# last meal before bed



## pengers84 (Nov 23, 2005)

The fitness instructor at my gym told me not to have much protein in my meal before bed because it disrupts your sleep.  He recomended that on my current bulk to have a low gi ice cream because it will give me extra calories and low protein.  What does everyone think?


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## Emma-Leigh (Nov 23, 2005)

pengers84 said:
			
		

> The fitness instructor at my gym told me not to have much protein in my meal before bed because it disrupts your sleep.  He recomended that on my current bulk to have a low gi ice cream because it will give me extra calories and low protein.  What does everyone think?










_**wipes tear from eye**_



​

Unless you are *really* underweight (and even then it is questionable) then having ice-cream (and most ice-cream is low-gi) is not going to be the best option for you - not in terms of your health or your goals to 'add mass' (unless you want that mass to be lard).

You don't necessarily need to have "protein before bed", but as with your other meals, your last meal at night should have a portion of protein, some healthy fats and hopefully some fibre. Adding carbs would then be optional depending on your goals, personal preference and your daily carb intake...


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## LAM (Nov 23, 2005)

pengers84 said:
			
		

> The fitness instructor at my gym told me not to have much protein in my meal before bed because it disrupts your sleep.  He recomended that on my current bulk to have a low gi ice cream because it will give me extra calories and low protein.  What does everyone think?



eating before bed "may" disrupt sleep for some but not for most. for a person who is interested in gaining maximum amounts of LBM then a high protein pre bed meal is essential.  one of the reason why I use a protein supplement at night as it is easier for the body to digest and should be less likely to disrupt sleep


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## juggernaut (Nov 28, 2005)

tell your trainer to shut the fuck up. What a dumbass. Just drink eat/some casein with a little natty peanut butter.


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## pengers84 (Nov 29, 2005)

what is casein?


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## Emma-Leigh (Nov 29, 2005)

pengers84 said:
			
		

> what is casein?


A type of protein - it comes from dairy and is what cottage cheese is made out of. You can also get specific casein protein powders.


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## luke69duke69 (Nov 29, 2005)

I usually try to add something like either cottage cheese or even regular cheese BEFORE taking my protein shake so that it slows digestion down a bit and allows the protein to be taken in more slowly during sleep.  I'm bulking now and have noticed a drop lately in weight, so I'm adding pasta at night prior to my shake to see if that helps the calorie defecit, without adding too much BF.  Anyone else had any luck adding rice or pasta before bed with their protein?


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## juggernaut (Nov 30, 2005)

pengers84 said:
			
		

> what is casein?


 casein is a slower digesting protein, best used for bedtime drinks/food. I am finding that cottage cheese is abette form of casein and that the drinks usually leave me reeeeaaaaally gassy. In that case my wife told me to find a better alternative or she would kill me and whatever died in my ass. So, for some reason I thought it best to change over to whole food since I diegst it better.


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## hp192003 (Nov 30, 2005)

I look at in this way: i sleep for about 9 hours - thats 9 hours without eating. So.. i always have a protein shake before bed and i sleep like a baby!


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## juggernaut (Nov 30, 2005)

hp192003 said:
			
		

> I look at in this way: i sleep for about 9 hours - thats 9 hours without eating. So.. i always have a protein shake before bed and i sleep like a baby!


 gee wow. pearls of wisdom.


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## hp192003 (Nov 30, 2005)

juggernaut said:
			
		

> gee wow. pearls of wisdom.



sometimes the simple things are the best


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## garethhe (Nov 30, 2005)

hp192003 said:
			
		

> I look at in this way: i sleep for about 9 hours - thats 9 hours without eating. So.. i always have a protein shake before bed and i sleep like a baby!




I do the same.  But I also leave a protein bar on my nightstand to munch on after I wake up in the middle of the night to pee, so there's an extra 25 grams of protein to help bridge the gap to breakfast.


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## Hlanderr (Nov 30, 2005)

if you want to stick with whole foods before bed, go with a cup of cottage cheese before bed

it contains the casein protein mentioned earlier, which is a slow digesting protein..... so itll last you a while


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## garethhe (Nov 30, 2005)

is cottage cheese the only dairy product whose protein is casein?


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## Emma-Leigh (Nov 30, 2005)

garethhe said:
			
		

> is cottage cheese the only dairy product whose protein is casein?


Most dairy products will have casein in them but the % will differ depending on the processing.

Both cottage cheese and hard cheese like cheddar are primarily casein (during processing the other proteins are removed). Milk protein is ~80% casein. The % in yoghurt will vary, depending on if milk solids are added - and what solids are added.. Even butter will have some casein in it. Although ricotta cheese doesn't really have casein in it - it is basically made from the whey fraction....


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## THEUNIT(XXL) (Nov 30, 2005)

Emma-Leigh said:
			
		

> Most dairy products will have casein in them but the % will differ depending on the processing.
> 
> Both cottage cheese and hard cheese like cheddar are primarily casein (during processing the other proteins are removed). Milk protein is ~80% casein. The % in yoghurt will vary, depending on if milk solids are added - and what solids are added.. Even butter will have some casein in it. Although ricotta cheese doesn't really have casein in it - it is basically made from the whey fraction....


I think a mixture of casein and whey is the best thing right before bed, also because you probably didn't eat for 1-2 hours before going to bed so the whey is a little faster and will provide you with protein right before and the casein will last you all night, I can highly recommend this supplement


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## luke69duke69 (Dec 1, 2005)

I like to drink half a shake, eat some cottage cheese, then drink the second half.  In my weird logic it seams like I'll get some protein in quickly and slow the absorbtion of the rest.  I also tend to consume close to 80-100grams before bed between the shake and the cheese, whether it be cottage or regular cheese and sometimes pasta because of the length of time til I wake up.


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## HANK-VISSER (Dec 1, 2005)

THEUNIT(XXL) said:
			
		

> I think a mixture of casein and whey is the best thing right before bed, also because you probably didn't eat for 1-2 hours before going to bed so the whey is a little faster and will provide you with protein right before and the casein will last you all night, I can highly recommend this supplement


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## LAM (Dec 1, 2005)

THEUNIT(XXL) said:
			
		

> I think a mixture of casein and whey is the best thing right before bed, also because you probably didn't eat for 1-2 hours before going to bed so the whey is a little faster and will provide you with protein right before and the casein will last you all night, I can highly recommend this supplement



that's what I've been using for the past 10 years...


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