Serious question that is in need of professional advice

[LightC]

Hi everyone. I've been reading this forum for a long time now and have found the posts very informative.

Now for my serious stuff. I'm Muslim and I'm fasting for the holy month of Ramadan. I know that is a nono for bodybuilders but it's something that must be done. Please don't advise that I should drop my religion. I have a lot of respect for some of the posters here since I've obtained a lot of knowledge from their experience in the field. But when it comes to my religion, I'm willing to give up some muscle no matter how hard I worked for it. Ramadan has many reasons. One of which is to remind us Muslims of the less fortunate and it gives us a small taste of the pain they face daily in association with hunger.

Just in case some of you don't know, Ramadan consists of fasting from sunrise to sunset for one whole lunar month. This basically means during the day I can't eat or drink anything.

My question revolves around what kind of diet I should use to make the best out of the situation. I wake up early (before sunrise) to eat before I close my fast. So I go all day without food till sunset when I can finally open my fast and eat. I workout 3 times a week and occasionally do cardio for every other day that I'm not working out.

Usually my diet consists of eating every 2-3 hours for 5-6 meals a day. When I'm in a non-cutting phase I eat pro/carb meals for every meal besides before I go to bed. Before I go to bed I either have a casein shake (0 grams carbs) with 3 caps fish oil or a normal whey shake with the fish oil too. While I cut I basically have pro/fat meals throughout the day besides post workout when I have 1xWhey/2xDex.

As you can see, Ramadan will definitely slow down my metabolism.

I was thinking about doing cardio one day a week and stick to my 3 days of working out. I usually lift heavy/low reps and I think I should atleast try sticking to that. I usually do 45 mins of cardio per session in a fasted state (morning) and take glutamine beforehand. I considered making it into a cutting month but I don't think it would work out with a slowed metabolism. The workouts that I plan will be one hour before I can open my fast (in the evening sometime). I'm thinking about opening it with a pro/dex meal. Then eating a pro/carb meal 45 mins later. Then eating a pro/fat meal an hour or so after that.

What do you guys recommend for a Ramadan routine for bodybuilding Muslims in the same situation as me?

I appreciate any help. Thanks.

[RockyX]

That a tough situation bro. Gotta do what you gotta do though. Some advice I can give you is to eat something that takes a while to digest before you open your fast, casein, flax, etc....a fairly large amount. If you're concerned about losing muscle, you may have to wake up a little earlier to ensure you can get in a pre, post, and post post workout meal. I would not do cardio at all bro.....after fasting all day, it will only send you into an even more catabolic state. You're gonna lose muscle no doubt about it, but if you do it smart, you will have better luck.

[SwoleCat]

I'm afraid I'm unable to advise on this.

When it comes to fitness/health/metabolism/lean mass support/etc., NOT eating for an entire day is bad enough, let alone for an entire month.

I'd have to say that while you are fasting and paying respects, that you say one h*ll of a prayer for retaining lean muscle mass.

I'd also re-think even working out. Tearing your body apart repeatedly WITHOUT giving it what it needs to move FORTH IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION, is not something I would be aiming to do.

I understand you having to follow your religion (kinda ) , but at least have some respect as well for your BODY like you are showing respect elsewhere, and don't beat it up and tear it apart and expect for it to be okay w/it all. That's not going to happen.

Perhaps while you fast you also "fast" on the fitness/workout lifestyle, and attack that full force when the starvation is over? I suspect the damage would be far less.

Just some suggestions...........I know how precious nutrients are, and things like this are WCS...... Worst Case Scenarios.

Best of luck w/it all whatever the plan/outcome/etc.

~SC~

[arthurb999]

hmmm... tough question. Do you work during the day. (when I was in college I got up around noon every day). If not perhaps you can change your schedule around to where you get up later in the day... 2-3PM and just stay up late... till like 5AM or something...

again... tough situation.

[partyboynyc]

what are you feelings about this being a month , albeit it quite taxing with energy(calories), where he could potentially go into training program that involves only a low rep range.use it as a strength training month although not under optimal recovery conditions. the no glycogen thing is gonna be tough maybe the first few days(although we don't know what kind of fat stores this guy has for reserve), but if his training is finished right after sundown he could bulk on the caveman principle for a month....his body is gonna absorb **** near everything he puts in it after this hellacious fast for **** near what, 12 hours a day??
just thinking off the top of my head..i could probably come up with something timed and detailed if i actually sit down with it...not sure
wow now i have to think this....i would love to hear some opinions on this that we could all bounce back and forth and maybe help a brother out

[SwoleCat]

Dunno man, I'm swamped with clients who eat.



~SC~

[LightC]

I don't have a huge fat store but I could slim up a bit I bet. I don't think it's possible to use this month for cutting though. With a slower than usual metabolsim I'm more likely to gain weight in terms of fat. Well I'm thinking and hoping that this depends on how I eat and how much. I don't want to deprive myself of food but I don't want to binge either. I think I'll separate my meals after sundown to be between 45-120 minutes apart. To answer arthur's question, I usually work out in the evening, so if I work out I'll prolly do it right before I open my fast in the afternoon. So I'm thinking I can open it with a pro/dex combination. Also, if I do cardio in the morning after I wake up will I be burning a lot of fat throughout the day if I eat pro/fat breakfast? I think a pro/carb meal would keep me more sustained tho for a bit longer. Swole knows his stuff so I'm beginning to lean towards not working out. I might try it for a week and see how I cope with it. Thanks partyboynyc but I think Swole has already said everything he could say.

Anyway, I'm considering taking a serving of free form glutamine with every meal after sunset except with the PWO shake. I was also doing some reading off of google regarding bodybuilding and ramadan. Some guy recommended taking creatine before bed time to help hold onto water. But couldn't this be kinda dangerous? From what I've read, when taking creatine you should keep yourself well hydrated throughout the day or you can run into some problems. I won't be able to keep well hydrated so I don't think it's a good idea but what do you guys think?

Thanks guys. I know it's a tough scenario but I appreciate all the comments thus far.