Eating before yoga
Yoga and nutrition are two disciplines, two intimately related practices, which show a complete lifestyle, often adapted to the person practicing it. According to a survey 12% of yoga practitioners are also vegetarian. A much more ethical dimension, which puts more emphasis on fruits, vegetables and good proteins, than on fatty acids, fats and dairy products.
A yoga training is therefore effort, a real physical activity, which must be prepared and then made effective through what we eat. Because yes, our food is what builds us, what makes a workout easier, more effective, more useful in itself. In fact, nothing like good nutrients to make a yoga class and a physical exercise go smoothly, right?
But then what menu to adopt before and after a yoga session? This is what we will try to see together right away!
Why eat well when you do yoga?
Glycemic index, muscle mass, whole grains, snacks, balanced meals, all this speaks to you? You have to hope so, because this is the basis when you want to combine food and yoga. Indeed, while this discipline often requires a lot of effort, linked to balance, sequences or breathing. Because yes, all this requires a certain amount of work, of the body, of the mind but also of the spirit, it is up to us to know how to nourish it.
To nourish it, yes, but it is also necessary to know how to do it well. This is the reason why certain books and other programs are created, in order to make the consumer as seasoned as possible in front of the possibilities available to him to nourish himself with finesse. The basic idea remains to practice yoga, whether it is beneficial, while at the same time getting a calorie intake, slow sugars, or carbohydrates or cottage cheese.
Eating is therefore necessary, but eating well is essential, so that our efforts, our muscular reinforcement and our workout are, slowly but surely, a maximum of efficiency for the budding sportsmen and women that we are.
Thus, between starchy foods, portions of oatmeal, wholemeal rice, green vegetables, or cereal bars or smoothie, it is possible to lose fat, to gain weight, to lose weight, to lose weight, to do sports in short. A few stretches, oily fish on the plate, no dairy products, and we are ready to eat well while doing sports. Yes, that's all well and good, but what exactly should we eat? Don't panic, it happens!
Eating before a yoga session
We sometimes tend to forget it, but a yoga session is also and above all a sports session. Beyond even meditation, relaxation, greetings in the sun and soft and fluid movements, we also find a real moment of cardio training, muscle strengthening, almost weight training. Enough to lose weight and give our metabolism a hard time! And don't forget to drink a lot of water!
But in our plate, it is a completely different matter! Indeed, it is necessary to know, in the first place, to measure and to dose the food rations which we are going to ingest, whatever the time of the day. In the morning, let's not hesitate to have a real breakfast, but with more fresh products, such as fruits, very basic. Of course, cereals and glycogen intake are not to be denigrated, and wholemeal bread can be a very good ally to spend a session in great shape.
At lunchtime, the principle will be the same, with oily fish and red meat on the menu, so as to have a minimum of protein before the sport. Many yogis are not fond of animal proteins, and some are even vegetarians. This is obviously not a concern, and we will then favor legumes and other vegetable proteins, so as to provide our metabolism with a maximum of good nutrients. Yes, no need to be hungry either!
As for the evening, when going late to yoga, we must take into account the lightness recommended for dinner, but also a pre-sport meal. A combo which is sometimes difficult to implement, but which, with the help of seasonal vegetables and a nice portion of cereals, will keep us in shape until the session. Try, moreover, to have dinner as early as possible, so that you can digest as well as possible before going to sleep, whatever the hour!
During the day, we can also think about snacks, which will be our best friends before we exert ourselves. Let's not forget that when you eat before a yoga session, you're not eating to prepare for a marathon, to lose weight, or to count your energy expenditure. To avoid bloating and to know satiety in spite of everything, favour rich but light foods, such as white meat, even at 4pm, yes!
Eating after a yoga session
After a yoga session, the mood is often more to fatigue than to laughter, and the most fragile among us will then be much more sensitive to feeling unwell or uncomfortable. To prevent this from happening, it is essential to drink a glass of water, or even more. In short, drink water, hydrate your body, it is very important to renew the cells after a yoga class, collective or individual.
Whatever the time of the day, we will therefore favor fast sugars, depending on our state of health at the time. A good post-sport diet, whatever it is, also defines the way our adipose tissue evolves, and allows, thanks to foods rich in fibers for example, to gain muscle, abs, or simply to feel good and fit! Consult a nutritionist if you have the slightest doubt about what to eat.
Whether it's an evening meal, a simple snack or breakfast, our eating habits must be adapted to our physical activity (yoga in this case). It's not a question of how many calories we want to eat, but rather how to tap into our resources so that we don't sink after a yoga session.
Most of the time, the focus is often on carbohydrates after a session, so that we can give back to our body what we have just spent, the calories we could have burned, and the carbohydrate intake that we need to continue training. Carbohydrate-rich foods such as, ideally, wholemeal bread are then effective allies in the face of potential fatigue. White bread is just as good, but contains less fiber and good nutrients.
What to eat and drink after the yoga class?
Moreover, we will not stop repeating it, but hydration is important, and fruits are also a nice way to combine fast sugars and water, think about it! However, we must not neglect proteins, which are involved in the proper functioning of muscles. So, why not bind it all together in a smoothie, using fruits, vegetables, but also powdered (vegetable) proteins, for the yogi's dietary balance.
A simple little recipe could consist of :
• One teaspoon of vegetable protein powder.
• A handful of spinach shoots.
• 250ml of vegetable milk, coconut or oat milk type.
• A kiwi fruit, for vitamin C, in addition to spinach.
• For the greediest, a banana
Nothing very complicated, but after a session, this type of snack, or even meal, quite rich and yet light, is a very good support to eat less and well, to fill a big craving, or to fill the energy expenditure in an efficient and relevant way. Ready to take up the challenge of yoga and nutrition?
It is clear that combining yoga practice and a balanced diet is totally possible, before or after training. Before, depending on the time of day, we will therefore favor a slightly higher carbohydrate intake, but adapted to the time of day, while after, we will not forget to add protein. All this without forgetting to hydrate before, during and after!
