I have been having a debate with my friends and family over whether eating an hour or two before you go to bed is bad. I eat 5-6 small meals about 3 hours apart. Sometimes this means I am eating at 9pm when I am going to bed around 10 or 11. I am not eating my dinner at this time but usually something like protein pudding or a shake. I am currently using UMP.I have heard that eating something like a shake is good because it gives your body something to work with while you sleep to repair and recover.

What is everyone's feelings on this? Is it better to eat my last meal 1-2hours before I go to bed, or should I just skip it? My goal is to lose about another 6% body fat while gaining lean muscle.

Thanks!

Eating before bed is not inherently bad across the board. But if you’re eating “bad” food, it’s even worse to do it before bed. And that’s where this confusion comes from.

Eating “good” food before bed (just like you and every other competitor or person trying to build muscle and lose fat usually do) is not bad. Eat your meals when it’s convenient for you to do so.

Steven

Look at eating before bed like this. A pint of ice cream or pound of spaghetti is bad. High quality, low carb sources of protein like Ultimate Muscle Protein, egg whites, or low fat cottage cheese is good. Quality proteins before bed are good for a couple of reasons. They will digest slowly and feed your muscle throughout the night. Also protein is very rarely stored as fat.
Take a look at any of the articles on www.bodybuildingworld.com, you'll see most every athlete has a quality meal at or near bed time.
CR

Thanks for your help!

I have been on a 6 meal a day diet combined with a serious workout for over 2 years now. The only way for me to get 6 meals in per day is to absolutely eat before bed time. In fact, I wake up at 4:00am, eat meal #1, then go back to bed for about 2 hours, then get up, eat meal #2, then start the day. My 6th meal is right before I fall asleep. On this diet / workout, my muscle gain and fat loss have been phenomenal.

If you're eating clean, your caloric intake is right for you (protein portion is correct, carb portion is correct), and you're on a solid work out plan, eating before you go to bed is almost a must. And it's absolutely better than skipping a meal and only getting 5 meals in per day.

But conversely, if you aren't eating clean, your portions are off, and you're not really working out, eating before bed time could be a very bad thing indeed.