What should I eat before going to bed to build muscle?

by hans July 31, 2015

We are often told not to eat before going to bed as this will make us fat; however when you want
to build muscle the game changes a bit.
You want to be eating before bed especially if you have an ectomorph body type.

Why is it a good idea to eat before going to bed to build muscle?

Building muscle contradicts slightly with losing weight, as you need a surplus of calories to build mass,

meaning aiming for both goals at the same time could be counterproductive. When bulking up however,

a pre-bed meal could be beneficial, though it all comes down to calories again.

If you're falling short of your daily calorie targets when bulking,

you need that meal before bed to keep you in muscle-building mode,

but if you're already at your calorie limits, any extra food will be of no use.

What are examples of foods I can eat before bed?

1-Cherries

Cherries are one of the few natural foods to contain melatonin,
the chemical that helps control our body’s internal clock, says Keri Gans,
a registered dietician in New York City and author of The Small Change Diet.

2-Jasmine rice

A 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming jasmine rice four hours before bedtime cut the amount of time it took to fall asleep in half when compared with eating a high-glycemic-index meal at the same time interval.

3-Fortified cereal

Try a bowl of Kashi or shredded wheat which contain “good” or complex carbs. Even better, cereal goes well with milk which has its own sleep-promoting qualities. “That’s two for the price of one,” Rosenberg says.

4-Bananas

Bananas help promote sleep because they contain the natural muscle-relaxants magnesium and potassium, says Gans. They’re also carbs which will help make you sleepy as well. In fact, bananas are a win-win situation in general. “They’re overall health promoters,” says Rosenberg. “We need potassium for cardiovascular health and cognitive functioning.”

5-Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are a sleeper’s dream. Not only do they provide sleep-promoting complex carbohydrates, they also contain that muscle-relaxant potassium. Other good sources of potassium include regular potatoes (baked and keep the skin on), lima beans, and papaya.

6-Valerian Tea

The root of the valerian plant has been shown in some studies to speed the onset of sleep and improve sleep quality. It may not be any property of the actual tea however, but the power of the relaxing ritual as you get ready for bed, says Roehrs.

7-Milk

Milk contains the amino acid tryptophan, a precursor to the brain chemical serotonin.