Muslim Weight Loss Plan

Hurry hurry, while the baby is sleeping!!!

Now that Ramadan is over, I have to go back on my diet. Actually, I am going to try something else. I was doing low carb for a while before Ramadan, alhumdulillah, I had lost 15 or so pounds in a few short months.

But then I kind of got stuck, and once I get stuck for a two or more weeks, I get discouraged. Besides that, low carb can get expencive, with all the meat you have to buy, and I really miss bread and pasta and CHOCOLATE. Also, I had moved at the end of July and at the new place I have no where to go for the daily walks I used to take with the baby. Our new street is really busy all day and I feel anxious walking with the baby so close to the traffic.

A few years ago I did some personal research about dieting and weight loss in Islam and "developed" my own Muslimah's Diet. (But I never really tried out.) There really isn't an actual weight loss plan in Islam, but if you look into it, there are several ayahs from Qur'an and haddith about the Sunnah that describes how a Muslim should eat, not just what a Muslim should or should not eat.

Eating is a big part of the Islamic culture (or just about any culture.) It deals with hospitality and closeness of family. When you visit someone, you eat. When you invite someone, you eat. When you go out with friends, you eat.

The haddith I found mostly advise portion control. You should not over eat and stuff yourself. In fact, you should never eat until you are totally full. The one that I found the most interesting says that when you eat, you should fill yourself with 1/3 food, 1/3 drink, and 1/3 air. Eat and drink but don't get overly full. (One third air, I take to mean, the extra "space" in your stomach from not filling it all the way.) Eat slowly and pay attention to your body and stop when you are no longer feeling hungry. Another one says the food of one person can sustain two, and the food of two can sustain three, etc. Well, I back it up a little bit and come to the conclusion that the food of half can sustain one. (That's just me talking, not the actual haddith, but it makes sense, right?)

If eaten the proper way, as advised by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, this should be possible. Don't just cram it all in your mouth, scarfing it down, have some self control, eat in moderation, serve others before serving yourself, eat what you get and don't get what you can't finish (don't waste and don't over endulge.) Basic Islamic princples.

Okay, I got to cut this short. Baby has been up for a while now. InshaAllah I will try this out till New Year's, see how it goes. I got a lot more info, just got to tend to the kid right now