Umrah and Hajj: Buffets, Hydration and Keeping Your Routine (Video)

Transcript

Umrah & Hajj: Simple Habits

Umrah and Hajj are spiritual journeys, but the endless buffets and heat can throw off your routine. Let’s talk about simple habits to stay comfortable and keep your health in check.

Walking, Buffets, and Weight

People often return from Umrah having walked more than they have in years, yet feeling heavier than when they left. The buffet, hotel schedule, dates, and laban are the usual suspects, and many avoid thinking about portions on a spiritual trip. You don’t have to be perfect; just handle a few predictable situations.

Why walking isn’t enough

A pilgrim can easily cover ten to fifteen kilometres a day between the hotel, the Haram, and the tawaf. That movement is good, but it’s far from enough to offset an unlimited buffet eaten three times a day, plus dates, laban, sweets, and midnight Karak chai. Walking burns roughly fifty to eighty calories per kilometre, depending on weight and pace.

At a glance

Realistic aim on a trip: hold your weight, don’t try to lose. Buffet rule: walk around before you take a plate, then sit down and eat one plate. Hydration is a safety issue before it’s a weight issue. Dates are roughly twenty to thirty calories each, and most people don’t stop at three.

Hydration safety first

In Makkah and Madinah, especially outside winter, heat and dehydration are real risks for older pilgrims and anyone on blood-pressure or diuretic medication. Get hydration right before you worry about calories. Zamzam water is a good default; the calories come from laban, juices, and sweet Karak chai. Carry a bottle and sip throughout the day, aiming for pale straw-coloured urine. In serious heat, plain water may not be enough, use an oral-rehydration sachet. Walk early morning or after Isha when it’s cooler, and choose shaded or indoor routes during the peak heat. An umbrella, light cotton clothing, and a head cover help keep you cool.

Taming the buffet

Hotel buffets in Makkah and Madinah are built for volume and are included in what you already paid, which creates a psychological trap. Three simple habits handle most of it. First, walk the whole length of the buffet once with no plate, deciding what you actually want before you start serving. Then, load half your plate with salad and vegetable dishes, followed by protein like grilled chicken or fish. Finally, sit down with one plate, put your phone away, and eat slowly. If you want dessert, choose just one a day at a single meal rather than a small piece at every meal.

Traditional fast-break habit

Breaking a fast with dates and water is a long-standing Sunnah and a sensible way to eat: something small and known first, a pause, then the meal. The habit works outside Ramadan too. Three dates and a glass of water when you get back to the hotel, followed by a proper meal twenty minutes later, tends to produce a smaller plate than walking straight into the buffet starving.

Quiet calories

These are the quiet ones because they don’t feel like meals. Dates are roughly twenty to thirty calories each, and a handful several times a day adds up. Laban is salted and refreshing, but you often drink it by the bottle in the heat, check the label rather than assuming it’s free. Karak chai is sweet and milky by design; two or three cups a day is a real number. Packaged juice is concentrated sugar with no fullness, so water or plain laban is a better choice.

You cannot out-walk an unlimited buffet, and you were never meant to try.

Medicines and routine

This part matters more than weight, and it’s where people often go wrong. Carry all regular medicines in your hand luggage, in original packaging, with enough for the whole trip plus a few extra days. Write a list of your medicines, doses, and conditions in English. Time-zone changes shift dosing, so ask your doctor how to adjust, especially for insulin or diabetes tablets. If you take insulin or sulfonylureas, long walking days plus irregular meals can trigger low blood sugar.

Doctor check-up

Especially if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease, or you are pregnant, see your doctor before you travel. Ask specifically about medicine timing across time zones, hypoglycemia risk on long walking days, vaccination requirements, and how much walking is sensible for you. Do not attempt a weight-loss diet during Hajj or Umrah; the heat, walking, and crowds are demanding enough, and eating too little raises the risk of fainting. Anyone who develops chest pain, breathlessness, confusion in the heat, a very fast heartbeat, or severe dizziness needs medical help immediately.

Trip plan basics

Set the goal as maintenance. You’re not trying to lose weight on the trip; you want to come home the same weight you left, having eaten well and walked a great deal, and then pick up your normal routine. Aim for two proper meals a day from the buffet, one plate each, plus dates and fruit between them. Include protein at both meals to keep you full during long hours at the Haram. Water should be your default drink; sweet drinks only once a day if you want. Choose one dessert a day, eat it sitting down, and enjoy it deliberately.

After you return

If the scale has moved up a kilo or two, much of it is salt, heat, and travel water retention, and it usually settles within a week or two of normal eating. Do not respond with a crash diet. Go back to your ordinary routine: usual portions, usual walking, usual sleep. If you were losing weight before you left, resume the same honest pace of about half to one kilogram a week. A fortnight away is not a failure and doesn’t need compensating for. Pick up where you left off.

Thanks for watching

For more details, read the full post on thecareonline.com, remember, this isn’t medical advice.