Eating at night

[smit1982]

Okay so I have heard it is bad to eat before you go to sleep or within 3 hours before you sleep. What I have also heard is if you don't eat right before you go to sleep, your metabolism dies and you get screwed over. I am currently cutting so i want the best fat burner. Thanks

[Josh5442]

You're metabolism will not die over. You don't NEED to eat right before bed. Will it make you fat? Doubt it. If you're cutting I'd say skip a meal pre-bed (granted your last meal was within a few hours before), but that's just me.

[Chris@UGA]

I like to eat slow digesting protein and healthy fats before bed. The fats will further slow down the digestion of the protein and your muscles won't go catabolic overnight.

My usual bedtime meal includes 2 scoops of casein protein in water with 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter...crunchy. yum

Once I start bulking I'll eat the same thing except I'll use milk instead of water.

[reaper55]

when your cutting I would strongly recommend eating slow digesting protein and healthy fats right before because you are already in a cal def. and this is done in order to keep your body from eating muscle while you sleep just keep carbs out and dont make the meal to large. I usually do cottage cheese and Natty pb.

[smit1982]

would a scoop oro two of whey protein (muscle milk) be good? I thought it would be the opposite for cutting and bulking. cause i was thinking extra cals and stuff but i have been just drinking some water to fill my stomach before i go to sleep. and right before bed or like give it an hour? I usually have a good 3-4 hours between dinner and bed.

[Definitelynotme]

You're metabolism will not die over. You don't NEED to eat right before bed. Will it make you fat? Doubt it. If you're cutting I'd say skip a meal pre-bed (granted your last meal was within a few hours before), but that's just me.

no. your prebed meal is one of the most important ones. especially on a cut. you need to feed your body as it will fast for about 8 hours while you sleep. have a high fat and high protein meal before bed.

[BigJonMud]

From personal experience and trying it a lot of different ways, I like to eat 25mins before bed.
In other words, I want to have a far bit on its way to digesting because thebody systems have different priorities than your stomach after you've fallen asleep. I mean, thats just obvious but you gotta think of resources that are diminished when others are fired up.
My blood has better places to be than in my stomach after sleep, and so does yours.

Regardless of my own theories, I need to have digested a fair bit before bed and sO I dont lay there with a full gut without being bale to fall asleep.

I like to keep to soft cheeses, milk or whey before bed. At the moment Ive been trying a cream+cottage cheese+frozen veg combo with cream and ice. Idont mind scramlbed or raw eggs too, but I reckon hardboiled just sits there while the fluids are in my liver, kidneys and muscles...

[BigBoogie]

CC+PB about 30minutes before bed, while I was cutting. Lost 47lbs total. 230->183

[The Solution]

Okay so I have heard it is bad to eat before you go to sleep or within 3 hours before you sleep. What I have also heard is if you don't eat right before you go to sleep, your metabolism dies and you get screwed over. I am currently cutting so i want the best fat burner. Thanks

False.. ur mom is not a valuable resource if thats what your saying,

eating before bed helps keep the body out of a catabolic state if thats what your referring to. Having a slow digestiong protein (such as dairy products or fatty meat or lean meat + a good fat source) is a great way to keep the body from dropping into a muscle burning state overnight.

If it fits into your calories You shold be eating before bed.. because giving the body 10-12 hours without food could be a recipe for disaster trying to hold muscle mass while cutting

btw i ate 5 minutes before bed everynight and cut 110 lbs.. CC + PB

[steelo79]

Okay so I have heard it is bad to eat before you go to sleep or within 3 hours before you sleep. What I have also heard is if you don't eat right before you go to sleep, your metabolism dies and you get screwed over. I am currently cutting so i want the best fat burner. Thanks

you need to eat before you go to sleep, point blank. it revs your metabolism and feeds your muscles/body. the longer you go without food, the slower your metabolism gets. i even keep a protein bar next to my bed, and snack on it a bit when i wake up in the middle of the night.

try something slow digesting like a casein based protein, along with a healthy fat. an ideal choice has always been cottage cheese with a little scoop of natty peanut butter.

[snorkelman]

I think you get the message. Don't fear pre-bed meals because they take place in some forbidden 3 hour before bed window.

I often force myself to eat casein protein (cottage cheese) and even a Tbspn of peanut butter right before I brush my teeth and go to bed. I eat that pre-bed meal and am confident that it is helping me by providing my body with a slow release of protein while I sleep.

We work to darn hard to build muscle, so why not make absolutely certain that your body doesn't burn muscle for fuel while you sleep?

[The Solution]

would a scoop oro two of whey protein (muscle milk) be good? I thought it would be the opposite for cutting and bulking. cause i was thinking extra cals and stuff but i have been just drinking some water to fill my stomach before i go to sleep. and right before bed or like give it an hour? I usually have a good 3-4 hours between dinner and bed.

muscle milk is not whey protein, its a blend first and foremost of whey/casein proteins.. if you want to go for this then sure, remember is has 16g of carbs before bed, so if your concerned with that they maybe stray away..

whole foods will satisfy you a bit more like Cottage Cheese + some healthy fats, Steak + Green Veggies , Chicken +a healthy fat + veggies,

and if you have 3-4 hoursb efore bed i would really fit it in if you could.. anywhere from 10-60 minutes prior is fine. If you feel like its interupting your sleeping eating it so close to bed try it an hour before.

[SouthsideIrish44]

False.. ur mom is not a valuable resource if thats what your saying,

eating before bed helps keep the body out of a catabolic state if thats what your referring to. Having a slow digestiong protein (such as dairy products or fatty meat or lean meat + a good fat source) is a great way to keep the body from dropping into a muscle burning state overnight.

If it fits into your calories You shold be eating before bed.. because giving the body 10-12 hours without food could be a recipe for disaster trying to hold muscle mass while cutting

btw i ate 5 minutes before bed everynight and cut 110 lbs.. CC + PB

Nice info guys. I was throwin' around the casein protein idea but now I think I'll just stick to CC and natty PB. My only problem is by bedtime I'm usually at my caloric intake for the day so I'll have to cut out a little throughout the day so that I can toss down 300 or so protein/fat cals pre-bed. But... I'm hungry pre-bed so maybe I don't need to cut during the day?

[yzrider400f]

Eating before you sleep has nothing to do with unwanted weight gain. It's all calories in calories out, not when you decide to eat your calories.

[Chris@UGA]

There's good advice in this thread. I think you now know what to do.

[JoMo1]

Eating before you sleep has nothing to do with unwanted weight gain. If your caloric maintenance is at 2000cals a day, eating 2000cals right before bed is still only maintaining your weight. It's all calories in calories out, not when you decide to eat your calories.

that just doesn't make sense, your body doesn't store up all the +ve(from food) calories and -ve (from excercise) calories it gets throughout the day then balance it out to decide whether to give you some fat or not..... It works on a moment to moment to basis. At each moment during the day it needs a certain amount of energy, and it gets that from whatever energy source, when you're at an excess it refills all those sources, fat being the last. The idea of a caloric deficit means youw ill always lose weight, but you want that weight to be fat, not muscle so you feed your body when it needs the calories, not when it doesn't. If you didn't eat anything all day and did lots of excercise your body would strip away fat and muscle, and then the 1000 calories you eat before bed would refill your glycogen stores a bit, maybe some protein would go into muscle growth, but most of it would go into fat because your body doesn't need the energy right now, so it stores it.

However, you'll have still lost the same amount of weight, but you'll have lost excessive amounts of fat and muscle, but then put a bunch of fat back on, so you'd mainly be losing muscle.

Your body burns fat when it has no food, but needs some. Working out and doing HiiT type stuff ups your metabolism, so you feed your muscles with Carbs for that, so you can increase your metabolism, and you don't put fat on because the carbs go into filling glycogen stores, your metabolism then stays up for the rest of the day, but your body doesn't need immediate energy so it burns fat, and the protein stops the muscles from breaking down.

so in summation, eat some slow acting protein and a bit of fat before bed.

[The Solution]

Eating before you sleep has nothing to do with unwanted weight gain. If your caloric maintenance is at 2000cals a day, eating 2000cals right before bed is still only maintaining your weight. It's all calories in calories out, not when you decide to eat your calories.

So your saying if someone had 5 meals of 400 calories and 1 meal of 2k calories the apperance and overall effect of the food woulndt make a difference on body comp and overall health?

tahts the stupidest comment ive ever read or head. If you take in 2k at a time chances are it wont be processed and most of it stores

if you take it in smaller meals throughout the day it will be metabolised a lot better.

[JoMo1]

I'm trying hard to come up with a pre-bed meal myself, don;t fancy cottage cheese and peanut butter, so what about some mozzarella? Does it contain a reasonable amount of slow acting protein? I was planning on doing some kind of oven roasted tomatoes, low fat mozarella and fresh basil bitey things... Dunno, something warm and cheesy to eat at night while watching TV.... and I do love mozarella...

[jcosley]

So your saying if someone had 5 meals of 400 calories and 1 meal of 2k calories the apperance and overall effect of the food woulndt make a difference on body comp and overall health?

tahts the stupidest comment ive ever read or head. If you take in 2k at a time chances are it wont be processed and most of it stores

if you take it in smaller meals throughout the day it will be metabolised a lot better.

I think he was just making it a point to say its calories in vs calories out. You shouldnt worry about eating before bed if you are within your macros for the day. If you go over your macros by eating your last meal before bed then...yes i can see you gaining some fat and it being stored. Everyone should make it a priority to include pre-bed meal within their macros....cutting or bulking.

[jcosley]

I'm trying hard to come up with a pre-bed meal myself, don;t fancy cottage cheese and peanut butter, so what about some mozzarella? Does it contain a reasonable amount of slow acting protein? I was planning on doing some kind of oven roasted tomatoes, low fat mozarella and fresh basil bitey things... Dunno, something warm and cheesy to eat at night while watching TV.... and I do love mozarella...

Cheese....lean meats....some almonds, peanuts, etc....some fish oils...we're going for high protein, healthy fats, and low carb before bed.

[The Solution]

I'm trying hard to come up with a pre-bed meal myself, don;t fancy cottage cheese and peanut butter, so what about some mozzarella? Does it contain a reasonable amount of slow acting protein? I was planning on doing some kind of oven roasted tomatoes, low fat mozarella and fresh basil bitey things... Dunno, something warm and cheesy to eat at night while watching TV.... and I do love mozarella...

Got Protein?

[JoMo1]

Cheese....lean meats....some almonds, peanuts, etc....some fish oils...we're going for high protein, healthy fats, and low carb before bed.

yeh, I get the basic nutrition profile we're going for, but I'm looking for something where I don't find myself saying "Oh I don't have to bloody well eat that agin do I!" and I think I can achieve that with mozarella, maybe some pine nuts and some italiany stuff, but does mozarella contain slow release or fast release protein?

[jcosley]

Mozzarella is a generic term for the several kinds of, originally, Italian fresh cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting (hence the name; the Italian verb mozzare actually means "to cut"): mozzarella di latte di bufala made from unpasteurized water buffalo's milk; mozzarella di bufala campana made only from Campania's buffalo milk; mozzarella fior di latte made from fresh pasteurized or unpasteurized cow's milk; and mozzarella made from mixtures, sometimes smoked, and those stored in preservatives.[2]

Fresh mozzarella is usually served on the day it is made as it does not keep beyond 12 or 24 hours. Mozzarella of several kinds are also used for most types of pizza (more compact lower water content kinds), lasagna, or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in Insalata caprese.

Types

The mozzarella di bufala campana (Dop 1996) is a particular type of mozzarella; some consider it the best for flavour or quality and it is protected by European DOP. It is a raw material in Italian style neapolitan Pizza - rather than mozzarella made with pasteurized cow's milk.

Mozzarella is available fresh; it is usually rolled in the shape of a ball of 80 to 100 grams (6 cm diameter), sometimes up to 1 kilogram (about 12 cm diameter), and soaked in salted water, sometimes with added citric acid, until sold.

Fior di latte (written also as fiordilatte) is used to distinguish the mozzarella made from cow's milk from that made from buffalo's milk. Another difference is that fior di latte has more fats and less water. This makes it more suitable as a basic component for pizza, while mozzarella would almost completely melt into whey when baked.

When slightly desiccated (partially dried), the structure becomes more compact; then it is better used to prepare dishes cooked in the oven, for example lasagne.

When twisted to form a plait it is called treccia.

It is also available in smoked (called affumicata) and reduced-moisture packaged varieties. To preserve a natural consistency (for no more than a couple of days), fresh mozzarella is delivered in its own liquid (whey).

There are now offered a number of variations, such as "stuffed mozzarella", filled with olives and cooked or raw ham, as well as small tomatoes (pomodorini).

Production

The production of mozzarella involves the mixture of curd with heated whey, followed by stretching and kneading to produce a delicate consistency -- this process is generally known as pasta filata. According to the Mozzarella di Bufala trade association, "The cheesemaker kneads it with his hands, like a baker making bread, until he obtains a smooth, shiny paste, a strand of which he pulls out and lops off, forming the individual mozzarella." [3][4] It is then typically formed into ball shapes or in plait. In Italy, a "rubbery" consistency is generally considered not satisfactory; the cheese is expected to be softer.

The origin of the name

It has been said that the name "mozzarella", which is clearly derived from southern Italian dialects, was the diminutive form of mozza (cut), or mozzare (to cut off) derived from the method of working.[5] Other theories describe its origins as a minor preparation of "scamozza" (Scamorza cheese), which in its turn probably derives from "scamozzata" ("without a shirt"), with allusion to the fact that these cheeses have no hard surface covering typical of a dry cured cheese.

The term mozzarella is first found definitively mentioned in 1570, cited in a cookbook by Bartolomeo Scappi, reading "?milk cream, fresh butter, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and milk?"

An earlier reference is also often cited as describing mozzarella. Historian Monsignor Alicandri, in "Chiesa Metropolitana di Capua", states that in the 12th century the Monastery of Saint Lorenzo, in Capua, offered pilgrims a piece of bread with mozza or provatura. These are locations rather than products and mozza is taken by some to be mozzarella.

Nutritional data

Amount of nutrients in 100g of edible portion of mozzarella, whole milk:
Energy 1250 kJ / 300 kcal
Protein 22 g
Fats 22 g
Carbohydrates 2.2 g
Total sugars 1.0 g
Calcium, Ca 500 mg
Phosphorus, P 350 mg
Potassium, K 76 mg
Sodium, Na 630 mg

[smit1982]

okay thanks a lot guys, that has been bugging me a lot. and protein shakes have good fats dont they? so a scoop or two n some nuts would be perfect for me? and i really appriciate all the help...LOVE this site

[jaredmt]

the reason they say dont eat before u go to bed is because your metabolism DOES slow down when u sleep. the reason is because you are not moving or using any energy.

it is ok to eat a little before bed though. my reccommendation is just dont eat a big meal before bed. have ur biggest meal for breakfast. then the next one a little smaller, then the next one a little smaller than that. it is a tecnhique that will help, but of course u still gotta exercise and eat right and what not

unfortunately most americans have their big meal for breakfast and for lunch and for dinner lol. we're so fat

[destin25]

So your saying if someone had 5 meals of 400 calories and 1 meal of 2k calories the apperance and overall effect of the food woulndt make a difference on body comp and overall health?

tahts the stupidest comment ive ever read or head. If you take in 2k at a time chances are it wont be processed and most of it stores

if you take it in smaller meals throughout the day it will be metabolised a lot better.

layzie i think we both know what yzrider400f means. hes was trying to say if your calorie goals for the day are say 2000 for that individual then if you must eat 2-3 hundred calories before bed to meet that goal then its alright and you will not get "fat". keepin that motor or metabolism revin every 2-3 hours regardless if you eat before bed is perfectly fine.

[sxgt]

isnt milk ideal here? as it is anti catabolic and has cassien +fat+ protein.

[T.STEEL]

CC+PB about 30minutes before bed, while I was cutting. Lost 47lbs total. 230->183

haha.. just from doing that?? thats a good night meal though.

[smit1982]

BTW what is CC?

[sgrathwol18]

BTW what is CC?

cottage cheese