Late Night Workout - Chicken Breast or protein shake?

floggg

For the foreseeable future, due to exams and work commitments, I'm only going to be able to work out late in the evening, around 9-10pm. My current goal at the moment is weight loss. Should I really be eating at this hour? At the minute, I eat maybe two plain chicken breats after the gym, nothing else, at around 10, or 10.30, and then I'm home to bed by 11.30.

Eating so close to bed surely can't help with my weight loss. Could I take some sort of protein shake or supplement after the gym instead? Would this be better, or worse, for me in terms of losing weight? And if better, what type of protein shake/supplement.

I currently do an hour of resistance training in the gym, three time a week (leg press, hyper extension, calf raises, leg curls, chest press, pull ups, arm curls and dips), and maybe go for a run 2 or 3 times a week as well (5-8km). Any suggestions or advice??

justsomebloke

do you question of chicken or protein shake?

my answer would be beef and have some Low GI carbs aswell. But I would ask what is the rest of your diet like and the timinig of your meals

Hanley

Post workout meals are probably about 10% of your meals per week depending on how often you eat. I would suggest looking at the other 90% of the time for places to adjust your diet.

If you can honestly, hand on heart, say you're doing everything else right during the week, and you've calculaeted you maintenance kcals, taken away about 15%, divided them up over 5-6 meals and stick to this rigidly, then sure, have a look at your post workout shake as being an impdiment.

Chances are tho you're sacrificing one of the most important meals of the day for anyone who strength trains because you're afraid of "sugar" without understanding what it does, and why it's important.

floggg

jsb wrote: »

do you question of chicken or protein shake?

my answer would be beef and have some Low GI carbs aswell. But I would ask what is the rest of your diet like and the timinig of your meals

A sample of my diet on a work out day would be:
8am - porridge and honey
11.30 am - yoghurt/fruit
1pm - wrap, with mayo, ham, letteuce, sweetcorn, onion
4pm - fruit/popcorn
6.30pm - stir fry vegetables, chicken or mince, brown rice
9pm - workout
10ish - 2x chicken breasts.

What did you have in mind in terms of Low GI carbs. I want to avoid carbs that late at night if possible, as I'll be going to bed an hour after I eat. Also, the chicken breats are handy as I can cook them before I go and eat them on my way home from the gym.

floggg

Hanley wrote: »

Post workout meals are probably about 10% of your meals per week depending on how often you eat. I would suggest looking at the other 90% of the time for places to adjust your diet.

If you can honestly, hand on heart, say you're doing everything else right during the week, and you've calculaeted you maintenance kcals, taken away about 15%, divided them up over 5-6 meals and stick to this rigidly, then sure, have a look at your post workout shake as being an impdiment.

Chances are tho you're sacrificing one of the most important meals of the day for anyone who strength trains because you're afraid of "sugar" without understanding what it does, and why it's important.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough with the origina post. I've only recently started this new schedule, so I havn't been doing it long enough to see results either way. I used to work out earlier, either in the morning or around 6 or 7pm, and I've seen great results over the last 3months, I've lost over 2stone, and toned up a good deal as well.

My concern at the minute is will eating so late have a negative impact. I havn't used any PWO shakes before, but was considering it as an alternative, but only if it was beneficial. And its not "sugar" im afraid of, its simply sleeping on a full stomach!!!

Hanley

floggg wrote: »

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough with the origina post. I've only recently started this new schedule, so I havn't been doing it long enough to see results either way. I used to work out earlier, either in the morning or around 6 or 7pm, and I've seen great results over the last 3months, I've lost over 2stone, and toned up a good deal as well.

My concern at the minute is will eating so late have a negative impact. I havn't used any PWO shakes before, but was considering it as an alternative, but only if it was beneficial. And its not "sugar" im afraid of, its simply sleeping on a full stomach!!!

Well if you're only new to it and haven't tried it yet then you have no basis for comparison!! Chances are once you start to control what you're eating you'll lose weight anyway. And I stand by my original point, that if after say 2 weeks you still haven't lost any weight, it's not your PWO shakes fault.

floggg

Hanley wrote: »

Well if you're only new to it and haven't tried it yet then you have no basis for comparison!! Chances are once you start to control what you're eating you'll lose weight anyway. And I stand by my original point, that if after say 2 weeks you still haven't lost any weight, it's not your PWO shakes fault.

No, I mean Im not taking any PWO shakes at all at the moment. I was only considering starting to. And don't get me wrong, I was not complaining about how I'm doing things at the minute, I just thought I'd seek some sage advice at an early stage so that I could avoid going down a wrong path. Switching to PWO shakes instead of "solid food" after late night work out sessions was something I am only considering, but I wanted to seek some advice first on whether it would actually be beneficial. I think in general, i'm doing pretty well in terms of my diet, but I don't know much about the benefits or otherwise of supplements. In your opinion, could they be of any use in my scenario. If not, I have no problems sticking with what I'm doing!

Dr4gul4

floggg wrote: »

Eating so close to bed surely can't help with my weight loss. Could I take some sort of protein shake or supplement after the gym instead? Would this be better, or worse, for me in terms of losing weight?

you are correct, if you're primary goal is weight loss, try not to eat so much after you work out, especially if you are going to sleep, Some fruit and cottage cheese will do perfectly, i know some of the folks here will say you need you're PWO shake or some form of carbs and Protein after and there correct to an extent, if you are simply looking to build muscle.

Even though you're body will process say 2 chicken breasts or a PWO shake that late it may result in you not getting a good night sleep etc.

Hanley

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

you are correct, if you're primary goal is weight loss, try not to eat so much after you work out, especially if you are going to sleep, Some fruit and cottage cheese will do perfectly, i know some of the folks here will say you need you're PWO shake or some form of carbs and Protein after and there correct to an extent, if you are simply looking to build muscle.

Even though you're body will process say 2 chicken breasts or a PWO shake that late it may result in you not getting a good night sleep etc.

You need protein and carbs to recover. Not just to build muscle.

And where is your info about chicken breasts/protein shakes disrupting sleep? and how are they different to cottage cheese ad fruit?

Dr4gul4

Hanley wrote: »

You need protein and carbs to recover. Not just to build muscle.

And where is your info about chicken breasts/protein shakes disrupting sleep? and how are they different to cottage cheese ad fruit?

Easy now tiger,

i'll agree, you do need Protein an carbs to recover, however Protein like two chicken breasts is pretty heavy going at 11pm at night, And you have to remember he is after weight loss, and needs a stable mixed diet,carbs and protien spread out over 6 small meals, eating all protein will not aid you in the long run as you know you're self Hanley.

As for my proof, well i know my self i hate waking up in the middle of the night having my sleep disturbed, after all that is when you're body does most of it's repair and rejuvenation.

Hanley

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

Easy now tiger,

I'm easy like a Sunday morning. No need to attempt to rile me because I asked you to cite your sources. Your post seems to be relying on conjecture?

i'll agree, you do need Protein an carbs to recover, however Protein like two chicken breasts is pretty heavy going at 11pm at night, And you have to remember he is after weight loss, and needs a stable mixed diet,carbs and protien spread out over 6 small meals, eating all protein will not aid you in the long run as you know you're self Hanley.

Umm... I'm not suggesting he eats only protein. I think just having chicken breasts or protein after a workout probably isn't up to much. Not having carbs pwo means no insulin, no insulin means slower delivery to the muscles. It's like standing at a bus stop and instead of getting onto the bus to get to your destination more quickly you decide to walk. Sure you'll eventually get there, but it's increcdibly inefficient.

If he wasn't training and still suggesting a load of carbs an hour or two before bed my advice would be different obviously. But thats not the topic at hand.

As for my proof, well i know my self i hate waking up in the middle of the night having my sleep disturbed, after all that is when you're body does most of it's repair and rejuvenation.

I hate waking up in the middle of the night too. I tend to wake up hungry or thristy tho if I don't get some food in relatively soon before bed. So by your logic since we're both using a sample size of one, can I justifiably say that NOT eating before bed makes you more likely to wake up?

justsomebloke

floggg wrote: »

A sample of my diet on a work out day would be:
8am - porridge and honey
11.30 am - yoghurt/fruit
1pm - wrap, with mayo, ham, letteuce, sweetcorn, onion
4pm - fruit/popcorn
6.30pm - stir fry vegetables, chicken or mince, brown rice
9pm - workout
10ish - 2x chicken breasts.

What did you have in mind in terms of Low GI carbs. I want to avoid carbs that late at night if possible, as I'll be going to bed an hour after I eat. Also, the chicken breats are handy as I can cook them before I go and eat them on my way home from the gym.

Ok from the look of it you don't have a whole lot of protein in your diet as it is and you aren't getting any till 1 and that is ham which isn't the best as a protein source as it is. Truthfully you should try to have protein at each meal be it from lean meat/eggs/protein powder or nuts for snacks.
Also make sure to get protein into you at breakfast.

In relation to your post workout nutrition I don't think some simple carbs and protein on weight training days would go a miss and shouldn't effect overall weight loss but this should be consumed asap after your workout and I would then still suggest something like beef or cottage cheese with a slice of wholegrain bread after.

The beef and cottage cheese will help give you a longer digesting protein compared to chicken and for the purposes of weightloss maybe a better alternative to chicken given the circumstances

Killme00

Would it make a difference if he ate simple carbs as opposed to complex carbs after his workout.

Simple carbs like some fleshy fruits would break down into glucose quite quickly and kickstart muscle recovery. The would also help with rehydration after excercise.

Complex carbs would take longer to break down during the night. But they would release a steady flow of glucose during the night and will help you muscles recover much more quickly. The only downside would be if food sitting in your stomach at night makes it uncomfortable for you to sleep. However depending on your portion size i dont think this would be too much of a problem. Afterall you want to give your body enough so that your muscle can recover and you arent starving but not so much that you become bloated and uncomfortable by tring to force yourself to eat before bed.

Dr4gul4

Hanley wrote: »

I'm easy like a Sunday morning. No need to attempt to rile me because I asked you to cite your sources. Your post seems to be relying on conjecture?

Apologies Han, your posts always come across as, shall we say aggravated.

Hanley wrote: »

Umm... I'm not suggesting he eats only protein. I think just having chicken breasts or protein after a workout probably isn't up to much. Not having carbs pwo means no insulin, no insulin means slower delivery to the muscles. It's like standing at a bus stop and instead of getting onto the bus to get to your destination more quickly you decide to walk. Sure you'll eventually get there, but it's increcdibly inefficient.

If he wasn't training and still suggesting a load of carbs an hour or two before bed my advice would be different obviously. But thats not the topic at hand.

So essentially were both right, however in this case the OP is tryin to loose weight instead of build muscle, so some thing light would be more suitable. do you not agree with that ?

Hanley wrote: »

I hate waking up in the middle of the night too. I tend to wake up hungry or thristy tho if I don't get some food in relatively soon before bed. So by your logic since we're both using a sample size of one, can I justifiably say that NOT eating before bed makes you more likely to wake up?

I'm afraid you cannot justify saying this. i've seen what you eat in a day and it's huge amount of food, but thats down to you wanting to build muscle, and also as you already have a low BF%.

Our poster will need to balance out his food so he/she is getting to correct amount of cals each day.as the weeks go by they can increase there food intake as long as they are still loosing BF.

Dragan

Play nice kids.

Consider this a proactive warning that people will be mannered if manners start to slip.

Dr4gul4

/me adjusts halo and rereaches for Oxford english dictionary .....


Point taken, i wasnt trying to aggravate Hanley, and i do Value his opinion

Hanley

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

Apologies Han, your posts always come across as, shall we say aggravated.

Meh, no bother. I guess if you expect my posts to be like that before you even read them then that will be how they always come across...?

So essentially were both right, however in this case the OP is tryin to loose weight instead of build muscle, so some thing light would be more suitable. do you not agree with that ?

The relative "weight" of the food will have no bearing as to how much weight he or she loses tho. Hell I guess you could say the "heavier" food will lead to a greater weight loss since the theromgenic effect of food states that you need energy to break it down so it can be assimilated. Of course this is assuming both quantities of food have the same amount of kcals in the same macro ratio. At best it will be a marginal effect, but an interesting quirk nonetheless.

I'm afraid you cannot justify saying this. i've seen what you eat in a day and it's huge amount of food, but thats down to you wanting to build muscle, and also as you already have a low BF%.

I'm not sure understand I understand what you're saying. Is it that the amount of food I eat will dictate whether or not I wake at night? Besides, as far as I remember, the only time I've really consistently logged what I've been eating anywhere is when I was dieting. Believe it or not I was eating much more on a volume basis more frequently then. I actually eat less food less frequently when I'm trying to gain weight. It's generally more kcal dense tho, and higher in carbs.

Our poster will need to balance out his food so he/she is getting to correct amount of cals each day.as the weeks go by they can increase there food intake as long as they are still loosing BF.

Aye, tis true alright. I've actually found for myself that I can hold my kcals level and just drop carbs and replace it with protein or fat and drop weight that way too.