Eating every 3 hours or so has the effect of providing your body with a steady stream of nutrients throughout the day. Small, frequent feedings of high-quality protein maintain the amino acid levels needed to repair and build new muscle.
Needless to state, this process is interrupted at night, by sleep. Once the
nal meal has been digested and absorbed, no more food is eaten until
the next morning. And even though you’re sleeping, your body still uses
energy. Other biochemical processes continue as well. During the posta-
bsorptive state, the needs of the body must be met using stored nutrients.
Although protein synthesis still occurs, the body enters a net catabolic
state. By morning, the rate of protein degradation is greater than protein
synthesis. Skeletal muscle contains nearly one-half of the total body pro-
tein and plays an important role in maintaining the free amino acid pool
during this period.
Feeding eventually restores the balance between protein breakdown and
synthesis, although it would be nice to nd some way to prevent - or at
least reduce - the amount of muscle protein breakdown during sleep.
In the supplement section review of casein, I discussed a study, “Slow and
fast dietary proteins di erently modulate postprandial protein accretion”,
that examined the impact of protein digestion rate on protein synthesis
and breakdown. The researchers compared whey to casein. What they
found was that a quickly digested protein like whey was better for increas-
ing protein synthesis, while a slow digesting protein like casein resulted in
a much lower, prolonged enhancement of amino acid levels - which wasn’t
very e ective for boosting synthesis, but was good for preventing protein
breakdown.
So there’s a possibility that a small amount of a slow protein like casein,
consumed at bedtime, would maintain amino acid levels su ciently to
blunt the catabolic e ects of fasting on your muscles while we sleep.
Is there any proof at this point that having a “bedtime snack” will result in
extra pounds of muscle? None at all. In view of the research, my take is
that a snack before sleep is a wise precaution, but strictly optional.
Does it have to be casein? Maybe not. Most animal proteins digest much
more slowly than whey does. But casein is an extremely large protein, and
associates with other caseins to form large complexes that gel in the stom-
ach and are especially di cult to digest. So, unless you’re allergic to it,
casein is probably one of the best proteins you could use for this purpose.
A good bedtime snack will contain about 30 - 50 g of protein, with minimal
carbs. A small amount of healthy fat could be added to slow digestion even
further. It doesn’t need to be elaborate: this isn’t a full meal. A couple of
scoops of a casein-based protein powder or some cottage cheese should
do the trick.
These nutritional enhancements won’t work miracles, of course. If your
training and/or nutrition over the rest of the day aren’t up to snu , con-
suming pre-/post-workout drinks and eating a bedtime protein snack
won’t make up for those shortcomings. In conjunction with a good training
program and diet however, these additions have the potential to add to
your success. It’s your entire program of nutrition, supplementation and
training that will bring success, not one or two simple changes.
Just remember, it’s not rocket science, so don’t make it any more compli-
cated then it needs to be
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If you want to become healthy, you must first tell you that you want to be healthy. This article is about weight loss and how to live a healthier life, I hope it will be interesting and beneficial to read. I have had many problems with my weight over the years and by the age of twenty-two had had enough of being obese. In the article I write about how I lost my excess pounds.
I have always struggled to keep my weight under control. Excess weight is concerned all my life, I could not wear clothing that I wanted and I often felt guilty after eating certain foods. He firmly believed that if only I could lose a couple of stones that would increase my confidence and ultimately be much happier.
I have read many books and tried to follow a series of diets. For some reason this does not seem to help me, mainly because I could not stick to their weight loss programs because of my love of fatty foods.
One day I was talking to a neighbor who was not only nice but also quite thin. She looked very fit and healthy and asked me how they kept so trim.
The neighbor who called Gillian seems quite surprised and flattered by my question and I was very shy. He noted that at one point in her life, she also had a weight problem and was not happy. What she was about to say was quite a shock for me, but the time to change my life.
She continued that when she was at this stage of her life, she will travel to by car. Gillian had noticed that in an average week, did very little exercise, and sometimes did nothing at all. Then went out and bought a dog and this dog to walk at least twice a day. It was not a choir and Gillian in the coming years, including as a result of a series of meeting new friends. Previously seen as a nuisance Gillian exercise and a lot of time but on different days would have your dog on four walks, enjoyed a lot.
Gillian quickly realized that not only was she losing weight, but she also felt much healthier. It was not long before she was at a weight that was happy with.
After hearing the story of Gillian decided to follow her weight loss program. Yes I went and bought a dog and I am happy to report that he has also worked for me.
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Preparing 5 - 7 balanced meals a day, seven days a week, sounds like a full time job. And if you had to make only one meal at a time, it would be. Fortunately, a little advance planning will save you both time and energy when it comes to making meals. The meals you eat on the BBR program can be quickly and easily assembled simply by following a few basic guidelines.
Cook in bulk: Cooking foods in larger amounts is invaluable for meal
planning. In the time it takes to cook one chicken breast, you can cook
6 - 8, and have the leftover meat available for eating as is, or ready to
use in recipes. Many lean protein sources can be pre-cooked and
stored for later use: chicken and turkey breasts, pork tenderloin, lean
roast beef, seafood, etc. Even if you're a single person, you can make
recipes in larger amounts, and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers in sin-
gle-serving containers. Soups, chili, stews, casseroles, meatloaf, etc.
are ideal for bulk cooking and storage. It shouldn't be necessary to
purchase commercial canned soups or frozen entrees to accommo-
date a single appetite.
Starchy carbohydrate foods like brown rice, other whole grains, and le-
gumes can also be pre-cooked, and used for several di erent meals.
You can also make ahead and freeze homemade protein bars, pan-
cakes, and quick breads for snacks/meals. The recipe section in the
Members' Area forum has a number of recipes you can make ahead
and store for snacks and meals.
use of precut, ready-to-eat, and frozen vegetables/fruits: Larg-
er vegetables such as broccoli or cauli ower can be precut and stored
in resealable plastic bags for eating raw, or adding to recipes and sal-
ads. Ready-to-eat vegetables such as peeled baby carrots and grape/
cherry tomatoes are also handy. Frozen vegetables are an alternative
to fresh, and are often more nutritious and less expensive than out-of-
season, “fresh” vegetables shipped in from miles away and stored for
periods of time. It takes only moments to put a cup or two of fro-
zen or precut veggies into a microwavable dish. Use bagged, pre-
washed baby spinach leaves and other salad greens, or make/bag your
own bulk, ready-to-eat salad.
Use Your Blender: Keep bags of frozen, unsweetened berries (particu-
larly blueberries) and other fruit in the freezer for adding to home-
made MRPs/smoothies. Add protein powder, ground axseeds/ ax
oil, and other ingredients for a fast meal-in-a-glass.
Make use of acceptable ready-to-eat products: Keep single serving
containers of cottage cheese, low-carb or light yogurt, reduced-fat
string cheese, pre-seasoned tuna, and MRP packets around for fast,
portion-controlled snacks and/or o ce meals. Other pre-made foods
such as hummus, guacamole, pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, reduced
sodium, low fat deli turkey/chicken breasts and lean roast beef can
also be used. Foods that don’t require preparation, like whole grain
crispbreads, nuts/seeds, and fruit can be used to round out quick
meals.
With a little practice, you’ll nd that you can minimize shopping trips, and
plan your eating 3 - 4 days in advance, without having to eat the same
menu over-and-over again, 7 days a week
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