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Amman -

Many people consider the month of Ramadan an important opportunity to lose weight and get rid of belly fat, but to achieve this, certain habits must be applied in eating and distributing meals.

Nutritionist Muhammad Kharashqa confirms - in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net - that the month of Ramadan is considered one of the best opportunities to lose weight, adding that the rate of loss of any person differs from another, and that the rate of weight loss for some may reach double the loss in normal months.

He adds that there are many habits that may slow down the process of weight loss during the month of Ramadan, and the most common of them are drinking natural juices, eating fried foods such as kibbeh and sambousek, and sweets such as balaleet, awama, and others.

He added that one of the most common reasons for slowing down weight loss is skipping the suhoor meal and not eating it.

There are also health problems that may reduce the body’s efficiency in the process of losing weight or burning fat, such as untreated hypothyroidism, vitamin deficiency such as vitamin D deficiency, and deficiency of some minerals such as iron deficiency.

Weight loss tips

  • Kharashqa says that to take advantage of this opportunity well, there are 3 golden tips for losing weight during the month of Ramadan, which are:

  • Discipline in eating sweets. Here, healthy people are limited to eating them once or twice a week.

  • Focus on having good physical exertion during the day, preferably some breakfast, to avoid dehydration and fatigue.

  • Eat fewer calories than the body needs.

Kharashqa considers that the optimal diet is appropriate to the nature of a person’s life and day, and which contains the foods he prefers, as the suitability of diets to the nature of people is an ideal way to continue the diet without interruption, and the opposite is always true.

When does weight loss start?

Kharashqa notes that weight loss is not linked to a specific time or condition, but rather is a process of reducing calories during the day to achieve the best result.

Losing weight while avoiding vitamin deficiency

Nutritionist Yazan Ghoneim, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, explains the most important tips on how to lose weight during the month of Ramadan without lacking the vitamins that the body needs:

  • Eat the suhoor meal half an hour before the dawn call to prayer to provide the body with energy, and thus the rate of fat burning increases.

  • Suhoor should contain protein such as eggs and beans, with a limited amount of starches.

  • For breakfast, it is recommended to start directly with water, and you can eat one date, but combine it with another food item that contains protein or healthy fats, because dates alone may raise the level of sugar and insulin, which leads to eating more food and storing more fat. Therefore, it is recommended to eat dates with a cup of milk or nuts, for example.

  • Eat a bowl of soup to prepare the stomach to receive food, preferably natural vegetable soup, and stay away from processed soups, then the person waits for 10-15 minutes.

  • Then you can eat the main meal, which should contain protein and few carbohydrates, i.e. reduce rice and bread.

The role of exercise

Ghoneim points out that the type of exercise is very important for most people who want to lose weight during Ramadan, as the best exercise for losing weight is walking, and any other high-intensity sport may not help in losing weight quickly, especially in the holy month.

Source: Al Jazeera