+ 7 Waking up to eat
Someone asked me at the gym last night if I get up to eat something during the middle of the night when trying to get bigger. I told him no I don't, I like sleeping to much. Then he wondered if he should do it because he heard to get bigger (I really think he meant to gain muscle) you should be eating some protein every 3-4 hrs and he didn't want to miss out on gains by not eating overnight. Logical thinking but I told him uninterrupted sleep is going to be more beneficial than getting up to eat and that is all I really could come up for an answer. It is kind of a question I always wondered myself so I dug a little deeper to satisfy my curiosity.
Besides the sleep issue and multiple benefits of a good night's sleep I found a couple of other interesting tidbits on the age old question of should I be eating during the middle night. What I have gathered so far is that getting up in the middle of the night to eat is not a good idea. It can help sabatoge gains. I think alot of this stems from my initial assumption that a good night's sleep is one of the most important things for your body. Your body needs to reset insulin sensitivity, cleanse its liver and reduce inflamation while you are sleeping and waking up interrupts this process. Waking up in middle of the night causes glucose to rise (affects insulin sensitivity) and an increase in the catabolic hormone cortisol. Waking up also decreases your release of growth hormone (probably not a big deal though if you are supplementing with GH though).
Now there is also the issue of your gut. Believe it or not but your digestive track needs to rest also. You need to allow your gut to replenish its enzymes and allow all that beautiful natural flora you keep hearing about time to gestate. If you don't allow this to occur by eating during the middle of the night your digestive tract can actually become stressed and reduce of the amount of nutrients your body can absorb.
I guess I feel a little better knowing I am not sabatoging gains by not getting up in the middle of night just to eat something. I just like to have a good meal of protein and some complex carbs before going to bed and I am all set.
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Always a tank of knowledge,much love brother
Thank you for this Makwa. Glad i read the other forum to get to this. I am one that wakes to pee but am up for about 2hrs everynight. Been a thing for over 13years. Before i was sober i slept like a log from dope and liquour. Ive countered this by going to bed earlier to make up time lost. Ive tried melatonin, CBD etc. Im up and bored so i eat. I had feeling it wasnt the best idea because the gut feels the effect but i never asked anyone about it or gave it much thought. Now i know even more its not the best idea. If i have to be up i will try to restrain from "snacking"
backup2018I think i read that the true "anabolic state" is when we sleep. I dont think id wake up to eat. I think mark whalberg done that to get big for pain and gain movie he got up at like 2 am to eat a meal and then bak to bed. I know id be up all night again after that lol
Back in the day I was up after the first 4hrs of a 10hr sleep to feed.
This along with blending actual "food" meals when you couldn't consume it because your jaw hurt.
As an ectomorph starting out (closer to 70/30 Meso/Ecto now) I was eating whenever I could because I was burning calories like crazy.
Now, when I get up it is because I drink a lot of water throughout the day including have a 1-1.5L throughout the night that I sip on when awoken and peeing a couple times is the norm.
I get about 9-10hrs sleep consistently (a rare 7-8hrs when life happens) and why when I get up, I will often head downstairs to check out what to eat/drink. Sometimes I will make a quick shake others I'll eat a small meal or just have some PB with low sodium ritz!
If the mood doesn't strike, I will just go back to bed instead.
I stopped force feeding a decade ago, I won't get up specifically just to eat and as I get older my results are just as good if not slightly better.
Our bodies change and thus we need to do the same with our eating/training/supplement regime if we are true researchers.
Stay safe and train for PURPOSE!
This didn't become a "thing" until Cutler started pushing it..... If you're relying on midnight meals to get bigger, then your not going to get much bigger anyway in the long run because you're more than likely lacking what we call GENETICS--- guys who have good genetics are going to be huge, and guys who don't simply don't, and it doesn't matter how much you eat, sleep, train, or juice (obviously, those factors can increase muscle mass---but you won't be stepping on an IFBB stage...ever).
Also, it's a GREAT way to overload and stress your kidneys... protein feedings without plenty of water is STUPID. Drink plenty of water and then your up an hour later standing over the toilet... stupid as well.
As for me, I immediately consume BCAA's upon waking in the morning.... waking well-rested.
Yeah, to often we try to emulate these pros thinking, hey they are doing it so it must make you big,ripped or whatever when in all reality they can pretty much do anything and end up looking like a monster. Falls in line with training, diet pretty much everything bodybuilding related. Have to be real careful when listening to what the pros do cause frankly they are freaks of nature and no matter how they train or eat they will surpass us normal human beings and doing what they do can often be a recipe for disaster for us.
Exactly.... we are all a walking science experiment--- trying to find what works best for own own individual makeup.
Good to see you back bro
Same to you.... the place is lookin' good
I couldn’t do it. Once my feet hit the floor, I’m up. It doesn’t matter what time it is. My eyes open and it’s over. I’m lucky to get 6 1/2-7 hours of sleep. I wish I could get a solid 8 or better for healing time. It just doesn’t happen. If I get up at 3 to take a leak or anything, I’m staring at the ceiling for an hour before I say screw it and start the coffee a half hour early.
I just eat something before bed and choke something down before I have that cup of coffee in the morning.
I did this in the past and can only advice u all , don't do it guys. I felt that it helps to stay "loaded" over the night BUT the missing sleep routine or the break during the sleep is very bad for your body.
During the night your body is in a recovery state and if you break this state you will feel tired and a bit confused in the morning.
It may also have effects on GH-secretion and testosterone level.
It is a fact that it does affect your GH pulse, not sure about testosterone though.
The doctor who prescribes me trt
Always tells me to set the alarm and have a big container of the FAGE greek yogurt. Then go back to bed.
I have to follow dr orders
Makes no disrespect at all nothing but love but I disagree with this, as I have tried it both ways eating and not eating in the middle of the night and I personally have found that my body responds better to a peanut butter sandwich or a cup of cottage cheese in the middle of the night. Now that being said as I’m older I don’t have to set my alarm my prostate wakes me up a few times lol... I notice at least for me I do better if I eat this way
I think the real big issue that comes into play here is interrupting sound sleep just to eat. If you are getting up to pee or whatever in the middle of the night the getting up just to eat becomes a moot point. You are already up due to some other reason and if hungry might as well eat something. If you are able to sleep sound through the night I think the benefits from that sound sleep far outweigh specifically getting up just to eat.
Love sleep but every now and then I'm so hungry I eat a meal in middle of the night
EldermuscleI think a good deep restful sleep is going to help you recover and repair more than waking up and eating a meal. I actually train in the mornings and nap after my post workout meal before work and I feel way better since I been doing that. Sleep is equally as important as eating and training properly.
Area-1255For sure bro!
Seems like a good protein blend would do the trick.There are a few out that feed for six to eight hours.Phase eight and Procor both have a whey,casein,egg blend and feed for eight hours.Good stuff.Of course you could always have some steak before bed as well,maybe with some sweet potato and millet or quinoa.
I don't like to drink a shake before bed because then I have to get up during the middle of the night to pee. I don't see a problem with a shake before bed as long as it doesn't make you get up to pee. I prefer some solid food. Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or a fried egg sandwiches are pretty common for me.
I've always heard caesin is the best protein before bed because it digests slower That's why I go with cottage cheese.
The only problem with casein is the bv is low at 77.That's why I suggested a blend.Cottage cheese is a good choice.The curd is mostly casein but the liquid is whey.As in curds and whey.Underrated in my book but certainly has all the essentials,protein ,fat and a very slow digesting which equals long feeding time.
Good to hear. I eat quite a bit of it.
Egg is always a great choice.I didn't think about the pee part but I'm always peeing about half way through anyway.For me the shakes cause some stomach bloat so I don't drink them either at night.I will eat some meat though,usually some sirloin with Greek yogurt as well.
Hello Sir,
Thank you for your post Sir. I might be old school but I still think it is all about "calories in VS calories out" throughout the day. Want to grow, make sure you above maintenance level, want to get rid of fat, implement calorie deficit strategy.
That's where inexperienced athletes get mixed up when trying to gain that off season bulk, instead of having 200-300 calories surplus and monitor the results, athletes will have 1000-2000 calorie surplus and then wondering why fat is growing faster than muscles and the answer is simple, your muscles do not grow at such a high speed (you do not grow 1kg of muscles a day) therefore your body does not require to be in 1000-2000 calories surplus.
I understand that athletes get influenced by media a lot nowadays but what we forget that all these people we see on the TV are 'enhanced' genetically gifted freaks. And as soon as anyone starts copying PRO's nutrition, especially if non-enhanced, will turn in to a fat pig. Then trying to get rid of that fat, burning most of the muscles alongside the fat, and you back to square one.
So I agree with @Makwa, for 99% of the eRoids community that is going to read this, this middle of the night meal approach will lead to failure.
But thanks for the post Sir.
Regards
Rustyhooker3am every morning, wide awake and starving. Cant sleep until i eat something. Not forgetting that i go to bed after midnight and up early too. Damn hyper bs....:(
So what’s your usual 3 am snack? My will power is usually sit when Im tired.
RustyhookerPbj and milk or yogurt. I gotta get my sleep. Lol. The good part is am workout then a short nap
Naps are underated.
RustyhookerDefinitly!
Sounds like a conversation I had with gymjunkie. I was pro-sleep on that issue but admitted that someone of his size might need to wake up to eat just out of sheer necessity to get the necessary calories in within the day.
I was just watching a seminar with Stan Efferding where he listed Sleep, Food, Training in that order of importance. He said if it means missing a meal or a workout to get a good nights sleep it is worth it every time. It’s a very informative video if you get a chance to check it out, it focuses more on strength athletes but much of it holds true for bodybuilders as well.
Here’s the link:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JzARkUG1zg8
It’s bad enough waking up to pee...I eat a bowl of cottage cheese every night before bed. That’s enough for me.
100g oats with a shake or 6 weetabix and a shake if I dont eat something I wake up starving! Props for the cottage cheese I can't stand the stuff!
Me too, oatmeal and a protein shake before bed
Depends. I eat when I wake up in the middle of the night if I'm hungry. if I'm not, I might grab an RTD on my way to pee. I certainly don't schedule waking up but I'll wake up to piss at least once most nights. Part of aging. lol
As always, great post bro! I always anticipate reading your posts or comments because I either learn something or it recomfirms my own thoughts.
No way am I getting up to eat!! I’m working out every morning between 4:30 - 5:00 am & that’s enough sacrificed sleep !!