A change in your eating and sleeping patterns doesn’t have to affect your health and fitness routine. Here, Red Bull wakeboard athlete Omeir Saeed’s gives his dos and don’ts during Ramadan.

Don’t skip Suhoor

Suhoor is basically like breakfast where you should eat something filling. I don’t like to eat too much so early in the morning though, so usually I have a sandwich around 03:00 as bread stops me getting hungry. Skipping this meal makes fasting during the day extremely difficult.

Do avoid salty food

Your body needs nutritious food, not junk, so ensure you don’t eat a lot of salt or fried foods because it’ll just make you thirsty, without benefitting you throughout the day. Instead, you should eat plenty of rice, beans or oats as they release energy slowly keeping you going for longer.

Don’t over indulge

The temptation after going all day without food is to just stuff yourself as soon as you can. It’s important to break your fast slowly. Start with some dates, as they’re a good source of vitamins, minerals, energy, sugar and fiber. I’ll also eat soup or rice and drink Arabic tea.

Do drink a lot of water

It’s really important to drink a lot of water before Morning Prayer because it’s going to get you through the next 12 hours. I leave it as late as possible before I drink at least two litres, at around 03:45, to make sure my body can cope without food for the day ahead.

Don’t miss sleep

Our resting patterns are a bit disrupted during the month of Ramadan but you should always ensure you don’t miss out on sleep. I just change the hours I rest. So I’ll sleep around 01:00, wake around 03:00 to eat and pray then sleep again until about 10:00.

Do go to the gym

Try working out for around 45 minutes in the evening, around 17:30 during Ramadan. As a wakeboarder it’s important for me to be in the gym to keep my body fit, but also I need to work the cables later on in the evening, around 22:00, just to keep the body active.

Don’t forget to exercise

It’s easy to use Ramadan as an excuse to not get fit because your normal routine is disturbed so be smart with when you workout. Find the energy to exercise an hour or so before you eat because your body will be craving food after a workout.

Do keep up energy levels

Before I go wakeboarding, especially during the holy month, I’ll drink a can of Red Bull before I hit the water to give me enough sugar to boost my energy levels. As an athlete it’s important that I’m still able to perform at a high standard even with a lack of food and water.