Every night I wake up about 2 hours after I go to sleep and I'm starving.  I eat 6 small meals per day and right before I go to sleep I have a whey protein shake and a banana.  Should I eat more before going to sleep?

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Michael Collins:  Here's what's going on. In that last meal you're having a whey protein shake and a banana.  This is fine after a workout, but it's not what you want right before going to sleep.

 

Here's why.

 

Whey protein and banana's are digested very quickly. This combination will cause a very quick, almost immediate rise in blood sugar and amino acids. The rapid rise in blood sugar causes a large insulin release, followed by a drastic drop in blood sugar.

 

Even though you have enough calories to take you through the night, the low blood sugar will signal to your brain that you're hungry. This is why you're waking up "starving".

 

So what can you do to eliminate the rapid rise and drop and blood sugar?

 

The first thing you could do is have a solid protein in place of the whey protein, and ditch the banana.  A small piece of chicken, fish or lean beef would work wonders, as they take longer to break down.  The fat from the solid food will also serve to slow down digestion.

 

As the food breaks down, the nutrients are released into the blood stream slowly, avoiding the spike of insulin, while keeping you feeling full.

 

I say a "small piece" of chicken, fish or lean beef because eating too big of a meal before bed can interfere with your body's rejuvenation and repair processes.

 

I like to have a bowl of cottage cheese sprinkled with walnuts.  The cottage cheese is light enough so that it wont interfere with sleep, but is mostly comprised of casein- which is a very slowly digested protein.

 

It also contains a good dose of calcium, which has been known to give you a more relaxed sleep.  

 

We've included more cool tips like this is Black Book of Secrets