Happy Ramadan Mubarak

It’s the time of the year where worldwide Muslim celebrate Ramadan Mubarak. And I know this is an old topic begin repeated again and again. So just as a friendly share on the diet on how to maintain metabolic during the fast so you will avoid burning too much muscles.

Well, I guess a lot of people would ask me what do I know about fasting, about Suhoor and Iftar to be legible to talk about it. I guess for one, I’m a Malaysian growing up in a society with different races, religions, cultures, traditions and lifestyle which includes Malay & Muslim. Two, I have to know about dieting, nutrition, anabolism, catabolism and metabolism as a fitness trainer. So I guess i would be legit. In a way.

As to why I decide to talk on this topic now. It’s plain simple. Ramadan is around the corner and I hope to see those who have worked hard for those hard earn muscles to maintain it and stay motivated. 1st off. You don’t have to go out there are grab as much expensive supplements which claims to stay in the system for many hours. Of course it does work and it’s easier. But I’m just here to share a more natural approach towards it and much more friendlier to the bank account.

Basically the game plan is to keep the food in the body as long as possible. Although around 4 hours the body will start to feed on the muscles because it sense an emergency state and will store the main source of fuel as backup. But there might just be a way to beat it but taking the right food which burns slower and stays longer in the system.

So let’s get down to the list. I guess fiber tops my list. Not just any fiber but SOLUBLE FIBER. Soluble fiber attracts water and dissolve in it causing it to form a gel-like substance which slows down the digestion. Soluble fibers include oats, legumes, psylluim, Wheat Bran, fruits, veges and practically anything whole grain.

Then follows by Carbohydrates. Yes people. The Public Enemy No 1 of 6 packs community. But 1/2 true. Cause like the “FORCE” there is the dark force and the light force.  Sith or Jedi, your choice. So choosing the right carbs plays an important role. In this case, COMPLEX CARBS wins unchallenged. It’s kinda a ironic that most complex carbs contains lots of soluble Fiber. So it can only means, EAT YOUR FIBER! Complex carbs selection includes Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Wild and Brown rice, Oats and Grains.

Placing 3rd on my list don’t mean it’s less important than the above 2. It’s just because I can’t talk all 3 together. It will be jiberish. Yes. Protein is very important during the fasting month because proteins are harder to break down and plus it’s what keep our hard earn muscles locked within. Once the body starts breaking down muscles its converting the protein blocks into amino to be consume. So make sure you up your protein to keep your muscles well fed.

Last but not the least, FATS. Yeah, you heard me. Fats is one ingredient you won’t want to be lack of. Cause our body practically burns on fats as fuel too if we set it up correctly. Carbs being the 1st to burn and if you don’t input enough fats in the system the body directly head to the protein tank as fuel. BUT… BUT… BUT… Not all fats are good. MONOUNSATURATED & POLYUNSATURATED FATS will be your best friends. The earlier fats you can choose from Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Sunflower, Avocados & Nuts and the later fats selections are Safflower oil, Sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds, Flaxseed, Walnuts & Fatty Fish. Processed fats are very HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO BE AVOIDED.

So play around with your food. Making sure you have a good amount of everything above and avoid any processed food which is packed with salt, sugar or simple carbs during Suhoor. Don’t feed on a large amount of food at one time because that will only cause your stomach to expand in turn and long run you will have to pour more just to fill it up. So maintain moderation in portion.

Iftar meals are just as important. Remember, you have been fasting the whole day so your blood sugar level would have been very low. And trying to drown yourself in food too fast too furious would cause insulin imbalance or insulin surge which will result in causing harm to your body. So be humble and take it slowly. Start of with some healthier sugar (Natural Preferred) in the likes of Dates, Raisins, Figs, some fruits in small amount and slowly so your body can readjust the blood sugar level without causing shock to the insulin hormone.

Wait a while before you start consuming the main course. The diet is similar to the selections you have for your Suhoor but with a slight tweak. Try a little simple carbs in the likes of white rice, white bread, durum Wheat pasta (You get the idea) at moderate portion and be practical. This is because the body will devour the food quickly to replace the lost carbs and calories. That’s just about the major difference for Suhoor and Iftar. try to snack every 2 – 3 hours after on food high in fiber & protein, moderate complex carbs, and low good fats till you sleep.

hope this helps.

Pump smart, Eat right, Stay healthy

Fat burn or water loss?

Do you sweat because you work your body hard or because of the heat surrounding you?

Well, I guess I See the point to blog about this because I notice more and more builders (locally – not too sure if it’s similar in any other places) mistook sweating as the signs of fat burning. But Not so According to the New England Journal of Medicine. (CLICK IT & READ IT… lol)

There is a huge misunderstanding. I’ve met builders who told me that Sun bathing burns body fats, sauna burn body fats, training in a stuffy closed up gym burns more fats… & many more. You’ll be surprised. But the best one I’ve heard so far is still Narrow grip on a Preacher curl machine builds triceps. Trust me, you don’t even need to move an inch in a stuffy room to sweat. Don’t have to comment on the sauna. But does all these heat boost up your metabolism or cause your body to burn fats? Well, probably it might just do in micro ways. You need energy to sit, nudge, stand, move fingers, twitch the toes… so you are still burning fats. Just very very micro which is not enough to cover the calories you might be eating. But the scenario here, even if you lay down and play dead in the sauna room, a stuffy room or any heaty environment you will still be sweating because our sweat pores will automatically react towards the heat and release moisture to cool down the temperature. Well, probably there is some more micro metabolic increase here. Maybe.

So does this mean that sweating = fat burn? The sweat was release due to the increase in temperature around the skin to decrease the temperature of the body will not over heat which might cause heat stroke or some other malicious conditions. In other words, you are losing water or being dehydrated. Too much of that and it’s a big NO NO for the skin health because you are losing the skin moisture which is important for the skin’s elasticity.

On the other hand, if you train / workout / exercise in a cool environment with AWESOME air circulation and still sweat… YOU HELL KNOW YOU ARE PUMPING HARD!!! LoL. Well, I used to workout in a Seria, Brunei Darussalam Gym with 6 air-con at 16° – 18° (Practically it’s full blast) and I can still sweat a bucket… well a chinese tea glass. 😛 So make sure you are eating right for the body to work hard to digest the food to increase your metabolism and workout right to increase your metabolic rate to burn fats and not wait for the sweat to think you burn fats.

One of my photoshoot with Annie, Miri Photographer