Bryce Warren Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I've been thinking about what happens when you eat in the middle of the night. What are the pros/cons of this and does it throw anything off? Any meal type can be used, slow/fast digesting or mixed. I've probably been thinking about this because I seem to wake up fairly often during the night and just can't get back to sleep, and am wondering what goes on when I decide to have a protein shake or whatever I happen to eat. I'll be looking forward to hearing your responses to this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Sapinoso Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 if you're waking up in the middle of your sleep to eat it's a bad idea. Sleep is more important. Also, protein shakes right before bed spike insulin and may not be a good idea either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Warren Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Well yea, that's a given. That's not what I'm trying to figure out here, I'm talking more hypothetically. Instead of your body not intaking anything for 8 or more hours compared to consistent feeding to simplify and be more specific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Chubb Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Used to have a really similar problem. I take mag and melatonin right before bed along with some sort of fiber (usually a cup of flax) which keeps me from waking up from hunger. If I do wake up, I have mag with some trypho I forgot how to spell it and a small glass of water next to me which nearly instantly puts me back to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Warren Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hunger isn't a problem for me I'm not even sure why I wake up, or why I feel wide awake while I'm lying in bed after sleeping for only 3-4 hours. Me being awake at night is just the reason I started pondering about the effects of eating in the middle of the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Chubb Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 If everything is in line, then high training volume wakes up athletes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Warren Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Yea that's what I was thinking, but couldn't explain that one for the life of me so :roll: How do you deal with that though? I always have tons of energy since I started eating strictly healthy without an ounce of junk. I usually end up sleeping 4 hours, waking up, training and eating. Then after all that I'll get some sleep maybe an hour after eating my PWO shake+meals. The odd time when I get really beat from having this little sleep I'll sleep like 11-13 hours randomly. Somehow none of this has affected my training, my body feels great every time I train no matter how little I've slept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Chubb Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I noticed a huge difference when I started concentrating on getting enough magnesium. Which makes sense because it helps sleep and is depleted in athletes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Warren Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 I'll be sure to give that a try, see what happens. As well, if anyone wants to give a response to the actual topic that'd be awesome! Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blairbob Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I wouldn't purposely wake up in the middle of the night and break your sleep cycle (each sleep cycle is roughly 90m-120m). Take some casein or egg protein or food before hand if you are really worried or start a whey IV drip. :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Roseman Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Funny you mention that... for when we wake up early (say 2-5am) I've devised a potion called "magic milk". It's a half cup of low fat milk, 10-15g whey powder (sucrolose sweetened), a few pinches of cocoa powder or teaspoons of ovaltine, some hot water and a teaspoon or two of glucose served warm. The creaminess and comfort of it (and possibly some short-lived hypoglycemia) really knocks us out. Or maybe it's just the name....Not everyone handles eating late (or early) well though. I do feel that a fairly quick digesting meal is better if you want to get dozy from it. I don't like to go to bed on a full stomach though. More chance for acid reflux, ugh :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafael David Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Funny you mention that... for when we wake up early (say 2-5am) I've devised a potion called "magic milk". It's a half cup of low fat milk, 10-15g whey powder (sucrolose sweetened), a few pinches of cocoa powder or teaspoons of ovaltine, some hot water and a teaspoon or two of glucose served warm. The creaminess and comfort of it (and possibly some short-lived hypoglycemia) really knocks us out. Or maybe it's just the name....This will not give a huge insulin spike? Why you wanna that? :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Roseman Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Funny you mention that... for when we wake up early (say 2-5am) I've devised a potion called "magic milk". It's a half cup of low fat milk, 10-15g whey powder (sucrolose sweetened), a few pinches of cocoa powder or teaspoons of ovaltine, some hot water and a teaspoon or two of glucose served warm. The creaminess and comfort of it (and possibly some short-lived hypoglycemia) really knocks us out. Or maybe it's just the name....This will not give a huge insulin spike? Why you wanna that? :?Not sleeping is worse. To me.Taking pills are worse. To me. Life is a compromise. Sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafael David Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 It seems stupid to me. If you were ignorant okay, because you do not know the peak of insulin and its consequences. But knowing all this and still doing it is stupid. It's like using a drug even knowing the bad consequences of such use. :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Roseman Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 It seems stupid to me. If you were ignorant okay, because you do not know the peak of insulin and its consequences. But knowing all this and still doing it is stupid. It's like using a drug even knowing the bad consequences of such use. :|Thanks for your concern And for imagining I'm not ignorant. I try not to be, lol.It's a high protein drink actually; sugar is a small component. Total maybe 100 cals. Enough hopefully to get a small crash. That's what I'm looking for in that situation. I suspect the protein is being put to good use mostly, especially the night or two after working out.All eating raises insulin and whether it matters much depends upon how often, to what extent and how long it stays raised.Spiking isn't the issue - everyone's spikes after eating. It's whether it soon returns to normal, and how low the normal is.It's what we do on a constant basis that matters most - trending towards increasing fitness, leanness and muscularity (up to the desired point) is the key. Thanks to staying active and getting more muscular our bodies can handle the occasional insult.I love having nutritional discussions although they can get heated. It's always a spark for researching andpossibly increasing one's understanding. I do understand not everyone will agree. Edit: I should add that if a high level athlete or have aspirations perhaps you may need to be more strict than I am. That's not in my cards - it's recreational, though serious, exercise for me - combined with living a balanced life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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