If you are attending classes say starting at 7PM for an hour or two, when would you eat dinner? Would you opt for a bigger lunch and then maybe a small snack protein shake or something after your class - although this could be 10PM time I get home. Same goes for if you were attending pre-work classes - would it be safe to go to class without breakfast or is there something I should be consuming pre-class to keep my energy up for the duration of the class and then having something decent to eat after class? I am guessing rocking up to a class with a full stomach is going to result in lot of mess all over the mat and some really upset instructors! :woo:
Personally, I make sure I'm hydrated and eat a packet of doritos. Probably bad advice! But it seems to do the job for me.
I eat a small meal (about half of a full dinner) an hour before training, then another small meal after training. I train from 7pm through to 9-9:30, so I tend to eat at 6, and then again at around quarter to ten. It works for me.
This ^ Although I can't eat that soon before practice, I have to give it about two hours before or else I just feel yuck.
I do Taiji, so I can get away with eating a decent meal quite close to class time without the risk of puking - unlike when I did more 'strenuous' arts! For example, yesterday evening I went straight to class from work, pausing only to scoff a fish in a breadcake, washed down with a flask of hot tea. :love: Ideally i would have liked a bit more time for it to settle before class, but sometimes it just isn't possible.
I usually eat about an hour before class. I have a medical condition that requires me to eat before working out.
In the scenario you describe I would eat oatmeal at 6pm and a banana at 6.30. Maybe a black coffee (no sugar or milk) with the banana if I need an extra boost. No fats. Plenty of water before, during, after.
I would suggest trying out the various suggestions you've had here. My experience is that different things work well for different people. In my case, if I have a class at 6.30pm, I have lunch around 12.30pm (usually a large salad or vegetable dish with a protein source), then about 3pm I have a protein shake (sometimes a smoothie with added protein) and a banana and straight after my class I have another protein shake. Then, once I get home (around 8.30pm) I have my usual dinner. If I have a class that ends much later (say around 10pm) I will usually have a lighter dinner when I get home - something like sushi.
A little OT: do you eat/drink something during workouts? Sometimes, especially after circuit sessions, I feel so exhausted and winded up that I just want to go sleeping, even relaxed stretching seems beyond what I could possibly stand anymore for that day. When I'm at the gym no problem, there's the instructor threatening to kick me in the teeth, but now I'm training at home it's a bit of a problem. And with my current level of flexibility I can't kick myself in the teeth, so threatening myself is useless No seriously, I don't think it's just a mental thing, should I eat something during the workout?
My classes are 20:30 to 22:00. I make sure I've had diner before 18:00 I just eat normal meals. The only thing I avoid are hot spices. The chile oil makes me really thirsty during practice, which is very annoying.
