Current Thoughts on Pre-Bed Food

Ok, so I have been cutting for the last little while but now I want to pack on some muscle again.

Last time bulking, I got pretty good muscle gains, but wasn’t very happy with the amount of fat gained. I eventually got up to 17% bf. Now I am back down to 11%, but I’d like to keep it that low, maybe 1% bf gain in over the summer.

So to my question: last time I frequently ate a cup of cottage cheese + 4 tbsp’s peanut butter before bed, or something with a similar amount of calories. While I’ve been cutting I have stopped eating 2 hours before bed.

This probably wasn’t to good for keeping the fat off eh.

So what do you guys normally eat before bed, if at all?

This is something I’m second guessing now, too, after reading an article that I can’t find right now (7 habits of lean people?). I always had some cottage cheese, whey, and peanut butter right before bed, mainly to protect against overnight catabolism. I am in a slightly different situation now that I am trying to lose bodyfat and maintain as much muscle as possible.

I’ve began to pull my last meal back a couple hours and shift calories up in the morning and slowly decrease the size of the meals (should have been doing this all along). My last meal is now about 250-300 calories (always P+F), and I eat about 1.5 hours before bed. I’ve noticed that this has helped my sleeping, but it’s too early to say more now.

I’m interested in what other people here are doing for their last meal of the day, particularly 1) how soon before bed, 2) how many calories in relation to your daily calories, and 3) what your specific goals are currently.

my last meal before bed.

1 whole egg
200 mls egg whites

1/2 cup legumes (black beans, kidney beans etc)

Wake up leaner.

K.

While bulking I eat cottage cheese, natty PB, and a scoop of pro pow for flavor.

While cutting I just use two scoops of Metabolic Drive. That’s only 220 cals out of about 3,000 total for a day.

I am currently bulking and I have 1 scoop protein powder, 2 tablespoons flax oil, some natty PB and a cottage cheese sandwhich (using light cheddar instead of bread). Maybe an extra heaped tablespoon of cottage cheese depending on how I am feeling.

Please note these are consumed seperately and not all mixed together.

[quote]Phaedrus wrote:
This is something I’m second guessing now, too, after reading an article that I can’t find right now (7 habits of lean people?).[/quote]

Yup, that is the one that changed my thoughts too.

I use one of the recipes from PN:

1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese
2 tbls flax meal
1 tbl natty peanut butter
1 scoop Metabolic Drive

Dammmnnn good!!

[quote]TVG wrote:
Phaedrus wrote:
This is something I’m second guessing now, too, after reading an article that I can’t find right now (7 habits of lean people?).

Yup, that is the one that changed my thoughts too.

[/quote]

Here’s Berardi’s seven habits:

http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=291seven2

And here’s Shugart’s seven tips:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=814664

And my late-night meal (about 9:30 pm)?

4 ounces of 96/4 hamburger
170 grams vegetables
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
1 poached egg
3/4 scoop Metabolic Drive

Then I get up at 2:30 in the morning and have 1 cup cottage low-fat cottage cheese with 3/4 scoop Metabolic Drive.

It works for me.

[quote]bikemike wrote:
Here’s Berardi’s seven habits:

http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=291seven2
[/quote]

In berardis 7 habits to long term leanness, he mentions that you shouldnt eat for X amount of time before you go to bed.

I read in an article on here that sleeping overnight without having eaten something before bed was highly catabolic.

0 was neither anabolic nor catabolic, and Surge (obviously anabolic) had a rating of +5 (or 7) and fasting for the night was something like -5.

I guess its up to you and have to decide between the leanness or a significantly less catabolic state.

Right before bed

2 tablespoons of liquid amino’s
200 grams of 1% cottage cheese
1 scoop EAS 100% whey banana
1 tablespoon penut butter
maybe throw in a few cashews

mix it all up and you’re set. I wake up halfway through the night and repeat.

375-400 cals
45-50 grams protein
5-10 grams carbs
15 grams fat

[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
bikemike wrote:
Here’s Berardi’s seven habits:

http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=291seven2

In berardis 7 habits to long term leanness, he mentions that you shouldnt eat for X amount of time before you go to bed.

I read in an article on here that sleeping overnight without having eaten something before bed was highly catabolic.

0 was neither anabolic nor catabolic, and Surge (obviously anabolic) had a rating of +5 (or 7) and fasting for the night was something like -5.

I guess its up to you and have to decide between the leanness or a significantly less catabolic state.[/quote]

You’re paraphrasing from Shugart’s leanness article, not Berardi’s.

Whether or not you’re comfortable with eating right before bedtime is up to each person. For me, look at what you’re eating. I certainly don’t recommend high glycemic carbs right before bed.

I can’t go more than four hours without eating. I get sick to my stomach. So I eat before bed. It’s right after I workout, so I’m not worried about gaining too much fat. Everybody can experiment.

If you add or change a meal, do the change for three weeks, and see if you notice a change in your body composition. If it’s a good change, you’re on the right track. If it’s a bad change, then you need to change what you’re doing.

[quote]Soldierslim wrote:
While cutting I just use two scoops of Metabolic Drive. That’s only 220 cals out of about 3,000 total for a day.[/quote]

This is exactly what I have every night. It helps me from waking up hungry if anything. I’m not terribly concerned with being catabolic overnight, as I think that’s a little overrated, just from being too hungry.