Q: hi im an o level student and i am overweight since childhood. i go to gym often but i always land up in breaking my routine that is i go to gym for a few days and then leave it. i have a lot to study so i cannot possibly make a fixed time for work out.im a muslim and i think i can lose weight during ramadan.pls help me by giving me a diet plan for ramadan so that i could lose weight even without going to the gym as i am always busy in exams n monthly test.

A: I assume your age is around 16-17 (not sure exactly what 'O level' age is)... At your age unless you are very obese it's not a good idea to try and lose a lot of weight quickly -- a good pace would be no faster than 2 kgs (4 pounds) per month and I would try to make it slower. You may lose more weight in that since you'll be fasting for a month, but in general it's not a healthy goal to lose a lot of weight quickly.

As far as your diet during Ramadan, it does not need to be anything very special. You will almost certainly lose weight anyway so I would focus on eating healthy and eating a lot when you can to make sure you don't lose weight too much (which as I said is not healthy). If I understand correctly, you'll be limited to two meals per day -- one early in the morning and one late in the evening. In this case I would make sure the morning meal is rich in healthy carbs (oatmeal is always a great choice and/or fruits), protein (maybe eggs or any other protein-rich food), and healthy fats (dry-roasted nuts or egg yolks). In the evening I would have a big dose of veggies (perhaps a large salad or steamed veggies), some brown rice or sweet potatoes, some sort of lean meat or fish, and some olive oil as a salad dressing. Again, the emphasis should simply be on eating generous amounts of healthy foods when you can -- the fasting during the day will take care of weight loss already.

As far as the gym and workouts, I would not ignore them. Weight training not only burns fat while you are doing it, but even more importantly it preserves muscle which in turn burns fat around the clock. You will always get far better (and more lasting!) results when weight-training while losing weight than just dieting alone. A simple 20-30 minute program you can do in the gym whenever you get a bit of time is this.

Hope that helped, good luck!