"Healthy" Midnight Snack

[Clever]

Anyone have any recommendation? I started doing P90X about 2 months ago, and always wondered what a good midnight snack would be, the reason being is that I do my workouts later at night after my kids go to bed, so sometimes I do not finish until 10:30- 11 PM, usually by midnight I'm starved and I do not want to wait until morning to eat something. Been eating banana's and a bit of pistachio nuts the few nights I had to eat something, and I'm just learning about protein bars or shakes but have not bought any yet, but even then I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[anschutz_92]

Milk.

[Clever]

I forgot to mention, lactose intolerant :(

[JordanAndrew]

This might sound odd but what about having cereal with fruits? Fruits in general would also be a good snack. Make some milkshakes with fruits? I usually like having an avocado shake after working out.

[Bizzareo]

Lactose free milk!

I normally do fruits or veggies. Really digging the Chinese Fuji apples right now (the ones wrapped up in paper) they are sooooooooooooo good and wax free (I am allergic to the wax the put on apples). Other than that I always have a bag of carrot sticks in the fridge.

If your doing a diet like p90x it should either be fruits/veggies, milk/milk substitutes or something high in fiber (just by increasing your fiber intake you can lose weight!). When I was going hardcore (south beach) I would just eat a spoonful of honey or peanut butter and go to bed.

[G-Suede]

Generally fruits are high in sugar and will raise insulin levels - you'll want to avoid this situation at night. Just eat a chicken breast, scrambled egg whites, can of albacore tuna, piece of steak, pork tenderloin, etc. Anything higher in protein is good.

[gqmw]

Fruit is good. Carrots are good. Salad maybe? Just add a few croutons if you don't want just veggies. I work out at a similar time, I stuff my face though sometimes :P I know I shouldn't but I can't help it.

[Bizzareo]

Originally posted by G-Suede
Generally fruits are high in sugar and will raise insulin levels - you'll want to avoid this situation at night. Just eat a chicken breast, scrambled egg whites, can of albacore tuna, piece of steak, pork tenderloin, etc. Anything higher in protein is good.


Aside from the sugar waking you up, are there any actual risks?

[yue]

Originally posted by Bizzareo



Aside from the sugar waking you up, are there any actual risks?

no, that guy just sounds like a health nut.

insulin lowers blood sugar by facilitating the uptake of glucose by fat and muscle cells by promoting the formation and storage of glycogen. it also stimulates synthesis of protein and storage of fat.

for the op, lactose free milk would be pointless to make you drowsy. i just blend some fruit and yogurt after my workouts.

imo, protein bars and other athletic nutritional products are a waste of money. they're marketed to make average guys feel like they NEED the equivalent intake of a professional athlete.

[wintonyk]

Originally posted by yue


no, that guy just sounds like a health nut.

insulin lowers blood sugar by facilitating the uptake of glucose by fat and muscle cells by promoting the formation and storage of glycogen. it also stimulates synthesis of protein and storage of fat.

for the op, lactose free milk would be pointless to make you drowsy. i just blend some fruit and yogurt after my workouts.

imo, protein bars and other athletic nutritional products are a waste of money. they're marketed to make average guys feel like they NEED the equivalent intake of a professional athlete.
:werd:

The only people that need protein bars and not your 40g ones I am talking about powerbars the ugly horrible ones are athletes. That would be people training for varsity and professional level sports.

While blood sugar is something you can look at. Fruit for the most part will have a small effect on your blood glucose level because fruit is mostly fructose sugar coupled with fibre. Your body needs everything converted to glucose for energy so go ahead with fruit. Besides fruit has fibre and is slower digesting.

Sugar is a very loosely used term. Sugar can come from fruit, dairy (lactose) and hell when push comes to shove starch is really 100 and 1000's of sugar. Simple sugars are the ones that give spikes and have been shown to have inflammatory properties. These are things like white sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, any HFCS, molasses, brown rice syrup, honey, maple syrup (yes and if you have contradictory to this better show evidence), natural and refined sugars are processed the same. Sugar 101 (http://www.healthcastle.com/diabetes_sugar_101.shtml)


Midnight snack... water. Many people their thirst mechanisms are so weak that they mistake thirst for hunger all the time. Have a glass of water, wait ten minutes. If you are still hungry have a snack. Unless of course your midnight snack is purely to get your total food intake up for the day.

Best midnight snacks are berries and yogurt or something along those lines. If you are a lacky like me, ever try almond or rice milk?

[bigbadboss101]

Canned sardine or tuna?

[Bizzareo]

I am lactose also, I drink almond milk and lactose free milk.
Normally after working out I make a fruit smoothie or go to jugo juice/booster juice or eat fruits/veggies and a chicken breast which is normally enough for me.

[msommers]

What about Feta cheese? I'm lactose as well and can handle it as long as it's the goat kind. Peanut Butter is good too.

[Redlined_8000]

At the very least make sure your getting a decent source of protein - it is a post workout meal after all.

[FreakinPrince]

i have lactose problems as well

even those lactose free milk doesn't help at all

finally a month ago i went ahead and took the pills lactaid

it actually does work and finally i can enjoy having some dairy in my meals

[Bizzareo]

Originally posted by msommers
What about Feta cheese? I'm lactose as well and can handle it as long as it's the goat kind. Peanut Butter is good too.

I can handle a bit of milk, for instance I had a small hagan das bar the other day. Peanut butter does not have milk in it if that is what you meant..

But feta cheese is gross I hate the texture. Now some mascarpone that shit is delicious

[msommers]

Originally posted by FreakinPrince
i have lactose problems as well

even those lactose free milk doesn't help at all

finally a month ago i went ahead and took the pills lactaid

it actually does work and finally i can enjoy having some dairy in my meals

I find I get super dehydrated after I take those pills. For instance if I want to have pizza one night, I have to take 5-6 pills at once. Most diary in general I have to take so many, it really doesn't do justice to have whatever it is I'm after.

Bizzareo, I'm envious of your "lactose intolerance." And the peanut butter hahaha ya that was just another suggestion. Could you imagine if it did have milk, and people just leave it in the cupboard for weeks on end :barf:

[Bizzareo]

Originally posted by msommers


I find I get super dehydrated after I take those pills. For instance if I want to have pizza one night, I have to take 5-6 pills at once. Most diary in general I have to take so many, it really doesn't do justice to have whatever it is I'm after.

Bizzareo, I'm envious of your "lactose intolerance." And the peanut butter hahaha ya that was just another suggestion. Could you imagine if it did have milk, and people just leave it in the cupboard for weeks on end :barf:

Well its not a full lacky, but I definitely have a understanding of what you experience. I can eat approximately 1/2 a cup of milk every two days max but then I have wicked gas and massive near diarrhea shits and sometimes diarrhea.

I used to drink like 2-3 cups of milk a day (like 1 1/2 bowls of cereal), then I went on a massive diet and stopped drinking milk completely.

[cdnsir]

Sounds like you can handle cheese ok. I'll have to recommend cottage cheese. Pretty low in fat but super high in protein, it's the perfect snack.

But unless you really dig it plain, I wouldn't recommend eating it that way. My fav is adding Frank's Hot to it, or adding slivered almonds and craisins, or even mixing it with peanut butter and jelly! I know it all sounds weird, but don't trash it until you've try it!

[Bizzareo]

Originally posted by cdnsir
Sounds like you can handle cheese ok. I'll have to recommend cottage cheese. Pretty low in fat but super high in protein, it's the perfect snack.

But unless you really dig it plain, I wouldn't recommend eating it that way. My fav is adding Frank's Hot to it, or adding slivered almonds and craisins, or even mixing it with peanut butter and jelly! I know it all sounds weird, but don't trash it until you've try it!

My mom eats cottage cheese with all sorts of messed up shit. I hate cottage cheese. I only eat it if its in a desert of some kind.

[sevewone]

Obviously it sounds like you h ave other obligations, but your best bet is to excercise at a earlier time. Anything eaten before 3 hours of you going to bed is going to be almost all dead calories. But with you doing P90x, I think raw protein would be fine.



Originally posted by G-Suede
Generally fruits are high in sugar and will raise insulin levels - you'll want to avoid this situation at night. Just eat a chicken breast, scrambled egg whites, can of albacore tuna, piece of steak, pork tenderloin, etc. Anything higher in protein is good.


This,

except for the steak/pork part. Not a hope I could afford that habit everytime I needed a midnight snack hahah

[wintonyk]

Originally posted by sevewone
Obviously it sounds like you h ave other obligations, but your best bet is to excercise at a earlier time. Anything eaten before 3 hours of you going to bed is going to be almost all dead calories. But with you doing P90x, I think raw protein would be fine.





This,

except for the steak/pork part. Not a hope I could afford that habit everytime I needed a midnight snack hahah

The three hours before bed dead calories is an Oprah myth. Especially post workout no matter what time it is the calories will be used to refill your muscle glycogen.

The protein right before bed has actually been shown to help with muscle repair. I can't find the study right now. But its not a ton either, I was doing about 1-2 ounces of chicken or tuna and noticed benefit myself, however it may be psychological.

[dansmith11]

ya i dont buy that "dont eat 3 hours before bed" nonesense.

if i workout hard and then dont eat right before i goto bed, i wake up half way through the night hungry as all hell. a good chunk of your muscle recovery happens when your sleeping, so if you have no protein/calories to burn. hows your body going to repair anything effectively?

thats how i look at it. makes good logical sense, and seems to line up with what my body tells me.

not eating 3 hours before bed is for fat lazy middle aged people who do no physical activity.

[DJ_NAV]

most diets are for lazy regular ppl with no physical activity.. even those nutrition percentages are for the lazy people. you def. need a lot more if you work out.

[Clever]

Originally posted by sevewone
Obviously it sounds like you h ave other obligations, but your best bet is to excercise at a earlier time. Anything eaten before 3 hours of you going to bed is going to be almost all dead calories. But with you doing P90x, I think raw protein would be fine.

I tried doing my workouts early in the morning but that didn't workout too well for me and with young kids, the only time is after they go to bed and that is usually around 9-10PM.

Lately, just been eating left over meat when I get hungry , but I have been eating more small meals during the day to sustain me through the night, seems to be working pretty well. Also I was told get some Turkey Jerky, any thoughts?

[freshvibes]

Am I the only one that doesn't care at all about eating before bed? I eat whole meals and 5 mins later I'll be knocked out all the time. It hasn't hindered my progress one bit, as long as I stay within my macros for the day.

[SScott]

Just like what a previous poster said, your body needs protein after you workout to sustain continued muscle building. And if you are doing heavy activity close to bed, your muscle cells will rebuild while you sleep so you need to make sure you give your body the fuel to do so. Whether or not you eat 5 minutes before you sleep or 3 hours, I have to agree it is an Oprah Myth to not eat to close to going to sleep

[jimmytt]

bannanas

[civic_stylez]

Peanut butter is a great snack as it burns slowly and makes you feel full. On celery or toast or with a banana. I also have yogurt and granola or a can of tuna.. i find all of these digest really well and have enough substance to hold you over until morning.

[j.garner]

I would say 1 scoop of casein protein powder. or some cottage cheese. casein is a slower digesting protien.

[EG STyLeZ]

Originally posted by j.garner
I would say 1 scoop of casein protein powder. or some cottage cheese. casein is a slower digesting protien.

casein protein :thumbsup: anything high in protein and/or fiber is good for before bed. Anything high in sugar and/or fat you should avoid

[bball2]

Some of my favorite midnight snacks:

- Can of tuna with a few baby carrots, stalk of celery, and a tablespoon of fat free miracle whip
- Cottage cheese, sliced apples, and some cinnamon
- Yogurt / frozen blueberries