How to eat well in Ramadan, from sehri to iftar.

What should you eat at sehri to stay full?

Eat sehri (suhoor), the meal before dawn, near the end of sehri time rather than at midnight, and build it around protein, fibre and fluid. Diabetes UK advises against skipping it, and the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) suggests high-fibre or wholegrain starchy foods, which can help keep you feeling fuller.

• Protein: eggs, a bowl of daal or chana (which bring fibre too), or last night's chicken salan.
• Slow-release starch: a chakki atta roti, oats or dalia (broken wheat) cooked in milk, or a little brown rice.
• Fluid: a bowl of dahi, a glass of milk or plain lassi, cucumber, an orange or a guava, and water.

Paratha, the sehri favourite in many homes, can stay. A roti made from 40 g of atta is roughly 135 calories before any fat, and a tablespoon of ghee adds about 120 more, so brush yours with a teaspoon (about 45) instead. Keep khajla and pheni (fried treats eaten with sweet milk) for the odd weekend.

Go easy on salt, too. The BNF warns that salty dishes at sehri can leave you thirsty during the fast, so keep achar and namkeen (salted) lassi small.

What should you eat at iftar?

Break your fast with a date or two and a glass of water, then slow down. The BNF calls dates a great way to break the fast, with natural sugars for energy, potassium and some fibre, and suggests eating slowly.

A simple order to follow:

1. Dates and water at the adhan (call to prayer).
2. A small bowl of fruit chaat or chana chaat.
3. Maghrib prayer.
4. One measured plate.

For that plate, use the plate method from the US CDC: on a 9-inch plate, fill half with sabzi or salad, a quarter with chicken, fish, daal or chana, and a quarter with roti or rice. Have roti or rice, not both.

Treat iftar as dinner rather than a buffet. The BNF suggests keeping fatty and sugary foods and sugary drinks to a small amount after the fast.

Can you eat pakoray, samosay and jalebi in Ramadan?

Yes, in small amounts and not every night. Diabetes UK advises having fried and oily foods in moderation, because eating them too often could lead to unintentional weight gain through Ramadan. Fat has 9 calories per gram, so a tablespoon of oil is about 120 calories, and deep-fried food carries some of its frying oil to your plate.

Fruit chaat earns its place: the BNF notes that fruit gives natural sugars, fluid and some vitamins and minerals. It's the added sugar and cream that turn it into dessert.

How much water should you drink between iftar and sehri?

About as much as on any other day, squeezed into fewer hours. The NHS suggests 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day as a guide, and more in hot weather or when you're active. In Ramadan it all has to fit between iftar and sehri, so spread it out:

• Two glasses at iftar, starting with water.
• Two or three between Maghrib and bedtime, including around taraweeh (the extra night prayers).
• Two at sehri.

Water is best. Milk and lower-sugar drinks, such as chai with little sugar, count too, says the NHS, which suggests no more than one small glass (150 ml) of fruit juice a day. If you usually drink several cups of chai, cut down slowly in the weeks before Ramadan.

Fruit, sabzi, dahi and soups such as yakhni add fluid too. Salt works the other way, the BNF notes, because it stimulates thirst, so keep nimco and extra chaat masala small. By sehri, aim for pale yellow pee; feeling thirsty or dark pee can be early signs of dehydration.

What does a Ramadan diet plan look like with Pakistani food?

Here's an example day. It shows the pattern, not a prescription: your portions depend on your size, your routine and your health.

On other days, swap sehri for oats cooked in milk with a banana, or an anda paratha made with a teaspoon of oil, and rotate dinner through daal chawal, chicken karahi and keema matar.

How do you avoid gaining weight in Ramadan?

Keep an eye on the iftar table more than the fast itself. The BNF notes that a lot of deep-fried, creamy and sweet foods may cause you to gain weight during Ramadan.

• Choose one fried item a night. If it's pakoray today, skip the samosay.
• Eat a proper sehri so you don't reach iftar starving.
• At iftar dawats, have dates and water first, then fill one plate and stop there.
• Count the sugar: a glass of sherbet, a piece of jalebi and two sweet cups of chai can all land on the same evening.
• Move a little: a walk after iftar is a good habit.

The BNF also calls Ramadan a good time to make changes you can keep up afterwards. To carry them past Eid, see our Pakistani diet plan for weight loss, our guide to roti and weight loss, or the online weight loss clinic.

Can you fast in Ramadan if you have diabetes?

Many people with diabetes do fast, but make that decision with your doctor, well before Ramadan. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin in early February, depending on the moon sighting. An NHS diabetes leaflet says to see your diabetes team at least 6 to 8 weeks before fasting begins, so book that appointment for December.

Never change your insulin or tablets on your own. If you take insulin or tablets such as gliclazide, fasting carries a risk of low blood sugar, and your doses or timings may need to change.

The IDF and DAR International Alliance guide to a safe fast advises people at very high or high risk not to fast, for example those with poorly controlled diabetes, severe and repeated hypos (low blood sugar) in the three months before Ramadan, kidney problems or pregnancy. Whatever your risk, it says to consult your doctor before deciding. If you do fast, it says to stop when:

• your blood sugar is below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L);
• your blood sugar is above 300 mg/dL (16.6 mmol/L);
• you feel unwell.

Your doctor may give you different numbers. Keep checking during the day: Diabetes UK and the IDF guide both say checking your blood sugar doesn't break the fast. Diabetes UK also suggests opening the fast with one date or a glass of water.

For plates and portions, see our diet plan for sugar patients and our blood sugar and heart health service.

Who should check with a doctor before fasting in Ramadan?

Anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, unwell or living with a long-term condition. The BNF notes there are exemptions for people whose health could be affected by fasting, such as pregnant or breastfeeding women and people with diabetes. Whether one applies to you is a question for a scholar you trust; the health side is for your doctor.

• Pregnancy: the BNF suggests a health check with your midwife or GP before deciding, and our pregnancy diet plan covers what to eat.
• Breastfeeding: ask your doctor how fasting fits with your feeds and how much you need to drink.
• Regular medicines: for blood pressure, the heart, the kidneys or anything else, ask how to time your doses around sehri and iftar, and don't stop or skip them yourself.
• Older relatives in poor health, and anyone who is ill when Ramadan begins.

If you're advised not to fast for health reasons, Diabetes UK suggests speaking to an imam about the alternatives.

NutriZaika is a virtual nutrition clinic, and every 28-day plan is reviewed by Nida Tu Sehar, Senior Nutrition Consultant and Clinical Lead. The Signature plan includes fasting-aware meal scheduling, built around your sehri and iftar. See our plans and prices. If you'd like help planning your Ramadan meals, choose your plan.