The Hidden Causes of Weight Gain While Fasting
Why do people gain weight during fasting? Even when fasting, food and drink intake is reduced. Come on, find out the causes and how to prevent them so that fasting is healthy and your weight is controlled!
1. Excessive consumption of sugary beverages
Iftar feels lacking if it is not accompanied by favorite sweet drinks, such as mixed fruit with ice, iced cendol, iced timun suri, iced kuwut.
Breaking the fast with something sweet is indeed recommended. Excess sugar consumption, on the other hand, can increase body weight, cause a spike in energy that drops quickly, and impair blood sugar control, especially for people with diabetes.
To avoid this, limit your sweet drinks consumption to a maximum of twice a week. As an alternative menu for breaking the fast, choose healthy and refreshing drinks, such as fruit juice with no added sugar, infused water with cucumber and mint leaves, or natural coconut water.
2. Overeating when breaking the fast
After fasting all day, the desire to eat large portions is strong. However, overeating can cause digestive problems, bloating, and weight gain.
When breaking your fast, eat in reasonable portions. Avoid snacking continuously from the time you break your fast until suhoor. Eat no more than you would for lunch or dinner.
Break your fast with a main course high in fiber, water, and healthy protein, such as fish, chicken breast, lean meat, beans, low-fat milk, and complex carbohydrates like brown rice.
These foods will help control your blood sugar and avoid overeating.
Then, have a balanced iftar meal with moderate protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and plenty of vegetables. Practice mindful eating—pay attention to your body’s satiety signals. Stop eating when you feel full, not stuffed.
3. Skipping suhoor
Suhoor is crucial for providing energy throughout the day. Skipping it can cause excessive hunger, fatigue, desire to endure, and difficulty concentrating. In addition, people with ulcers can experience stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting due to increased stomach acid during fasting.
Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the suhoor menu. Even in tiny amounts, aim to include nutritious foods. The suhoor menu contains high nutrition.
Choose a suhoor menu that provides complex carbohydrates (brown rice and oats), protein (eggs and nuts), and healthy fats (grains and avocados). This combination ensures stable glucose levels in your blood that will support you until breaking the fast. Avoid foods high in salt to prevent excessive thirst.
4. Lack of fluid intake (dehydration)
Some people drink much water during suhoor to avoid dehydration during fasting. But is it true that this action can prevent dehydration?
It should be noted that drinking too much water at one time makes the stomach feel uncomfortable and bloated. It also has the potential to dilute digestive enzymes, thus inhibiting the digestion process.
Drinking enough fluids will keep you hydrated during your fast and prevent you from craving sugar after you break it.
How much should I drink to stay hydrated? Drink at least eight glasses of water while not fasting. You can split it into two glasses when breaking the fast, four glasses between breaking the fast and suhoor, and two glasses during suhoor.
Avoid caffeinated drinks like coffee or black tea, as they only dehydrate your body.
You can also keep your body hydrated by ending your fast with a few sips of water and one or two dates. Then, gradually meet your body's fluid needs by drinking a glass of water every few hours at night.
This method ensures optimum hydration without burdening your body's system.
5. Lack of physical activity
Many people reduce physical activity during fasting, which risks lowering metabolism and leading to weight gain. You can get light exercise, such as walking or yoga, even fasting.
Change your workout schedule to 15--45 minutes after breaking the fast or at least one hour after eating.
After breaking the fast, the body focuses on digesting the meal. Heavy activity might induce cramping and digestive problems.
6. Consuming excessive fried foods
Fried foods are tempting before breaking the fast. However, it is best to avoid them. Fried foods contain unhealthy fats and calories, contributing to weight gain and digestive problems.
They are also difficult to digest, especially after fasting.
Instead of fried foods, choose high-fiber foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
Fiber is essential for digestive health, regulating blood sugar levels, and increasing satiety. Lack of fiber can cause constipation, blood sugar spikes, and increased hunger.
Include plenty of fiber-rich foods in your suhoor and iftar meals.
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Fasting is a great time to nourish your body and improve your spiritual quality. To stay healthy and maintain weight, focus on your diet, hydration, and physical activity during Ramadan.
Implementing a balanced diet and avoiding bad habits will make your fast more blessed and helpful to your health.
Check your health early and avoid the risk of serious illness. Visit the GWS Medika Clinic, a trusted health clinic in Jakarta.
