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The Truth About Eating Before Bed
The Truth About Eating Before Bed
"Eating before bed makes you gain fat." Sigh. Eating right before bed does not make you gain fat. It's actually quite the opposite. Eating before bed will not only help you build muscle, it will also improve recovery between training sessions, games and practices.
Just be sure to follow these simple rules when you eat before bed.
Rule 1: Choose Slow-Digesting Protein
This can come from cottage cheese, chicken breast, lean turkey breast or casein supplements. Each of these protein sources contains protein that digests slowly and feeds the muscles throughout the night. They are also high in leucine, the amino acid responsible for stimulating the protein mTOR, which activates muscle protein synthesis. Consume 14-30 grams of slow-digesting protein 30 minutes before bed. Stay away from red meat, whey concentrate and isolate proteins, since these digest more quickly, leaving you without critical nutrients.
Rule 2: Choose Carbohydrates Wisely
Carbohydrates don't deserve their bad rap. The body needs them to replenish glycogen stores post-workout and to limit the rate of muscle protein breakdown. Having carbohydrates at night can diminish the rate at which muscle protein breakdown occurs while you sleep.
The key is to stick with high-fiber vegetables and fruits that are low in sugar and won't elicit too large of an insulin response, especially if your goals are to lose fat and build muscle. Cherries and berries are good selections, because they are low on the glycemic index. Each is high in vitamins C and E, which play important roles in controlling inflammation and soreness.
Stay away from starches high in sugar like candy, chips and bread. These foods generate a large insulin response, which aids in storing fat, and sugar can interfere with the sleep cycle. Consume under 20 grams of carbohydrates 30 to 60 minutes before bed.
Rule 3: Eat a Small Amount of Fat
Healthy fats from sources like oils and nuts are a great addition to your bedtime protein snack. Fats are resistant to water and, when ingested, slow the emptying of food in your stomach through the release of the hormone cholecystokinin. Therefore, the ingestion of fat helps those slow-digesting proteins feed your muscles even longer through the night. Almonds, nut butters and fish oil are great choices.
Examples of Easy Bedtime Meals
- 1 cup 2% low-fat cottage cheese
- 2-4 oz. chicken breast with 1 cup red peppers and 1/2 cup bing cherries
- 2-4 oz. turkey with 1 cup almonds and 1 cup broccoli
- Protein shake with 1 scoop of a low-carb protein blend, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, and 1 tbsp. of almond or peanut butter.
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I heard eating before bed can hinder some of your body's natural gh release during sleep.
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Originally Posted by
swolen22
I heard eating before bed can hinder some of your body's natural gh release during sleep.
Your body really needs some food before bed as you are about to sleep for a long period with no food. You want to keep your body burning calories digesting food all day and night it's kind of like the thought of keeping would on a fire rather then letting the fire burn out
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Originally Posted by
kubes
Your body really needs some food before bed as you are about to sleep for a long period with no food. You want to keep your body burning calories digesting food all day and night it's kind of like the thought of keeping would on a fire rather then letting the fire burn out
I usually have liquid egg whites with nutmeg, natural peanut butter, and Splenda in the blender before bed. Yum
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Originally Posted by
swolen22
I usually have liquid egg whites with nutmeg, natural peanut butter, and Splenda in the blender before bed. Yum
Sometimes i get up in the middle of the night to eat i get so hungry
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Originally Posted by
kubes
Sometimes i get up in the middle of the night to eat i get so hungry
Was about to ask if anyone else does this? I'll get up and eat a slab of cheese in front of the fridge light.
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Originally Posted by
swolen22
I heard eating before bed can hinder some of your body's natural gh release during sleep.
this is true though. a doctor i know has told me this many times.
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Originally Posted by
Loose Cannon
this is true though. a doctor i know has told me this many times.
i think that depends on what you eat and different from person to person... technically eating releases insulin which in turn increases growth hormone release. especially carbs/sugar. but then again it also increases inflammation in the body.. i love and hate semantics/technicalities haha
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Originally Posted by
pwrlifting
i think that depends on what you eat and different from person to person... technically eating releases insulin which in turn increases growth hormone release. especially carbs/sugar. but then again it also increases inflammation in the body.. i love and hate semantics/technicalities haha
Doesn't insulin inhibit gh release?
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Originally Posted by
Fongy
Doesn't insulin inhibit gh release?
yes and no.. insulin spikes lead to more growth hormone.. but when one is high the other is low.. both cannot be high together
edit... looking for the article/study... will post when i find..
Last edited by pwrlifting; 03-17-2016 at 01:48 AM.
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