Q: hey Mike, i have a quick question. Im fasting during ramadaan and i bodybuild, its the 4th day and im feeling that im losingmy bulk already, what do i do to prevent from losing any muslces. I usually eat very often after i break my fast. should i consume more foods like whole milk, beef, chicken, protein shakes, rice and many more, shuld i lift weights during this month or not ?

A: The apparent loss of muscle mass you're seeing now, on just the fourth day, is almost certainly due to the lack of muscle glycogen and water (which glycogen draws into the muscles), and not actual muscle mass loss. You're eating fewer carbs than you normally would so your overall glucose levels and muscle glycogen levels in particular are lower. If you started eating normally right now you'd see your muscles swell back up to normal within a day or two.

However a whole month of daytime fast can certainly cause muscle loss. To minimize it what you'll need to do is to eat literally as much as you can during the times that you're allowed to eat. Make sure you eat at least once both in the morning and in the evening and make those meals BIG! If it's just 2 meals a day, you'll want them to be at least 1000 calories each. Eat all the foods you mentioned as well as other carb sources (oatmeal, other whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils) and healthy fats (olive oil, flax seed, nuts).

For example. for breakfast you might eat 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese, 0.5 cup (before cooking) oats, 2 bananas, 1 cup strawberries, and 4 tablespoons of flax sprinkled into oats. That is around 1000 calories with 75 grams of protein or so. For supper/dinner you may have a lean 8-ounce lean fillet steak, 2 medium sweet potatoes, a large greens salad with two tablespoons of olive oil. That's also around 1000 calories with 80 grams of protein.

Continue lifting weights, but cut down on both duration and intensity of your sessions. Lift 2-3 times/week for 30-45 minutes each time. Don't go to failure as much as used to -- your body will likely not have sufficient nutrients that it normally would to repair all the muscle damage you inflict on the gym. I would also cut out all cardio till after the fast.