Feeding your muscle at night, right?

[DaPit26]

I always eat a ton before bed, especially protein. I thought protein right before bed was a good thing because your body rebuilds at night but i talked to a guy (who was a little eccentric and faggy but he was pretty smart) and he said to night eat before bed because with too much protein overload your body can't break it all down. SO eat big BEFORE bed or NOT???

 

[pgsam]

ive heard both sides. i know outside of the fitness realm, people consider it unhealthy because its an easy way to pack on weight, but if youre gaining you definitely should. ive also heard alot of body builders that swear by going to bed on empty, but theyre usually in the 5% BF range. unless youre interested in cutting real hard, i think its a good idea to have a shake/meal before bed.

 

[ChinkNasty]

As an ectomorph, I'm constantly trying to eat and put on weight (I can lose weight so easily I'm generally not too concerned about how much I eat - I just watch and try to eat as clean as possible) and like yourself I take in a good bulk of protein right before bed (esp. at school when I can't really eat all day like during the summers)...

 

[BlondBomber]

You want to definately eat a good source of slow-digesting protein, i.e. chicken, meat or a casein protein shake. Adding some healthy fats like olive oil, flaxseed or fish oil is good because it helps slow the rate of the digestion of the protein and satisfies your pallet before you go to bed.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Contrary to popular belief, fats (I know liquids like oils, not sure about stuff like almonds) don't slow digestion. Fiber will, but there were studies done on gastric emptying that showed no difference in the rates when oils were added. If I can dig this up I will.

 

[JKurz1]

When dieting or bulking I ALWAYS eat minutes before bed.....right now it's about 60 peanuts, a large casein shake and about a half tub of cottage cheese

The fats slow digestion, the protein repairs muscle, and if I wake up hungry, somone aint gonna be happy.....

My brother, when even preparing for his last show, would wake up at midnight and eat a eas carb sense bar...........i dont go that far, but I def. eat.........

 

[rbtrout]

I eat clean foods right before bed when bulking up and I noticed that it really helped. Trimming down, I haven't tried it, although a slow release protein shake wouldn't be a bad idea - keep the metabolism going through the night.....

 

[JKurz1]

My biggest problem (if it is one) is that mine is like minutes before I crash....so sometimes I wake up with cotton mouth or stomach pangs.......price you pay for training late eh?

 

[musketeer]

Soya digests slowly. A 30g soya shake is porbably as good asanything to have last thing before sleeping.

Also important is how long you sleep for.

7 hours in one go should be enough. if you still need more then I would reccomend arranging a nap for 1 hour if possible. Might mean re-arranging your day alittle, but most people work about 8 hours, so even including an hour each end of it for travel and prep time, you have 14 hours less 7, giving you 7 hours in which to maybe fit a nap. I'm lucky, I am self emplpoyed and work from home. My fridge is next to my desk and my bed is just a few stairs away!

 

[eat big]

I eat every night because I hate waking up wanting to eat. I usually eat a protein shake, some oatmeal and peanuts.