Weight Gains During Fasting, Here's How To Prevent It According To Nutrition Doctors

JAKARTA - Some people feel that their weight increases during the fasting month, when it should be an opportunity to maintain a healthier diet. The main cause of weight gain during fasting is uncontrolled diet, especially when breaking the fast and sahur.

Many people consider breaking time as a moment of 'revenge' after a day of fasting. dr. Juwalita Surapsari, M.Gzi, Sp.G.K, clinical nutritionist says consuming excessive takjil, such as fried foods and sweet foods can cause weight gain.

In addition, foods that are high in fat tend to be digested more slowly by the body, so that they can accumulate and contribute to weight gain. Foods or drinks that are too sweet can increase insulin levels quickly, which then cause hunger faster and trigger excessive eating during breaking the fast.

"At dinner, it is recommended to avoid high-fat foods tend to come out of the stomach more slowly. When suhoor, avoid food is too salty, because it can make you thirst quickly while fasting," said dr. Juwalita, quoted from the YouTube channel of Pondok Indah Hospital.

"Avoid food is too sweet to prevent increasing the fast insulin response so fast fasting does not taste hungry. Avoid containing caffeine, because there is a diuretic effect that makes urinating excessive, I'm afraid it tends to be dehydrated," he added.

During fasting, many people tend to reduce physical activity on the grounds that they are weak or lazy to move. In fact, the body still needs exercise to burn calories.

"Keep exercising regularly. Exercise is recommended after dawn, 1 hour before breaking the fast, or 1 hour after breaking the fast. So stay active and maintain food intake," said dr. Juwalita.

In addition, immediately going to bed after eating can cause food not to be digested properly, making it easier to store it as body fat. Dehydration is often misinterpreted as hunger, so the body tends to eat more food than it actually needs.

How To Prevent Weight Increase During Fasting

1. Control Food Portion

When breaking the fast, it is better to consume takjil enough, then proceed with a dinner that contains balanced nutrition. Limit meal times to 21.30 so that the body has time to digest food before bed.

2. Choose a balanced nutritious food

dr. Juwalita said the sahur and breaking menu must contain carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Carbohydrates can be made from rice, oats, or tubers. Protein can be obtained from fish, chicken, eggs, tofu, and tempeh. Healthy fat can be obtained from avocado, nuts, and olive oil.

"Although fasting for 14 hours, which can shift meal times, still has balanced nutrition diet guidelines. Balanced nutrition has guidelines or a diet of the amount according to the needs of the body," he added.

3. Avoid High Fat Foods And Salt

High fatty foods are difficult for the body to digest and can cause a buildup of fat. Too salty foods should also be avoided during sahur, because they can make the body feel thirst faster when fasting.

4. Reduce Excessive Sweet Food Consumption

Foods that are too sweet can increase blood sugar levels quickly, which actually makes the body feel hungry faster.

5. Stay Active And Exercise

Exercise can still be done during fasting. The recommended time is after dawn, one hour before breaking the fast, or an hour after breaking the fast.

6. Sufficient Liquid Needs

During fasting, dr. Juwalita said ideally a person still drinks 8 glasses of water per day.

"When suhoor 2 glasses. Then breaking the fast, 2 more glasses of water were continued. Then the rest continued after 2 more dinner, until bedtime add 2 more glasses of water. So one day still 8 glasses of water." he explained.

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