eating suggestions/ideas?

Cornish-J

I have a very high/fast metabolism anyway and since I've started doing a lot of turbo work over the last 2 or 3 months i'm finding myself extremely hungry, particularly in the evenings.

I'm after some suggestions or ideas of things to eat after tea and before bed, about 9oclock ish. Obviously i would like to try and eat something that will be of benefit to training and health and would prefer savoury with little preperation/cooking involved.

Thanks all
J

danowat

Oatcakes?, bowl of porridge / cereal?, wholemeal toast with peanut butter?

Not sure I'd be happy with eating a couple of hours before bed though, are your sure you need something (rather than just want) something?

Pokerface

I've been told that porridge is a good thing to eat as it fills you up and is healthy, etc.

I've also been told that meals high in protein (healthy protein), will help you feel fuller for longer - possibly curing some of the cravings.

Personally I eat a lot of low-fat yogurt for snacks in the evening. Around 100 cals a pot, low/no fat and good carb content.


Article today on Cycling News about nutrition. Maybe some tips there?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/fit ... ing-weight

Cornish-J

well I guess i dont NEED food as i'm still alive but my stomach is always growling at me just before bed!

danowat

Maybe look at your evening meal?, when and what are you eating, when are your turbo sessions?, are they high intensity?, are you eating enough during the day.

Late evening is a very common "crave" time, which is why I mention want vs need

SBezza

Try a protein shake, this should fill you up, and will aid recovery overnight.

Cornish-J

I always do my turbo sessions about an hour after Tea at about 7oclock and yes they're generally high intensity interval stuff followed by a 'for goodness shake' - i'm then starting to find i'm hungry again around 9-10pm.

I do think that i eat quite a lot of food and work in an office so i'm very static throughout the day however my weight is ALWAYS 63kg and i'm 5,11" so quite slim, always struggled to put on weight (certainly not complaining though)


thanks for the link poker - i will take a look.

Pokerface

Cornish-J wrote:

I always do my turbo sessions about an hour after Tea at about 7oclock and yes they're generally high intensity interval stuff followed by a 'for goodness shake' - i'm then starting to find i'm hungry again around 9-10pm.

I do think that i eat quite a lot of food and work in an office so i'm very static throughout the day however my weight is ALWAYS 63kg and i'm 5,11" so quite slim, always struggled to put on weight (certainly not complaining though)


thanks for the link poker - i will take a look.

Well - if you eat what you want and never gain weight - just eat whatever snacks you want late at night! I certainly would if I wasn't going to gain weight! :oops:

ireland57

When I changed to a high protein diet (I'm not into "diets") it was going to be a diet change as I was hungry all the time and didn't have enough "extra energy". It was basically a version of a Paleo diet.....a lot of meat.

I used to eat about 6 meals/snacks a day (I'm 5'7" x 65kgs) and was always starving.
On the protein diet I didn't look at food between meals.

I tried it for about 2 - 3 weeks and it made a huge positive change in my energy levels and as a bonus I wasn't hungry between meals anymore.
But it was too hard to keep up the amount of protein and for a few reasons I'm not so sure it was a great idea. I'll look at it again sometime soon; maybe modified a fair bit.

If you're hungry add some protein. Maybe not just before bed though.

phreak

Most of the things I've read about protein suggest that you get plenty in a normal diet anyway, and that extra protein can do more harm than good.

birdy247

I also get this, am around 6' 1" and 67kg.

I find that if i try and eat like a normal person, and not eat when hungry at that time of night I will be low on energy for subsequent sessions until I pile a load of food in. I usually eat something like big pile of tuna pasta, then have 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter, then a bowl of porridge after that with some apple/banana, then finally another spoonful of peanut butter 10 mins before bed. all eaten from around 8pm - 10.30pm. I also eat a big breakfast and lunch and snack throughout the day. If I don't get enough food, my sessions are always sub par.

Eating close to bed is a myth, If you eat 5 hours or 30 mins before bed, your body will process it in the same way.

If you are hungry (and not dehydrated), then eat. Don't compare yourself to what others do, every one is different. Listen to your body, eat when it asks you to, you can always reduce if you are gaining weight.

danowat

Its not a myth at all, of course its not "bad" for you, but the process of digesting food can affect sleep in many people.

birdy247

But many people believe that eating close to bed will make you gain weight. This is the myth.

birdy247

ireland57 wrote:

When I changed to a high protein diet (I'm not into "diets") it was going to be a diet change as I was hungry all the time and didn't have enough "extra energy". It was basically a version of a Paleo diet.....a lot of meat.

I used to eat about 6 meals/snacks a day (I'm 5'7" x 65kgs) and was always starving.
On the protein diet I didn't look at food between meals.

I tried it for about 2 - 3 weeks and it made a huge positive change in my energy levels and as a bonus I wasn't hungry between meals anymore.
But it was too hard to keep up the amount of protein and for a few reasons I'm not so sure it was a great idea. I'll look at it again sometime soon; maybe modified a fair bit.

If you're hungry add some protein. Maybe not just before bed though.

Could you provide an example of this protein diet. I might consider something similar.

mclarent

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paleo-Diet-Weight-Healthy-Designed/dp/0471267554

mclarent

http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Diet-Athletes-Nutritional-Performance/dp/1594860890

Cornish-J

thanks guys, some very useful info.

ireland57

There may be enough protein in a "normal" diet for people who exercise a bit but it may fall way short for bike riders doing endurance rides.

As far as eating a biggish meal/feed just before bedtime.
It's a guarantee to keep me awake for hours while I can feel my stomach working it's rrrr's off digesting food. It's a mistake I rarely make nowadays.

I'm not saying for one minute that more protein is good. I just don't know.
It made a positive short term difference in some areas.
So much so that I need to revisit it.
Whether it's any good for long term eating/heart health I have no idea.

As someone said above it really is a personal thing and we need to pay more attention to our bodies.

amaferanga

I eat a normal healthy diet and get plenty of protein without supplements.

phreak

ireland57 wrote:

There may be enough protein in a "normal" diet for people who exercise a bit but it may fall way short for bike riders doing endurance rides.

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni29a5.htm is one of many articles out there that suggest for amateurs like ourselves you need roughly 1g of protein per kg of body weight per day.

Looking at my food diary for this month, I've been getting around 1.6g per kg from my normal diet. No supplements, no artificial attempts to boost levels.

Indeed the same articles also appear to suggest that too much protein does more harm than good because it dehydrates you and hampers recovery.

thiscocks

Monster munch. Tasty and has usefull amounts of sodium

Valy

Just get a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jam, a couple of bananas - put all of that between two bits of bread and eat! :P