Build a Ramadan meal plan — how to spread a day's calories, protein and fluid across the hours between Iftar and Suhoor.
Estimates are for general guidance only and are not medical advice. For a personalised plan, book a free guided tour at RPM Gym.
The daily calorie figure is the same target you would have outside Ramadan for the same goal — fasting changes when you eat, not how much energy your body needs across 24 hours.
The 40/35/25 split across Iftar, an evening meal and Suhoor exists to stop the whole day landing in one sitting. Breaking a fast with the entire day's food is what produces the heaviness and the poor sleep, not the fast itself.
Protein is set per kilogram rather than as a share of calories. In a compressed eating window the calorie total moves with your goal but the protein requirement doesn't, and protein is the intake most likely to fall short when there are only two or three eating opportunities.
The fluid figure covers the whole window, and it is a range rather than a target because published intakes disagree and sweat rates vary several-fold. It is also total water — the food you eat carries a fifth of it. It is the number most people miss, because thirst returns quickly after Iftar and then stops prompting.
TDEE = Mifflin-St Jeor BMR × activity factor Goal: maintain = TDEE · lose fat = TDEE − 400 · keep muscle = TDEE + 200 Split: Iftar 40% · evening meal 35% · Suhoor 25% Protein: weight kg × 2.0 (fat loss) or × 1.8 (otherwise) Fluid: total-water reference for your sex + 0.5-2.0 L per hour sweating, as a range
A 35-year-old man, 82 kg, 178 cm, training lightly (1.375), maintaining weight.
About 2,423 kcal split 969 / 848 / 606 across the window, with 148 g of protein and a fluid reference of 3.0 to 5.7 L across the eating hours.
The same as you would outside it for the same goal — fasting changes the timing, not the 24-hour requirement. What changes is that the total has to fit into two or three meals, which is why the split matters more than usual.
It's a harder time than most. The eating window is short, sleep is disrupted and training usually drops, so a steep deficit tends to cost muscle and adherence rather than speed anything up. Most people do better holding weight through the month and running the deficit afterwards.
Roughly 40% at Iftar, 35% at a later evening meal and 25% at Suhoor works for most people. It stops the entire day arriving in one sitting, which is the main cause of the post-Iftar heaviness people describe.
Maintaining muscle through a month of fasting is a realistic goal for most people who keep training and hit their protein. Protein intake and continued resistance training matter more than meal timing does.
The planner shows a range built from the published total-water reference intakes plus a session allowance — roughly 3 to 5.7 litres for a man training an hour. It is a wide band on purpose: the two reference bodies publish different figures and sweat rates vary several-fold. Spread it across the window rather than drinking heavily at Iftar.
Slower-digesting food that carries you through the day: oats, eggs, yoghurt, olive oil, and some fruit or vegetables for fluid. Fast sugars leave you hungry earlier, which is why a sweet Suhoor often feels worse by mid-morning.
That's a training-timing question rather than a nutrition one, and the Ramadan workout planner covers it. Most people find training shortly after Iftar the easiest to sustain because they can eat and drink around it.
Not as a substitute for medical advice. Fasting changes how medication schedules and blood-glucose management work, and those adjustments have to come from your doctor. Bring the plan to that conversation rather than following it in place of one.
RPM Gym in Al Manhal runs through Ramadan with hours built around the fast. Book a free guided tour and plan the month with a coach.