Protein before bed

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homp2569
homp2569 Posts: 2 Member
edited February 2022 in Food and Nutrition
What are peoples thoughts on protein before bed ? I’ve heard it may be good to do?

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  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
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    Good for what? It's food, it has calories, and meal timing has no bearing on weight loss as such.
  • HelPur25
    HelPur25 Posts: 23 Member
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    I try not to eat anything for a few hours before bed. Protein takes longer to digest, so if you're trying to stave off feelings of hunger during the night, I guess you could do that. But I never have that problem. Actually, eating before bed makes me prone to having crazy nightmares! :D
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    homp2569 wrote: »
    What are peoples thoughts on protein before bed ? I’ve heard it may be good to do?

    Good in what way? I mean I guess I eat protein before bed as I typically have dinner around 8 PM and go to bed to read around 9:30 or so.
  • JMC3Terp
    JMC3Terp Posts: 2,803 Member
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    I have protein every 4 to 5 hours to best stimulate muscle growth and recovery. Sometimes that's within an hour of bed. It depends what your goals are. Also it depends on how it impacts you. If eating before bed wakes you up or gives you issues with sleep. Don't do it. Personally I don't have those issues. I will say that my last protein meal is always something super easy to make. Maybe a bar or pre-made shake or just microwavable meal.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
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    If you have performance and/or muscle-building aspirations having casein protein before bed is recommended practice by the likes of Renaissance Periodization, etc. The thought being the slower digesting protein supports muscle growth/preservation as it supplies amino acids over the long period between your dinner protein intake and first protein intake the next day. Though it might be beneficial in a vacuum, you still need to consider that it contains calories and doesn't supercede other more important tenants of successful dieting.
  • trollins1754
    trollins1754 Posts: 2 Member
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    For diabetics, having a protein before bed -- with a little fat -- helps stabilize glucose through the night. Peanut butter and apples or peanut butter on a graham cracker - those are my go-tos.
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,471 Member
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    steveko89 wrote: »
    If you have performance and/or muscle-building aspirations having casein protein before bed is recommended practice by the likes of Renaissance Periodization, etc.

    Due to following RP, I got in the habit of casein and/or other slow-digesting protein before bed several years ago. At some point it just became part of my bedtime routine/ritual.

  • kcassada85
    kcassada85 Posts: 3 Member
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    Drinking a casein protein shake or eating food with casein (i.e. yogurt) before bed is good. Casein is a slow-digesting protein. It helps with recovery and it can reduce muscle breakdown while they sleep.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,329 Member
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    I usually have a glass of skimmed milk with a biccie before bed as that seems to stop me getting weird blood sugar issues and helps with my reflux. Couldn’t eat anything more than that though otherwise it would give me indigestion 🤷‍♂️ So eat protein when you want, when it fits your needs and when it’s convenient.
  • Crystalr489
    Crystalr489 Posts: 21 Member
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    i usually have some cottage cheese before bed. It's supposed to digest slowly overnight.
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    Good for what? It's food, it has calories, and meal timing has no bearing on weight loss as such.

    I just wanted to state that not everyone of the MFP community goal is to lose weight. People are here for all different reasons.
  • lesleyannegordon2
    lesleyannegordon2 Posts: 3 Member
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    When I'm nightshift I find that I get a better sleep if I have food with protein in it before bed in the morning. so tomorrow I have overnight weetabix with skyr yogurt and fruit, sometimes I use protein weetabix too.

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