What to Eat Before and After BJJ: Morning, Lunch and Night Class

The best thing to eat before BJJ is simple, easily digestible carbohydrates 1–3 hours before class. If you want to include a moderate amount of protein, that’s cool. Think of this as a bonus, and not a requirement. What that looks like depends on when you train. A 6 am class, a lunch class, and a 7 pm class each need a different plan. I’m a registered dietitian and a BJJ black belt, and this is what I tell the people I coach.

Before 6 am class

If you wake up to train first thing in the morning, props to you. This takes dedication, and it’s not easy. I recognize that eating something at this hour may also not be easy. You just woke up and are choosing violence shortly. I’d suggest something small that you can tolerate, and this will be different for everyone. If you can handle a yogurt bowl with fruit, go for it. If you need something smaller, aim for energy-dense carbs. My go-to is 3 Medjool dates. These bad boys are one big bite each, and that can get you over 30 g of carbs. Another easy option is drinking your energy. This could be OJ, lemonade, or Gatorade. Plus it will help with hydration goals to have some fluid before you hit the mats. Spoiler alert: coffee and electrolytes are not breakfast or fueling. They both have value, but if that’s all you’re doing, you’re costing yourself performance.

Before lunch class

Training at lunch still favors carbs, but I’m guessing appetite is different here compared to early AM. You might be ready for lunch. The goal is to choose some energy before you get that hungry to keep you fueled for training and not thinking about food the whole time. Ideally, you’d time this about an hour before training. I’d go for something like a PB & J, bagel with honey, rice cakes, graham crackers, fruit, or a smoothie. Some of the options depend on your access to these foods. Work from home? You probably have a lot of options. If you’re at the office, do me a favor and be grown up: pack your lunch and snacks.

Before the night class

This is pretty similar to the lunch routine. You could choose a PB & J, bagel with honey, rice cakes, graham crackers, fruit, or a smoothie 1-3 hours before you train. Night class also means you might be going straight from work. If you forget to pack something, stopping at a 7-11 or gas station can offer some decent options. Think a banana, pretzels, or Gatorade.

After the night class

Keep it simple, homie. EAT SOMETHING. Too many people I run into don’t take the time to take care of themselves after training. You want to get some energy back in your system if you just used a bunch of energy at BJJ. This is what helps you recover (along with treating sleep as a priority). You can make this really simple with a few options: a yogurt bowl with nut butter, fruit, granola, and honey, a bowl of cereal with milk and whey protein, or whatever you planned to have for dinner. Don’t over complicate this and let perfect be the enemy of good.

Open mat and long sessions

Rolling for a while? That means more fuel. Your body needs energy if you demand a lot of it during a 90-120 minute session. If you’re doing this on the regular, it makes sense to understand how to fuel yourself. You want to first know your body weight in kilograms (kg). If you don’t know this, take your weight in pounds (lbs) and divide by 2.2. From there, you’re going to multiply your weight in kilograms by the hours before training that you’re eating to get the quantity of carbohydrates you need to fuel your session. So if you weigh 90 kg and are having a meal 2 hours before training, that’s 180 g of carbs. This might be more carbs than you’re used to. If so, take it in steps, and choose foods that are familiar and sit well in your stomach. Mix and match liquid carbs into the meal. An 8 oz glass of lemonade can be 25-30 g of carbohydrates.

How long to wait after eating before you roll

There are a few guidelines here.

• 3-4 hours before: a complete meal: carbohydrates, protein, healthy fat, vegetables

• 1-3 hours before: a large snack-sized meal favoring carbohydrates and moderate protein

• 30-60 minutes before: 30-60 g of simple carbohydrates (protein not needed, but can be included if you want)

• 5-15 minutes before: 30 g of simple carbohydrates: a banana, a pouch of fruit snacks, Gatorade

We talked about a few options here - everything from small, energy-dense options like Medjool dates to liquid options like Gatorade. I’d much rather you have 30 g of carbs 5-15 minutes before class than nothing at all.

I’d encourage you to use this information to determine what works best for you and customize things from there. If you need help with this, I offer 1:1 nutrition coaching. I can build you a custom plan that you can roll with (pun intended) going forward. Schedule your session or start with a free discovery call here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I’m Bob Viscount, a Registered Dietitian and BJJ black belt who’s been training since 2011. I teach at Gracie Barra San Clemente and coach BJJ athletes online who want to perform better, recover faster, and make weight without wrecking themselves. Most of my clients are regular people with full-time jobs who train a few times a week, so everything I teach has to work in real life.