, salt and sugar Whilst it might be tempting, whenever possible, stay away from heavy meals for iftar that have too much unhealthy fat, salt and added sugar. When cooking, make your favourite Ramadan recipes healthier by stewing, baking, roasting, steaming or grilling and avoid frying.
Add herbs and spices instead of salt to flavour your meals. Finally, replace sweets and sweetened drinks with naturally occurring sugar in fruits, dried fruits and fruit salads.
Suhoor When it comes to Suhoor, the pre -dawn meal you eat, look to eat wholegrain high fibre carbohydrates which will give you slow release of energy and prevent issue like constipation. Look to consume things like oats, wholegrain cereals, wholemeal toast, wholemeal chapatis etc with the addition of some protein in the form of milk, yoghurt, egg, fish or chicken. What’s important to remember about Suhoor is that this meal is really important and should not be skipped, as this will top up your energy for the coming day and keep your hunger at bay. Remember to make sure you have some fluid or fruits that contain fluid to increase your hydration.
Take it easy Don’t be in a hurry to finish your food at meals. After being deprived of eating for an entire day, or overnight, overloading on food may lead to indigestion and other gastric problems. Controlling the size of your portion is key to staying healthy and preventing weight gain during Ramadan. As a rule of thumb, try not to exceed amounts you would have for a typical lunch or dinner meal, when not fasting.
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Your Weight Loss Medication During Ramadan Now we have investigated how to keep a balanced, healthy diet during Ramadan, how can we continue to take our weight loss medication too? Firstly, patients who are fasting throughout Ramadan should seek the advice of their Slimming Clinic prescribing weight loss doctor for personalised advice regarding continuing their treatment while fasting. However, we asked Dr Jane Glazebrook if she was able to provide some general advice that patients should consider when taking appetite suppression medication while fasting.
If you are on appetite suppressant tablets If you are taking our standard appetite suppressant tablet medication, you should continue to take your prescribed medication, however, it will likely require you taking it at a different time to when you usually would. Usually we suggest patients take their tablet weight loss medication at the beginning of their day to reduce their appetite over the period they are awake and hungry. Also allowing 12 hours for their weight loss medication to wear off before they intend to go to sleep, to minimise sleep disruption. In most cases, this would generally be first thing in the morning – as you wake up. During Ramadan patients could choose to take their weight loss medication when they break their fast, at sunset prior to Iftar and therefore reduce their appetite from sunset to sunrise. This would allow for their appetite to be suppressed during the period when they would be eating and would also allow for sufficient water intake. However, taking your medication later in the day could disturb the individual’s sleep pattern. Alternatively, patients could choose to take their medication just before Suhoor. The individual will get good appetite suppression effect throughout the daytime during fasting and there will be less effect on the individual’s sleep. However, the effects of their weight loss medication could decrease towards the end of the day and the inability to get sufficient water intake at this time could lead to a dry mouth and occasional dehydration headaches. Patients can also look at reducing the dosage of medication taken at this time to minimise the side effects of dry mouth, restlessness, and insomnia. This is something you can discuss with your weight loss doctor at The Slimming Clinic – to find out what works best for you and your requirements.
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Consider temporarily stopping your weight loss medication tablets If you are concerned about taking appetite suppressant weight loss medication tablets during fasting, you could consider an alternative medication that we offer at The Slimming Clinic such as Xenical (Orlistat). Orlistat blocks gastrointestinal lipases (enzymes that digest fat). When these enzymes are blocked, they cannot digest some fats in the diet, and this allows about 30% of the fat eaten in the meal to pass through the gut undigested. The body cannot use this dietary fat for energy or convert it into fat tissue. This helps weight reduction and Orlistat is not a prescription medication, like the appetite suppressant tablets. Patients can also use Xenical along their appetite suppression medication if you choose to take both. Ask your Slimming Clinic prescribing doctor regarding taking Xenical with your appetite suppression tablets.
If you are taking injectable appetite suppressant weight loss medication Unlike tablet medication, Saxenda can be administered at any time of day as it does not affect a patient’s energy or sleeping patterns. However, it is important to administer your weight loss injection at the same time every day – and keep this practice consistent throughout Ramadan. If you are a diabetic or have trouble balancing your blood glucose you may need to consider if fasting with or without Saxenda is appropriate as you risk suffering episodes of low blood glucose (Hypoglycaemia). This is normally avoided by eating regular meals – something you should seek further advice on from your Slimming Clinic doctor or GP where necessary. Why not consider switching to our once-a-week weight loss injection, Ozempic? Designed to make your weight loss even easier and more convenient, it only needs to be injected once a week, instead of once a day but could see you losing up to 15% more weight that with diet and exercise alone! Contact us for more information on Ozempic.
Remember – no matter how you choose to continue your weight loss journey during Ramadan, at The Slimming Clinic, we will support you however you need us to, to ensure you get the most from your journey, whilst honouring your lifestyle. Your health doesn’t have to be put on hold for the 30 days of Ramadan, so if you are looking to continue your healthy living, we are here for you!
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If you would like more advice or support with your weight loss medication during Ramadan or any other festive or religious holiday, please get in touch with us. Our doctors are here to help and have vast experience in the health and wellbeing industry.
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