If you don't train at all

From a nutrition standpoint, this period isn't all that different from regular intermittent fasting: the same compressed eating window, the same big evening meal. The main difference is that the fasting window can run a bit longer than the classic 16/8 depending on where you live.

The key distinction, of course, is that during Ramadan you can't drink fluids either. That makes hydration the thing to really pay attention to. Here's what you need to know:

Different drinks hydrate you differently, and plain water is actually far from the best choice when your drinking window is only around six hours. It's worth looking into electrolyte drinks (the combination of carbohydrates and minerals helps your body hold onto fluids) or even regular milk, which surprisingly ranks among the top beverages for hydration [1].

It's also worth knowing that your gut can only absorb around 600–800 ml of water per hour [2]. Factor in the time it takes to move from the stomach to the small intestine, and you're realistically looking at about a litre to a litre and a half at a time.

If you're drinking carbohydrate-based electrolyte drinks, keep in mind that carb absorption has its own ceiling too. An untrained gut can handle a maximum of around 60g of carbohydrates per hour [3]. Combining multiple carbohydrate types (glucose + fructose, fructose + maltodextrin) during exercise can push that up to 90–120g [4]. Go easy on fructose though — above 50g it tends to cause GI issues for most people. The safe upper limit is around 25g [5]. Carbs from solid food, on the other hand, rarely cause the same problems.

If you train for strength

Everything above still applies. Now let's talk protein, and the short version is: don't stress too much about it. As long as you're hitting your daily protein target, muscle protein synthesis will stay elevated for up to 12 hours after your last meal [6]. There's no urgent need to rush protein in right after your workout [7]. Protein in the morning, protein in the evening, that's a perfectly solid approach.

As for carbohydrates, they don't really matter much for hypertrophy training in and of themselves [8]. But training after a 16-hour fast is a different story. In that context, having carbs before your session is genuinely useful, even for strength athletes [9]. Actually, any food will help. Training hungry isn't ideal: the sensation of hunger can directly undermine your athletic performance [10][11].

The optimal setup looks something like this: light snack → training → full meal. That way you're not walking into the gym on empty, and you're also avoiding the heaviness or drowsiness that can follow a big pre-workout meal. If snacking beforehand isn't an option, bring something with you — liquid carbs and hydrolysed protein are especially convenient here.

There's another option: wake up early (well before dawn), train, eat, then start your fast. Training fasted in the early morning is generally more manageable, especially with some liquid calories on board. You'll also naturally drink more during the session, which is a win either way. Follow it up with a solid post-workout breakfast and plenty of fluids.

Whatever approach you go with, try to protect your sleep — sleep deprivation drives appetite up [12], and you don't need that extra challenge right now.

One more thing worth mentioning: recovery. Any form of intermittent fasting raises the risk of sliding into a caloric deficit, and a deficit makes recovery harder. Keep an eye on your training volume and don't be afraid to dial it back if needed [13]. Think of it as a good excuse to lean out a little :)

If you're a cyclist, CrossFitter, or do any sport where endurance matters

Carbohydrates are non-negotiable here. Current recommendations sit at 8–10g/kg per day [14][15][16]. When half your day is spent fasting, hitting those numbers is a real challenge — but we do what we can.

For endurance athletes, replenishing glycogen stores right after training is crucial — delay it and recovery drags. The standard recommendation is around 1g/kg of bodyweight per hour in the first three hours post-workout [17].

The best approach during Ramadan:
— Schedule your intense sessions for the evening. — Take in protein and carbohydrates during the workout itself. This is standard practice among competitive endurance athletes.

A rough nutrition framework:

Protein: 0.25–0.5g/kg for every hour of training, distributed around your session. The split between before/during/after doesn't matter much. If your two main meals of the day cover your total protein needs, you can basically ignore timing altogether.

Carbohydrates — ideally during training, keeping GI limits in mind (60–90g/h at a fructose-to-glucose ratio of 1:1).

— For easy cardio or strength work: 0.25g/kg, mostly after the session (during is fine too); — For long and/or high-intensity cardio: up to 1g/kg per hour of training, during and after (heads up: GI distress is a real possibility here); — For everything in between: 0.25–1g/kg per hour of training.

If the session is short or easy, you probably don't need carbs mid-workout. But given the fasting context, it makes sense to cluster as many carbs as possible around the training window regardless.

Fluids: If you train in the morning, aim to drink 300–500ml before you start. During the session, another half to full litre works well; that's also a good time to get your protein and isotonic drink in.

The ideal approach — optimally something you'd have figured out before Ramadan started, but still useful now — is to measure how much fluid you lose during workouts at different intensities. Weigh yourself before, note how much you drank during, then weigh yourself after. The difference is your sweat loss. Aim to drink at least 1.5x that amount during and after training.

For example: you weigh 100kg before your workout, drink 500ml during it, and weigh 98.5kg after. Your losses are 100 + 0.5 − 98.5 = 2kg. For a session like that, you'd want to drink around 2.5–3 litres in the surrounding window.

And finally, probably the most important point. Mindset. The fasting periods you're going through during Ramadan aren't a threat to your health. If anything, you might come out healthier. Intermittent fasting tends to nudge people into a caloric deficit [18], and if you're carrying extra weight or have metabolic issues, losing some of it will only do you good [19]. So stay busy, stay positive — and don't spend too much time standing in front of the fridge. Ramadan Kareem 🌙

List of sources:
1. A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index (Maughan, 2015)
2. Conservation of fluid and electrolytes by the human gut (Sladen, 1971)
3. A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During Exercise (Jeukendrup, 2014)
4. High rates of exogenous carbohydrate oxidation from a mixture of glucose and fructose ingested during prolonged cycling exercise (Jentjens, 2005)
5. Ability of the Normal Human Small Intestine to Absorb Fructose: Evaluation by Breath Testing (Rao, 2007)
6. The anabolic response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit in magnitude and duration in vivo in humans (Trommelen, 2023)
7. Timing matters? The effects of two different timing of high protein diets on body composition, muscular performance, and biochemical markers in resistance-trained males (Lak, 2024)
8. The Effect of Carbohydrate Intake on Strength and Resistance Training Performance: A Systematic Review (Henselmans, 2022)
9. The Ergogenic Effects of Acute Carbohydrate Feeding on Resistance Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (King, 2022)
10. Starving Your Performance? Reduced Preexercise Hunger Increases Resistance Exercise Performance (Naharudin, 2021)
11. Effects Of Altered Carbohydrate And Protein Intake During Recovery From High-intensity Endurance Exercise (Goh, 2025)
12. Sleep Deprivation and Central Appetite Regulation (Liu, 2022)
13. Reducing resistance training volume during Ramadan improves muscle strength and power in football players (Rebaï, 2014)
14. Diet, muscle glycogen and physical performance (Bergström, 1967)
15. Effect of exercise-diet manipulation on muscle glycogen and its subsequent utilization during performance (Sherman, 1981)
16. Carbohydrate and exercise (Burke, 1999)
17. Postexercise muscle glycogen resynthesis in humans (Burke, 2017)
18. Intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating role in dietary interventions and precision nutrition (Soliman, 2022)
19. Effects of Time-Restricted Feeding and Ramadan Fasting on Body Weight, Body Composition, Glucose Responses, and Insulin Resistance: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials (Tsitsou, 2022)