Why You Need To Eat After Yoga Boot Camp

To get the most out of your Yoga Boot Camp experience, it’s essential that you eat immediately after class.

Not 30 minutes later, not “Oh, I’ll just go home and make myself a meal” – bring your shake with you. Your body needs the nourishment right away.

Yoga Boot Camp is about empowering yourself and strengthening your body.

Boot Camp is early, I am sure you know, and that’s awesome. Exercising first thing in the morning is an incredible way to get in shape fast. But, if you don’t eat right after class you could be working out for nothing, and that’s no good.

Seriously, if you’re not eating till lunch, you can kiss good by any results you hope to achieve.

Skipping meals or not eating after workouts trains your body to go into starvation mode and hang on to fat. You don’t want this. After a while, your metabolism will slow down. This is why the American Dietetic Association calls breakfast the most important meal of the day.

After boot camp your body is thirsty for nutrients; you have just completed an incredibly effective workout and all your fat and carb fuel sources will be used up.

The only thing left to keep you going is muscle, and if your body starts to burn muscle as energy that’s not going to help you achieve the body that boot camp brings.

Muscle is what keeps you lean, so you don’t want to lose it!

In fact, muscle burns fat, so your goal should be to pack a few pounds of lean mass on and train your body to burn fat while you are standing around all day.

It’s true. The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism is, and that means that you will look better and have more energy.

The best and quickest way to replenish your body’s nutrients after boot camp is with a high-quality shake. Not only are shakes convenient, but they have a ton of health benefits.

It’s important to note that there are two types of nutritional shakes: protein shakes and meal replacements—and yes, there is a difference!

Meal replacement shakes, as the name suggests, contain enough nutrients to stand in for a meal. They should contain protein, carbs, fat and fiber, and they are designed to help you satisfy cravings, replace meals, and lose weight.

They are super convenient, and will save you a ton of time in the kitchen.

Protein shakes, on the other hand, aren’t meant to be substituted for food, but they are an excellent supplement to help you build and repair muscles that are broken down after exercise.

There are a lot of shakes on the market, and many of them are crap, so you have to be careful what you are buying.

The right shake will help you lose fat, build muscle, and increase your energy. It will be digestible and low glycemic—in other words; it won’t send your blood sugar through the roof. You’re not only consuming nutrients; you’re also hydrating, which is essential after a workout and will help your body absorb vitamins, flush toxins, and make your skin glow.

And, of course, a good shake tastes great and is affordable.

I have a few favorites that I’d like to recommend.

Vega Sport Protein

I think this is an excellent product. The ingredients are great, its vegan and mostly organic.

Rich in amino acids and plant-based protein, Vega Sport is a wonderful way to build muscle, amp up athletic performance, and speed up the recovery process in case of injury. It isn’t just for the serious athlete; it’s good for your bones, your immune system, and your muscles. It comes in two flavors: berry and vanilla.

Personally, I don’t take this because I don’t like the taste (and others have agreed with me). It has hemp protein in it and that makes it a little grainy. People do like it, and if you enjoy the taste the ingredients are awesome.

You can buy it online off of Vega’s site for $70. It has 30 servings and works out to about $2.33 for 20 grams of protein.

I know Nature’s Fare carries it, and possibly Super Store, but I’m not sure of the price.

Sun Warrior

This vegan shake is 85% protein and all organic. It’s even sprouted!

It contains all of the essential amino acids and is high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Sunwarrior Protein is hypoallergenic and easily digestible—so digestible, in fact, that the World Health Organization is considering distributing it to treat malnutrition.

On top of all this, unlike a lot of protein shakes made from vegetable proteins, Sunwarrior Protein isn’t chalky. It’s silky and delicious.

I take this product pretty much every day. I mix it with my meal replacement shake because I don’t eat meat and need to keep my protein level up. I also take it right after a hard workout at the gym.

I first ordered this when I was in the States and was totally blown away. It by far blows everything else out of the water. When I moved back home I couldn’t find anywhere in Canada to order it, and getting it shipped up from the US comes with a hefty price for shipping and duty.

Anyways, I finally found a place in Canada that does ship it, but it’s $83 bucks with shipping and taxes.

So… I became a retailer.

Now I can purchase the product at a discount and pass those savings on to you.

I retail it for $77, but I will let anyone who is in boot camp have it for $67 including shipping and taxes! That’s only $1.42 per 16 gram serving and comes in Vanilla and Chocolate.

Now, onto the meal replacements shakes…

Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer

In addition to Vega Sport, Vega makes an excellent meal replacement shake. It is plant-based and high in protein, fiber, and fatty acids. It’s designed to curb your appetite by satisfying your need for a whole slew of vitamins and minerals, and it comes in four flavors: natural, berry, vanilla chai, and chocolate. A single serving is a meal in itself.

Similar to the Vega protein, I don’t take this, but I do think that it is a fantastic product. I have tried it and I do have friends that love it. The taste does not do it for me, and it has too many ingredients for me. I don’t like to mix fruit with proteins or carbs, and because this product does, it doesn’t play nice with my stomach.

Like I said earlier, its packed with vitamins and pro-biotics and lots of good stuff so I do recommend this.

Vega’s site has it for $75 and that is 15 servings. So it’s $5 for a 260 calorie meal.

Usana Nutrimeal

Designed to help you lose weight, this meal replacement will supply your body with fiber and plenty of protein: It contains a protein blend of soy, whey, rice and pea. They also have a straight whey protein version of the chocolate, and a version of the vanilla that is only soy protein.

Soy protein has been shown to be good for the cardiovascular system, blood pressure, and cholesterol, while whey protein provides you with essential amino acids.

It is easy to digest and low-glycemic, and you have the choice of Dutch Chocolate, French Vanilla or Wild Strawberry.

At first glance I did not think I would like Usana’s Nutrimeal. I am not a huge fan of Soy, even though it has performed well in clinical studies. Whey also tends to upset my stomach (at least it has in other products). And, the product does have 17 grams of sugar.

But to be honest with you, I am absolutely hooked on the Dutch Chocolate Nutrimeal. I have two of these every day. It’s my skinny secret.

Shhh, don’t tell any one.

So the company is pretty much awesome and quarantines all the product before they are used which means you can be certain that the Soy is not GMO and the whey will not have any anti-biotics or harmful toxins like other whey products.

I sent an email to their scientists (super cool that you can do that) and asked about the sugar content. They had an impressive answers that really impressed me.

Basically, this is what they said: Your body needs sugar, and all carbs that you eat will eventually break down into them. Because they use fructose in Nutrimeal, which is sugar from fruit, it keeps the product low glycemic and because the sugars are simple sugars your body can use them quicker than say a potato.

So all in all, I love this product. It’s a staple of my diet. I have this shake twice a day, every day. It’s really versatile and I make all kind of cool deserts, ice creams and incredibly delicious meals with it. A lot of the time I add a scoop of the Sun Warrior Protein to it to beef up my protein intake.

A bag of USANA retails for $40 but if you ask Katrina she can hook you up with 20% off.

That brings it to about $3.55 for a 240 calorie meal.

Here is a quick break down of the product I recommend you take after Yoga Fitness Boot Camp

Protein Shake	Protein	Price per Serving	Where To Get
Vega Sport Protein	20	$2.33	Online, Nature’s Fare
Sun Warrior Protein	16	$1.42	Email Katrina

Complete Meal Replacement	Calories	Price Per Serving	Where To Get
Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer	260	$5.00	Online, Nature’s Fare
Usana Nutrimeal	240	$3.55	Email Katrina

I encourage you to try these shakes after Yoga Boot Camp, because they do so much more than fill you up.

They help your body to become stronger and to heal faster. Much like yoga, they are tools for bringing balance to a busy life.

Whatever your choice of nourishment, make sure you replenish your body right after boot camp so you build muscle instead of losing it. Choose something that is easily digestible, high in protein, and is low glycemic. And make sure you enjoy it!

Some of Our Favorite Recipes:

• Chocolate Sun Warrior, banana, one scoop of hemp hearts, cinnamon, green stevia, Usana probiotic. (Katrina’s favorite)
• Sun Warrior, banana, 1 tbsp almond butter
• Chocolate Nutrimeal, unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon, green stevia
• 2 scoops Chocolate Nutrimeal, one scoop Sun Warrior (higher protein)
• Add a small piece of ginger to your Nutrimeal… blend well. 🙂

These are just a few ideas. Get creative and see how you can make your shake taste so good you actually look forward to it!