If you’ve ever left hot yoga thinking, “I did NOT eat the right thing before that class!” you are certainly not alone.
When I was a new yogi, I experimented with different food combinations as well as when I ate before class for probably a solid two months. It took that long before I figured out what worked for me. (Then I went to Teacher Training and I had to figure it all out again but that’s another story!)
Lately at my studio, I’ve been hearing from many students who are doing awesome in class, but they’re still struggling to figure out when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat.
So frustrating, right?!
It’s like you do everything correctly: hydrate, pack your yoga bag, get to class, have strong mental focus, but the food choices just aren’t sitting well.
While I’m not a nutritionist, I’ve had almost 12 years of experience figuring out what works for me (and what doesn’t) when it comes to food and my yoga practice.
Here are 5 healthy meal/snack ideas that might work for you too!
A few basic guidelines to remember:
- I am not a nutritionist – that’s the big disclaimer of this post! If you have specific dietary needs, talking to a professional nutritionist might not be a bad idea!
- Try not to eat anything at least 2 hours before class. This will vary slightly from person to person, but 2 hours is generally a good rule of thumb. The simple reason being you don’t want anything sitting too heavy in your belly as you work through the postures.
- Foods high in water (think watermelon, cucumbers) are great because they’re hydrating as well.
- It’s quite common to crave healthy foods once you’ve gotten into a routine with your yoga practice. Your body craves what will serve it best, and healthy food will do just that.
Alright, here are my suggestions for pre-yoga fuel. These are foods that I currently have on rotation, and I eat them because they agree with my digestive system and give me energy to have strong classes.
Oatmeal with Raisins & Cinnamon
I just take half a cup of oatmeal, mix with a cup of water, add about a quarter cup of raisins and microwave for 2 minutes. Microwaving the raisins makes them plump up a little bit and just taste yummier. Once it comes out of the microwave, I sprinkle on a little cinnamon, stir, and voila! Sometimes I’ll add a handful of walnuts, but it works just as well without. I’ll usually eat this about two hours before taking a morning Bikram Yoga class, and it’s just the right amount of food to get me through class feeling great.
Turkey & Cheese Rollups
Deli turkey, thinly sliced cheddar cheese, rolled up. That’s it! This is a great snack before an afternoon class, and I’ll usually eat 3 of them. Protein, salt, fat … yum! If you have time, you can get fancy and spread on some hummus and wrap the turkey and cheese around a slice of cucumber. Delish.
Avocado Toast
I’ll toast 2 pieces of Ezekial bread, spread a little butter on, then smear half an avocado on each piece (so one whole avocado in total). You can sprinkle some garlic salt and black pepper for extra flavor, and this ends up being quite the hearty little meal. A whole avocado is actually quite filling, so this is one option that goes a long way. I personally love Avocado Toast anytime of day, so this works well two hours before a morning, afternoon, or evening class.
Yogurt with Banana & Almonds
I’ll often have this for breakfast, and the protein from the yogurt and almonds mixed with the carbs from the banana sits really well for me. I use Whole Milk PLAIN yogurt (so it doesn’t contain all that added sugar). Sometimes I’ll drizzle a little Maple Syrup on top, but it’s not necessary because bananas are so sweet. This particular combination of yogurt and bananas was actually what ended up working really well for me at Teacher Training when I had two take 2 classes a day for 9 weeks. Yikes! I personally can eat a small-ish bowl of this about an hour before yoga class and still be ok for my practice.
Sweet Potatoes and Scrambled Eggs
I recently posted about how to bake the perfect sweet potato, and since getting this technique down pat, I always like to have a few baked sweet potatoes on hand. Scranbled eggs, of course, whip up really quickly, and are an awesome source of protein. Depending on how many eggs you make, this combo can produce quite a bit of food. I usually eat this if I’m planning to practice and then teach the very next class since I’ll need something pretty substantial to keep me going. For the scrambled eggs, I just use a little bit of butter in the pan to keep them from sticking, and I’ll sprinkle on a little salt and pepper once they’re done.
The five suggestions above are healthy, affordable, and easy to make. You don’t have to spend hours prepping and cooking in the kitchen, and you can make all of these things while simultaneously getting three different breakfasts ready for each one of your kids. Oh wait … is that just me?! 😉
In all seriousness though, when I eat something that tastes good and is good for me, it helps me have such a great yoga practice. And that is always really satisfying 😊
Of course you’ll want to remember to refuel after yoga class, and that starts with hydration. This right here is my favorite post-yoga drink!
What’s your favorite pre-yoga snack or meal? Do any of these suggestions seem like they’d work for you?
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