# A Meal Before Bed - Carbs or Protein?



## Spenny

I heard today that if you eat carbs before bedtime, whilst your sleeping it will take away protein from your muscles.

So... is a protein meal or shake good to sleep on?


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## Lost Soul

Where will it take it?

The answer is no, thats just fine assuming you want to eat carbs and protein before bed in relation to goals and activities


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## Tatyana

Spenny said:


> I heard today that if you eat carbs before bedtime, *whilst your sleeping it will take away protein from your muscles.*
> 
> So... is a protein meal or shake good to sleep on?


Is that the myocyte fairy? Or the actin/myosin goblin?

Bloody hell, some people really need to review their basic human biology.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Carbohydrates are protein sparing.


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## Spenny

Thing is Tatanya..... I'm learning and this site helps me to do just that.

Your experience is valuable.

Thankyou


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## willsey4

On weight training days I eat Steak and a Jacket Potatoe 20 min before bed. On non training days I eat fish and veg 20 min before bed.

Im just experimenting at the mo with my diet to see what works best for me but everything seems fine at the mo


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## Tatyana

What you eat before bed depends on your goals.

If you are dieting, then a protein/fat or protein from a natural source combo seems to suit most people.

If you are bulking, then a protein/carb combo or protein/carbs/fats or protien/fat could work.

You have to experiment a bit on yourself to see what you respond best too.

A lot of people like micellar casein before bed as it is slow digesting.


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## irwit

Ive never found a good answer for whats best before bed mainly from what I read about eating before you sleep reduces production of GH. So its a weigh up between what do you want in your system through the night, gh or protein.


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## guinness

from my uneducated perspective it seems more important to get your daily cals and nutrient split right. I tend to use the last meal of the day to clean up and round off the days requirements. Sometimes this may mean something small and sometimes its a fairly large meal. I reckon keeping it that simple works best for me. Over time if youare getting the right nutrition on a daily basis you are probably going to be ok.


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## Spenny

Some great info here.... cheers y'all!


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## Tatyana

irwit said:


> Ive never found a good answer for whats best before bed mainly from what I read about eating before you sleep reduces production of GH. So its a weigh up between what do you want in your system through the night, gh or protein.


I actually wonder how much of a difference carbs before bed make.

When you are not diabetic and have decent insulin sensitivity, our bodies clears glucose from the bloodstream quite quickly, and keeps the levels steady between about 4-6 mmol/L.

Insulin is released in a pulsatile fashion, every 20 min, and it has a half life of, erm can't remember exactly, but something like 6 min max.

The control of all metabolic pathways are under more than just hormonal controls, there is feedback of end products as well, and it is in a constant flux.

I don't think it is this ON/OFF either/or sort of thing, is is more of a continuum.


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## cellaratt

Following the kiss rule I am lead to believe that a slow releasing casein such as cottage cheese could be recommend as a alternative for your last meal as it helps provide your body with a longer flow of protein to use while your in your longest period between meals...?


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## donggle

cellaratt said:


> Following the kiss rule I am lead to believe that a slow releasing casein such as cottage cheese could be recommend as a alternative for your last meal as it helps provide your body with a longer flow of protein to use while your in your longest period between meals...?


well when not dieting i have 350g cottage cheese and a few crackers.

gives me around 40g protein and 50g carbs. i'll usually have a shake about an hour before aswell.


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## Lost Soul

I dont buy into the GH theory but do buy into the seratonin theory and constant anabolic cyle hence why carbs are fine before sleep


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## irwit

Tatyana said:


> I actually wonder how much of a difference carbs before bed make.
> 
> When you are not diabetic and have decent insulin sensitivity, our bodies clears glucose from the bloodstream quite quickly, and keeps the levels steady between about 4-6 mmol/L.
> 
> Insulin is released in a pulsatile fashion, every 20 min, and it has a half life of, erm can't remember exactly, but something like 6 min max.
> 
> The control of all metabolic pathways are under more than just hormonal controls, there is feedback of end products as well, and it is in a constant flux.
> 
> I don't think it is this ON/OFF either/or sort of thing, is is more of a continuum.


Cheers for the info, interesting read.

For example however, slow digesting protein would still require insulin so would that mean having lots of casein before sleep means you would be producing more insulin and for amuch longer ammount of time. Andit insulin that inhibits GH production so again lowering the ammount of GH you canproduce per day. I understand that it not going to totally block it but I guess if this is true then which substance would be more benifical for you to grow the most. Protein to give you the building blocks to grow throughout the night OR maximum GH releae to promote the growth of new muclefibres.


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## 3752

if you have a slower metabolism Carbs before bed could contribute to fat both when bulking and dieting.

most people who have moderate and high metabolisms can use some carbs before bed when bulking i have found Oats and protein with a small amount of fat to be very good for gains.

when wanting to lose weight unless you have a very fast metabolism carbs are not advisable to use before bed in my experiance fat and protein is better.

but seeing as this is in the gaining weight section i will assume that is your goal so 100g oats/2 scoops protein powder/25g peanut butter either in a shake or as a pudding will help you gain....

just a side note if you want to drop weight then Cottage cheese and tuna is excellant before bed throw in some crunchy red onions yum yum


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## Guest

i am going to have to give cottage cheese another go i tried to get into it a while back but it is minging IMO


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## 3752

the reason why most including myself use cottage cheese is because it is a decent protein source and it will release the amino's slowly through the night but then so will 2 scoops of blended protein along with 50g peanut butter or 6 whole eggs....


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## donggle

cottage cheese tastes better to me than any amount of protein powder.


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## 3752

try it with PB mixed in


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## Spenny

Fantastic advice PSCARB!!!

Yes I'm looking to gain and your shake idea is perfect.

Being Lactose intolerant too, I guess Cottage Cheese is a no no! Which doesn't matter to me at this stage!


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## Guest

I was having protein shake before bed and was finding it hard to sleep, now halved the amount and having porridge oats too and sleepin like a log :thumb: :thumb :

Lin x


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## Spenny

Lin said:


> I was having protein shake before bed and was finding it hard to sleep, now halved the amount and having porridge oats too and sleepin like a log :thumb: :thumb :
> 
> Lin x


How many grams was your original amount?


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## Guest

Spenny said:


> How many grams was your original amount?


2 scoops is 65g now I have 36g oats and 25g protein powder, sleep like a baby


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