Thread: Waking up during the night...

Yes, I would think you would need more than 1 C. that is how much I would eat before bed and I'm probably alot smaller than you. However, you could eat other things too along with the cottage cheese. Chicken or beef would be good options.

Do you have any protein powder at all?

sure do... I have lots of it... so the good thing is I wont need to be buying it for a while

you have lots of whey protein i assume? if so, there are ways to slow down the absorption rate of whey protein. as i understand it, they are:

1. consume whey with fats (PB, for instance, or fish oil).
2. consume whey with fiber (ground flaxseed, for example--which simultaneously adds fat).
3. consume whey with other stuff already in your stomach.
4. make the whey mixture less liquid and more solid in consistency.

whey will never work as well as micellar casein as a bedtime protein source, but these are ways to improve it.

since you are cutting, here is one thing i would recommend--take your whey at bedtime with this:

http://www.store.honeyvillegrain.com...ROD&ProdID=620

As it says, Oat Fiber is 94% fiber, so it won't add too many calories. I use this particular product, and I can also add that Oat Fiber, when combined with whey and water, can be made very thick, so thick that you can eat it with a spoon. Making it thicker and adding fiber will both help make the whey act more like casein. And, finally, a four pound bag costs nine bucks--and it will take you a looong time to go through four pounds of fiber, making it very cost effective.

I was going to suggest to have a protein shake pre-made so IF you wake up hungry, drink it. So, have your cottage cheese or what have you before bed and then if you need something in the middle of the night have a pre-made shake with some fish oil caps and go back to bed. Don't wake up in the middle of the night to drink this purposely. Drink only if you wake up hungry.

To tell you the truth, I was thinking something different. Try eating carbs before you go to bed. I know everybody says don't eat carbs before bed, but if I don't, I wake up hungry, and it just doesn't feel right. Don't eat a LOT of carbs, keep it to 1/3 of your calories in your pre-bed meal, but I definately wake up STARVING if I don't eat them. And it's not lack of calories, I'm capable of eating a ton of meat/fats before I go to bed.

If you're cutting, you really shouldn't feel REALLY hungry ever.... just "barely full enough," IMO. If you feel really hungry, you probably are digesting things you don't want to be digesting (muscle), and need to eat more. You should however feel your stomache sort of burning your fat stores, but it shouldn't be painful.

But yeah, your pre-bed meal seems pretty skimp, that might be it....

i would have a protien shake upon waking

Are you making sure you eat enough in the meal prior to your bedtime meal? And how long is the gap between these meals?

hey man

heres a stupid idea that you probably already know about..
maybe ZMA might help? it might just knock you out so you dont wake up until you really want to...

otherwise what garret listed would be just as i would recommend
with my shake at bed time i always put fats in it (ive ben using peanut butter, you probably want something different for your cut) and it keeps me full throughout the night