Ideal Bedtime and Midnight Snack?

C

Calkid

New Member
What is an appropriate meal before bed and in the middle of the night? My roommate rows crew, so he wakes up with his alarm at 4:45. I figure since it wakes me up anyway I might as well eat.

So what would both of those meals look like?
I was thinking...
one scoop whey,
a chicken breast or other lean meat
and...what? Carbs? Cod liver oil? Any ideas?

Edit: By the way, I'm bulking.
tounge.gif
in case you hadn't guessed.

-Calkid
 
Before bed I would go with something that would take a long time to digest, steak with some cod liver oil and um a salad. Or whatever meal you could think of that would sit in your stomach like a rock. For in the middle of the night, if I was you I would be wanting to get back to sleep as quick as possible so a protein shake you made earlier would work good. I would also probably make it with milk and find some sort of cooler so it stays cold, maybe even add some ice to it. Although it wont really matter if it is cold.
 
Something with a whey and casein based protein, the best bet is low fat cottage cheese...it has whey in it which is synthesized rapidly, and casein which breaks down slower throughout the night, I beleive its something like 6 hrs you have elevated nitrogen balance (?) for casein... I could be wrong though (on the time that is) I read so much info on things like this, but I can asure you it is the best and cheapest way to go...
laugh.gif
 
Low gi carbs and slow protein (not whey). Good old casein would be great (lactose-free if you are lactose-intolerant). Chicken would be great too. Low fat cottage cheese is another choice. Apples are an excellent low gi carb. Some fat may help to lower the gi of the meal. If you take whey, fat will also slow the absorption of the protein but not significantly, so most of the amino acids will end up oxidized by the liver instead of uptaken by muscles.
 
The first important thing is, what can you stomach at 4.45am?
A casein based drink would be fine, but some find these a bit thick
Whey will be oxidised rapidly (as mentioned above) but this would also mean that no other protein would be oxidised for anything at that time point, so overall balance would be up slightly.

If it was me, I would eat something nice at bedtime, go to sleep, and inform the room mate that if he wakes you up at anypoint he would be eating thru a straw :D
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Whey will be oxidised rapidly (as mentioned above) but this would also mean that no other protein would be oxidised for anything at that time point, so overall balance would be up slightly
Click to expand...

You mean that the overall nitrogen retention during the night would be greater with whey even though it would be rapidly oxidised ? That's interesting.... Are there any studies about it ?
 
If the body is provided with any source of protein overnight, there is no reason for it to break down its own tissue.
There aint any studies to support this view
But, any source of protein is better than no source of protein.
 
My reasoning for taking both whey and casein was that I've seen a few people (Bryan included) mention that whey is anabolic, and casein is more anti-catabolic. So I'd be taking whey for growth and casein to prevent overnight catabolism.

Besides, I still have 2/3 of this 10-lb. sack of whey protein, and that crap definitely isn't going anywhere. :D

-Calkid
 
I don't believe there is a shred of evidence that eating before bedtime or during the night is needed, necessary, or even useful. Sounds like bodybuilder rhetoric based on little or no fact.

In this Peter Lemon interview, the guy all the supplement and protein pushers love to quote, he stresses the importance of rest, and theorizes that eating before and digesting during sleep might actually be counterproductive:

http://www.maxsportsmag.com/healthnutrition/issue12/12hn1.htm
 
I don't believe there is a shred of evidence that eating before bedtime or during the night is needed, necessary, or even useful. Sounds like bodybuilder rhetoric based on little or no fact.

In this Peter Lemon interview, the guy all the supplement and protein pushers love to quote, he stresses the importance of rest, and theorizes that eating before and digesting during sleep might actually be counterproductive:

http://www.maxsportsmag.com/healthnutrition/issue12/12hn1.htm
 
I've read the Lemon interview twice, and he doesn't recommend against protein ingestion before sleep. The only thing he says is the following:

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Smaller and more frequent meals are advantageous. There's probably some advantage to consuming protein and energy following the workout. Whether that's an hour to 3 hours that's probably advantageous. I've heard of people waking themselves up and eating well just before turning in. But catabolism may be part of the overall process. The idea of looking for the magic bullet...maybe here isn't anything. You can do very well with eating a variety of foods, a lot of foods, and training hard.
Click to expand...

This doesn't seem to be anywhere near condemning night snacks. What he means, is that while we may be taking protein during night, catabolism will always be a player and we can't completely shut it off.

On the contrary, on page 4 of the same article you cited, there is the following take:

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Consuming a late night or early morning protein drink significantly improves protein metabolism and aides in preventing the protein breakdown that occurs naturally while you sleep. Scientific evidence supports the fact that maintaining high levels of branch chain amino acids (as found in whey protein) in the bloodstream actually prevents a large percentage of typical overnight protein breakdown (catabolism). This cycle of feeding (during the daytime) and fasting (at night while one slumbers) results in gains and losses of body protein. For bodybuilders, this natural building up and taking down process is counterproductive to muscle development. For the "compulsive" bodybuilder, consuming protein before you sleep, as soon as you wake up, and even in the middle of night is a possible mechanism of retarding protein wasting.
Click to expand...

So, I can't see your claim being backed by the article you cited. Perhaps it was an April's fool ? :)
 
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