What to Eat and Drink Before Class?

[Madcity]

Hi all, I am completely new the forums so I wanted to introduce myself in addition to asking for some advice.

I took Karate back when I was a teenager and drifted away from it due to the numerous distractions in a young person’s life. Many years later I found myself completely out of shape and over-weight. At the advice of my doctor I dropped about 40 lbs (still have about 10-15 more to go) and got healthy enough to enroll in Martial Arts classes again.

I signed up with a local MMA school (Infusion) that teaches Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Classes are at a great time so they don’t conflict with my work schedule but they are late enough in the evening that I find myself pretty hungry after work, before classes. I usually end up eating something but try my best to keep it lite and simple. I have been experimenting with mostly liquids (protein shake, juice, etc.) but sometimes I eat something a bit more solid like (cheese, tuna salad, cereal, oatmeal.)

There is one night when I attend a cage fitness class and then do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes which has me going for about 1:15 to 2 hours depending on the curriculum. One night I felt like I was going to get sick because I had probably ate too much (or the wrong type of food) and another night when I tried to keep it very light to avoid getting sick I felt very light headed and weak after about 40 minutes.

I was wondering what types of food people commonly recommend before classes in order to keep energy levels up without feeling like there is a brick in my stomach?

Thanks for any tips, I am glad to be here on Martial Talk!

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I don't know what works for other folks, but I eat some saltine crackers and a small glass of water. I'm diabetic, so fruit and fruit juice and that type of thing I cannot have. But it works for me, keeps me from getting light-headed or dizzy. I have dinner when I get home.

 

[K-man]

It probably depends when you train. Two of my sessions are at 7am so I have a light breakfast of cereal and maybe a banana half an hour before I train. In the afternoon I don't bother to have anything before, just have a bottle of water on hand and the same at night. I eat when I get home.

 

[yak sao]

I would consider not only what to eat before class, but what I ate the night before and for breakfast and lunch the day of class.
This link may be helpful http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/endeating.htm

Congrats on making it back to MA and welcome to the forum

 

[rframe]

I train about 2 hours after I get out of work, so I usually have a small snack when I get home at least an hour before class so my stomach settles a bit. Before class I might have some high fiber cereal (grape nuts or Kashi), a large apple, whole grain toast with organic/natural peanut butter (not loaded with high fructose corn syrup)... something like that which has some healthy carbs for a little enegy and some fiber so I dont feel like I have an empty stomach, but nothing too heavy or "goopey" to slosh around while training. I drink a good 16oz of water on the way to class to hydrate and help my stomach clear. I try to eat 4-5 smaller meals per day to spread things out and keep from eating a lot at any one sitting, this helps as I eat something small before and after class.

Also, since I get home from class a bit too close to bed time,I'm careful to try to keep my post-class meal mostly lean proteins and lower-carb fibers... chicken breast and spinach salad, baked salmon, tuna on a single piece of whole wheat toast, a hand full of almonds, things like that. A whey protein shake is good post-class too and usually fills me up pretty well, just watch out for the junk protein mixes they put sugar in and if you add fruit to your shakes just add a little bit, you can overload them with sugar pretty quickly.

 

[Flea]

I'm hypoglycemic so I have to eat 6-8 small meals a day regardless of my activity level. My meals are generally nothing special - usually just some fruit with peanut butter or cheese - but it keeps me from getting hungry or depleted. Maybe eating like that on your training days would be helpful.

 

[Cyriacus]

I eat whatever and drink whatever - Ive found that for Me at least, it makes not a bit of difference.

 

[Burrows]

I usually eat a small portion of whole grain basmati rice, with a small chicken fillet 2 hours before training, with a small glass of water. Then about 30 mins before training I have a banana or apple just for them natural sugars to keep me going through the workout. Just before I set of to the class I usually drink 2 pints of water and take a 1 liter bottle of water for when I am in my class.

 

[ballen0351]

I eat whatever and drink whatever - Ive found that for Me at least, it makes not a bit of difference.

Yeah me too

 

[oftheherd1]

I eat whatever and drink whatever - Ive found that for Me at least, it makes not a bit of difference.

I think that's pretty much it. Everyone has to find what works for them. You can also train yourself to a certain regimen. Whatever you like.

Welcome to MT. You might want to introduce yourself in the greetings forum.

 

[Cyriacus]

I think that's pretty much it. Everyone has to find what works for them. You can also train yourself to a certain regimen. Whatever you like.

Welcome to MT. You might want to introduce yourself in the greetings forum.

I know someone who likes to drink some lemonade before Training, because it makes them feel more energetic. I know someone else who eats a Banana for the same reason. So yeah, definitely

 

[Kinghercules]

Everybody is different. You just have to find what works for you.
For me its protein shakes or a big salad before I workout.
Before my morning workouts I eat a lil bit of oatmeal and then after I workout I make a protein shake.

 

[Madcity]

Thanks for all the great recommendations, I have been going through this post and making a list of all the food and drink recommended here so I have several options to test out and a good selection of stuff to keep it interesting longer term. (I burn out on foods a lot when I eat them regularly for about 2 – 3 months.)

Bananas seem good too since several people mentioned them. I remember reading an article on how healthy bananas are in numerous aspects (vitamins & mental processes, etc.)

Yak Sao – Thanks for the link, I am walking a fine line between losing weight and staying fueled up so I think this will offer some good insight for my diet & planning. I have found that the regular exercise is becoming more beneficial than a lower calorie diet (which was useful in the beginning) so now I am becoming more concerned with fueling myself to exercise longer, and tweaking things day by day to find a good balance.

Thanks Bill, interestingly enough when I had blood work done awhile back, part of my doctor’s recommendation about losing weight and living better was a concern about me developing diabetes. I have been trying to eat better and exercise more as a result but I like your recommendation as the concern is always in the back of my mind. (Not to mention I sweat like crazy and think this leads to faster dehydration and/or low salt levels.)