dimbulb

I'm trying to bulk up, and starting a beginner's cycle of full body workout cycles. So I basically train every muscle group every other day, resting on weekends.

I'm going to stick with this program for a month or two, and perhaps move onto splits after that.

I've been trying to eat as much protein and carbs as possible.

I've also been reading about pre-bedtime meals, to prevent muscle loss while I sleep. I've read conflicting accounts between using milk/protein shakes just before bed, and using cottage cheese+fat(peanut butter).

Right now, I'm using 2% milk with a scoop of whey protein, but its supposed to have neglible results, given that milk has a high Glycemic index, and might cause insulin spikes. I have also read that the caesin in the milk curdles, and causes the whey protein to be absorbed slower.

The cottage cheese alternative sounds much simpler, since it simply digests slowly, and releases the protein slowly.

Last alternative is to invest in one of those protein powders formulated for night-time use, but i'd rather not go down that expensive path.

Thanks!!!

Oh, and what do you guys think about mass gainers?

:::OshnSoul:::

I snack on a cup of Wheaties every night before bed- yummy and healthy!

G5_Todd

you should only train each muscle group 1 time per week.....

some of these protein drinks are wacked....

when i first started working out i would drink a 11 oz pre mixed drink that had like 15g of protein...i then read the label of 2% milk and like 8 oz is 8g of protein.....so go figure....

but when i want alot of protein i eat alot of grill chicken wraps...

pb & j sandwiches in wheat pockets....
cottage cheese with pears or peaches
and tuna from the can.....

steak is kinda pricey and im a lazy cook...so i stick to whats easy

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ronan

if you are trying to bulk up and gain muscle you should be eating high fat foods like kfc, mcds etc.

alot of people on here will just increase there clean food intake and call that bulking up, put on a few kgs and say there bulking up.. to me that is not bulking up at all, and in my opinion a waste of time.

i havent seen anyone who eats clean and bulks up that way have dence thick muscle bellies.

i spose it depends on what type of body you are after if you wont to get really big (and i dont mean fat) eating clean all the time is not the way to go.

muscle gainers are full of sugar thats what makes you put the weight on... i wouldnt bother with them.

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raeanna74

If I snack before bed it's a bowl of cereal like cheerios, frosted mini wheats or something (Not sugar bombs lol) and I've had not trouble with my weight. After childbirth the weight steadily dropped and I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight with no extra effort. Don't know how good a bowl of cereal would be for bulking but it's not heavy on my stomach. You body doesn't digest as much while you sleep so leaving heavy foods in it might not be as good - don't know for sure.

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Qazwsxedc

i use to do midnight BK runs on the weekend.. but i stopped working out regularly at the time. no wonder i gained like 10lbs from my original workout weight..

i'm guessing eating anything late at night will help you to bulk up provided that you stick with excercising.

dimbulb

I'm looking for high protein foods that digest slowly. From my readings, I've gathered that the body starts breaking down muscles after around 4 hours without protein input.

So you basically need some sort of slow digesting protein right before bed, to maintain a moderate level of amino acids in your blood, so that the muscles don't break down.

Eating carbs, like cereal, right before bedtime, just leads to the body putting on the excess energy as fat. which is not my aim. =)

I'll keep you guys posted on my 'bulking' progress.. lol......

Ustwo

Wait until you are 26+.

Then worry about bulking.

I went from 130 at 18 to 180 at 21 to 195 at 22.

That was good, its a good weight for me.

Now I am 218 at 33, and I WAS 232 not to long ago. That was a bad weight.

There are VERY few men that need to worry about bulk after they mature. I sometimes wonder if doing it while younger will only make it harder for you when you get older.

I'm shooting for 205, its my 'fighting' weight.

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EleqTrizi'T

I just drink a glass of milk, maybe with a scoop of protein (Muscle Milk tastes great).

That's it.

SiNai

Cottage cheese or maybe turkey before bed for me. I usually lift at about 7 at night, have my protein shake (mixed with water, milk screws with consistency and has problems anyway) of ~40g protein, and usually have a little snack of either the cheese or turkey before bed. Whatever is left in the fridge. Days I don't lift I don't worry about it ( I HIIT cardio on days opposite lifting, since I'm cutting)

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raeanna74

I'm curious where you read this. I have tried to find information about muscles being broken down while sleeping but haven't found anything beyond the normal nighttime sleep period. Granted in cases of extended bedrest the muscles will atrophy but from what I understand the hormones released during actuall regular sleep protect your muscles. hgH and norepinephrine are two hormones that I know of that take a part in this. From what I understand hgH encourages your body to gain it's amino acids from your fat and norepinephrine slows your body's functions making it's demands on amino acids as well as other nutrients much less.

Please don't take this as negative. I am curious where you found this as the source may be useful to me in other areas (I hope). I only found this type of subject mentioned from sources that were initially trying to sell a protein product. I tend to doubt the validity from those sources.

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dimbulb

Raeanna,

you're right that most of these sources i read from come from sites trying to sell protein products, or from bodybuilding sites. Its been rather frustrating. There's a lot of "information" out there. A lot of it is conflicting. Most of it is repeated by people who don't have much scientific knowledge about it, but are repeating what they've heard, or what has 'worked' for them.

From what I gather, muscle isn't actually breaking down, but I guess muscle building won't take place.

*frustrated*

alec

yah, i definitely agree with the cereal part! i usually have wheat thins in whole milk with 2 tall glasses of OJ and water on the side

give it a try

-alec

VitaminH

In all the physiology courses I've taken (there have been to many..) I've never heard of muscle loss at night. I suppose if you maybe slept like 15 hours a night then it's possible, but not likely. Your body relies heavily on sugar stored in the liver at night for energy, since it doesn't need much seeing as to how you are pretty immobile. Just be sure to get enough protein in your day, and after your workout I think is also helpful. From what I know, most of what you eat right before bedtime, no matter what it is, is going to end up getting turned into fat.

Don't trust anything you read on bodybuilding, or 'nutritional supplement' sites. The info is often misrepresented, if not totally wrong.

I've just pulled out my Sherwood's Human Physiology book and looked over both the sleep section, and the metabolism section where it discusses muscle breakdown as an energy source. Neither mentioned normal muscle loss/breakdown durning sleep. It did mention, what I was about to say anyway, and that is that muscle breakdown is the last resort for your body. You'll go through fat and your livers sugar stores before it starts breaking down muscle to get more sugar.

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