Maintaining my weight during the fast

[Speedstar]

Hello everyone

I've been weight traing for 6 months now, and my skinny frame is really starting to look lean. I've been using Whey protein isolate and traing 3 times a week. I am 183cm (6ft) and currently 78kg. I supplement my high protein diet with 3 25g servings of whey on a rest day and 4 25g on a workout day.

In 2 months time, during the muslim holy month of Raamadan, I will be fasting, so no food or water from sunrise to sunset and no training.. during this month we are advised to eat a kings size breakfast about an hour before sunrise, and we break our fast at sunset, with a feast.

I would like some advice on how not to lose my hard earned muscle, during this month. Unfortunately I also have a freakishly fast metabolism. I would prefer a solution without spending tons of money on new supplements, but if thats the only way, so be it.

Thanks for the help

 

[Built]

Olive oil shots. Try knocking back a shotglass of olive oil just before you go to sleep. Easy calories.

 

[gigaplex]

Make sure you get enough calories. Complex carbs will be best since they will take longer to break down and so not give you such a huge insulin spike. If you find it difficult to eat enough calories, liquid calories (i.e. supplements) will help because you can eat more of them without getting full as fast.

But here's an even better idea. Sleep during daylight hours and spend your waking hours in the night. That way you can maintain a regular diet while still following the ritual.

Ultimately though, this ritual is unhealthy. Is it entirely necessary to do it? To me, the important part of any religion is the part that deals with the spirit, not the body. The body is just temporary anyway. Perhaps you could keep doing your healthy lifestyle and just dedicate yourself to intense religious study during this time? There are many ways to serve entities such as this without turning to an unhealthy lifestyle.

 

[Marat]

Congratulations on your current progress.

You shouldn't have too much to worry about. Whether you are eating your daily caloric allotment in several meals like you are now or in two meals (Suhoor and Iftar?) like you will be eating during Raamadan, it makes no difference.

Additionally, if you can't train...you can't train. You are already ahead of most training 11 of the 12 months. Consider it a long break period/deload.

I have a few buddies of the same faith. Each year, they experience very slight decreases in strength, but they bounce back very quickly when they return to the gym. I wouldn't expect a much different experience for yourself. As long as you are eating plenty in your morning and evening meals, you should be fine.

 

[gtbmed]

Provided you can fit all of your macros into 2 meals, I don't think you should have any problems, especially since you won't be training and thus won't need pre/post-workout nutrition. I'm a big believer in the idea of 24-hour nutrition.

Eat 2 big meals, fit in the right nutrients, and enjoy.

 

[Merkaba]

count calories and get it in.

 

[Yanick]

The no training will inevitably lead to some muscle loss. Are you not allowed to train at all? Or is it just not practical with gym hours and sunrise/set times? Calisthenics and BW stuff can go a long way to help maintain muscle and can be done at home with very little equipment.

Getting in enough calories is where you need to focus. Stick to calorie dense foods so you can jam a day's worth of food into 2 meals, maybe a shake with fruit/yogurt etc as a 3rd meal if time allows. Stuff like nuts and nut butters, pasta, rice (in this case white rice is better), steak, milk, yogurt and like I said before protein shakes can be a quick way to get a bunch of protein and calories in quick. Mix it up with some milk, a banana, protein powder, maybe even ice cream, some berries etc. Play around with it, honestly you can have some fun with this because you get to eat delicious stuff and not feel bad about it in order to maintain your calories.

 

[jordyb]

It will cause muscle loss .... Well for two months you can have bananas in a bulk ... and after 2 months work hard ...