What to Eat Before and After Hot Yoga

Hot yoga and food don’t always get along. We’ve watched plenty of people walk into a 40 degree room after a normal lunch and spend half the class wishing they’d skipped it. It’s one of the questions our instructors hear most and the answer mostly comes down to timing and choosing foods that sit lightly.

Why heat changes digestion

Heat pulls your blood towards your skin and muscles so your body can cool itself and keep you moving. That’s great for circulation and flexibility but it leaves your gut with less to work with. A heavy meal that would’ve been fine before a walk can sit like a stone halfway through a heated class. We see it a lot with students who’ve never had stomach trouble in other workouts and then notice it first in hot yoga.

How long before class to eat

Most of our students feel best with a gap of two to three hours after a proper meal. A small easy snack works from about 30 to 60 minutes before class. We’d keep the final half hour for water only. Everyone digests at their own pace so treat those numbers as a starting point and tweak them after a few classes.

If you’re coming straight from the office we’ve found a lighter meal in the afternoon works better than grabbing something on the way. Our guide to hot yoga for beginners covers the rest of the preparation for a first visit.

Best foods before class

What we tell people is to look for steady energy without the heavy feeling. A banana or a few dates is a good start and a small bowl of oats with a little fruit works well too. Plenty of our students swear by wholegrain toast with nut butter and plain rice cakes are a safe pick if your stomach is touchy. They’re easy on digestion and they release energy slowly so you won’t feel weighed down when the room warms up.

An early class is a different case. Going in completely empty isn’t ideal either because low blood sugar feels rough in a hot room and even half a banana makes a difference.

Foods to skip before class

A few foods tend to cause trouble once the room warms up. Fried and fatty meals take a long time to digest and a big protein-heavy dinner like a steak or a creamy curry does the same. Very spicy food can make the room feel even hotter and fizzy drinks bring bloating you won’t thank yourself for mid-flow. Some people find dairy heavy before class too although that changes a lot from one person to the next so it’s worth noticing what works for you.

Hydration before, during and after

Water matters more than food in a heated room and we’d start well before you get to the studio. A steady sip across the day beats a big drink in the hour before class. In the room small regular sips are easier on your stomach than big gulps. Afterwards drink properly and add a pinch of salt or an electrolyte drink if you sweated a lot. A 40 degree room takes more out of you than most people expect so arriving hydrated usually shows by the end of class. We explain what happens in the body in our post on the benefits of sweating during hot yoga.

What to eat after class

What you eat afterwards helps your body recover and sets you up for the next class. Within an hour or two we’d go for protein for your muscles and carbohydrates to refill your energy. Eggs or yoghurt or chicken or tofu cover the protein and rice or potatoes or wholegrain bread cover the carbs. Fluids with some electrolytes replace what you sweated out.

Simple meals do the job. Scrambled eggs on toast works and so does a smoothie with banana and yoghurt and a handful of spinach. If weight is on your mind our post on hot yoga and weight loss looks at what a class does and doesn’t change.

Finding your own routine

Try one change at a time across a few classes. Move your meal earlier or switch your snack and see how you feel at the 20 minute mark. You can try this at our Crouch End or Borough studios and talk to any of our instructors if something doesn’t sit right. Most people land on a routine within a week or two.