Is protein converted into energy after exercise?

Effect on nocturnal catabolism

There are two balanced processes in the body - anabolism and catabolism.

During the day, the processes of anabolism predominate - the period when tissue synthesis occurs, including muscle tissue. At night, catabolism begins - the breakdown of muscle and fat tissue.

Thanks to these two phenomena, the body is in homeostasis—it maintains a constant internal environment. This applies to all indicators of the body, including body weight.

Those who want to gain muscle mass need to maximize anabolic processes, correspondingly reducing nighttime catabolism.

For this purpose, strength training, proper nutrition, nutritional supplements, restorative procedures, etc. are used.

As for taking sports nutrition, it’s protein before bed. Its use allows you to slow down or stop the processes of tissue breakdown during night rest.

And many professional bodybuilders go even further and take 1-2 servings of protein even in the middle of the night, waking up specifically for this.

Types and features

To understand this issue, you need to clearly understand what kind of protein there is and what functions each type performs:

“Fast” proteins are characterized by a maximum rate of dissolution in the gastrointestinal tract and delivery to the athlete’s muscle fibers. These types include all proteins obtained from regular whey - for example, whey protein. The latter has three varieties - isolate, concentrate and hydrolyzate. Their distinctive feature is their production technology and composition:
- The isolate contains about 95% protein (the purest option). All fats and carbohydrates have been removed, making the supplement ideal to take immediately after a workout. Whey isolate begins to supply amino acids to overworked muscle fibers within 30-40 minutes after administration.
concentrate is one of the cheapest forms of protein. It contains no more than 70-80% pure protein. The rest is lactose and fats. Its disadvantage is a high risk of lactose intolerance (a similar phenomenon is becoming more common today). In addition, the fat content is far from the most positive thing for an athlete gaining muscle mass.

The concentrate is absorbed by the body quite quickly. If you don’t have the necessary amount to buy a higher quality isolate or hydrolyzate, you can drink that too. The main thing is to follow the correct dosage after training. So, all types of whey protein can be drunk after visiting the gym. Naturally, everything is not limited to one time of reception:

if the main goal is to gain muscle mass, then whey protein should be drunk in the morning and after training. In addition, to achieve maximum results, you can consume a portion 1-2 hours before visiting the gym. In average difficulty you should get 3-5 techniques. Each serving contains about 30 grams.
If your main goal is weight loss, then “fast” protein is best suited after training and early in the morning.

Complex sports nutrition contains several different types of proteins. Its peculiarity is its rapid breakdown in the body and replenishment of muscles with amino acids for a long time (due to “slow” proteins). Most often, such complexes include whey, egg and casein protein. Such an original mixture allows you to achieve maximum results when setting any goals - gaining weight, reducing fat, working on muscle definition, and so on. But complex supplements have their own characteristics of administration:

when gaining weight, you need to drink them a few hours before training and before bed. As for the time after classes, it is better to give preference to isolate or hydrolyzate;

If you need to lose excess weight, this multi-component protein is suitable for taking at night or during long breaks between meals. And if in the first case the portion should be 30-35 grams, then here it is reduced by almost half.

“Slow” proteins are absorbed very slowly, but then supply the muscle fibers with amino acids for a long time. This category includes casein, soy and other plant proteins. After classes, drinking such protein is completely pointless. The best time is at night or during long breaks between meals, both when losing weight and when gaining weight.

Effect on muscle growth

While we sleep, the body breaks down amino acids and, as a result, muscle tissue. These are minor losses, but they still exist.

At night, the gastrointestinal tract functions as usual, that is, it is able to calmly digest food.

Therefore, if you take a small portion of protein before bed, your muscles will continue to receive building material for growth.

In this case, you convert the nightly negative nitrogen (protein) balance into a positive one.

Taking 40 grams of casein protein at night has been shown to improve muscle growth by 20%.

How to take for girls and men

In the process of losing weight, it is important how to take whey protein correctly so as not to harm the body. First of all, the amount of protein for weight loss and muscle gain should be different. In the first case, less is required.

At the same time, protein should continue to be present in the diet; you need to eat fish and meat, soy and beans. But the total amount cannot be exceeded, that is, increase more than 3 g per kilogram of body weight, while reducing carbohydrates and fats as much as possible. But the diet must be balanced, otherwise it will put too much stress on the liver and kidneys.

It is also important to actively engage in physical activity, without it you will not achieve the desired result. The body will begin to gain muscle on top of the fat.

During the diet, you should eat 5-6 times a day, that is, three main meals and 2-3 snacks. It is best to consume a protein shake between main meals. Of course, they can replace any food, but protein does not provide much energy, so if you have breakfast, you will soon want to eat again. The powder is usually mixed with water or low-fat fermented milk product. Thickness level is an individual preference.

Snacks should be made a couple of hours before training. In 60 minutes, only half of the substance has time to be absorbed. But before the lesson itself, it’s good to eat a piece of fruit.

You need to make a dosage based on your own characteristics, that is, for every kilogram of body weight you need to consume 2 g of protein. For example, an 80 kg person needs 160 g of protein per day. Next, it is important to consider how much of it is consumed from regular food. As a rule, approximately 1 g of protein per 1 kg of weight comes from food, that is, at 80 kg a person will receive 80 g. The rest is taken from cocktails.

The amount of powder should be taken depending on the percentage of protein content, but is usually 100 g.

You should drink a protein shake twice a day. One hundred grams should be divided in half and drunk with each snack. The best time is after training.

Impact on sleep quality

A number of scientific studies have shown that taking protein at night has a positive effect on the duration and quality of sleep.

This occurs due to the presence of amino acids in its composition. For example, the amino acid tryptophan has a positive effect on the brain, improving falling asleep and promoting deeper sleep.

You shouldn't follow the example of professional bodybuilders who wake up specifically to take a portion of protein. But drinking a cocktail before going to bed is the best idea for a quality night's rest.

Which one is better to choose?

When choosing a protein, it is important to consider its composition. The one that contains at least 70-80% protein, a minimum of carbohydrates and fats is better suited. The following brands are the most popular and effective: * BioTech: Iso Whey Zero. It contains about 85% protein.

Nutrabolics: HydroPure with 90% protein.
Your Trainer: YOUR soy protein. It provides 90% protein.

Protein before bed and weight loss

The body spends more energy digesting protein foods than digesting carbohydrates and fats.

Taking protein before bed will speed up your metabolism, and you'll lose 100 more calories overnight. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.

In addition, nighttime protein suppresses hunger, which is a huge plus when following a low-calorie diet.

If in the evening you are tormented by the desire to eat something “forbidden” that does not fit into your diet, a portion of a protein shake will be a tasty and healthy way to solve this issue.

How does whey protein affect the body when losing weight?

To lose weight, it is not enough to simply reduce the total calorie content of food consumed, otherwise, along with the fat, the muscles, or even just them, will go away. Therefore, it is important to take whey protein during your weight loss diet.

Protein itself does not burn fat, but it actively helps to do so. The fact is that the body requires more energy to process and assimilate it than to break down other substances. Therefore, he has to spend his fat reserves. Protein helps both gain muscle mass and get rid of extra pounds.

Protein creates a calorie deficit, as a result, the consumption of body fat increases, and the person loses weight.

Expert opinion

Yulia Mikhailova

Nutrition expert

However, you shouldn't weigh yourself every day. The weight can not only stay the same, but even increase. After all, muscle is heavier than fat. To see the result you need to measure the volume of your body.

Protein takes longer to digest. Therefore, a person feels fuller and has more energy for longer. Moreover, modern protein is free of carbohydrates and fats, which means that the body receives a minimum amount of calories.

However, it is important to note that you can only take protein if you are on a diet. You are allowed to consume no more than 150 g of carbohydrates per day, otherwise the effect will be exactly the opposite. And the difference between calories spent and calories received should be 15-20%. To not only lose weight, but also gain a firm figure, you need to eat 2 g of protein for every 1 kg of body weight.

Protein helps not to destroy muscles during a diet; it replenishes losses. The more protein a person consumes, the better the production of new muscle tissue.

In addition, protein deficiency can cause complications and various diseases. So sufficient consumption of it strengthens the immune system, rejuvenates, improves the condition of the skin, making it more elastic, enhances the growth of nails and hair, and improves the menstrual cycle in women. Protein contains useful amino acids that do not allow fat synthesis and storage.

We recommend reading about protein shakes for weight loss. From the article you will learn about the benefits and harms of using protein shakes, their effects, and recipes for preparing at home. And here is more information about the Energy diet complex for weight loss.

What type of protein to take before bed

In the world of sports supplements, there are several main types of protein:

Whey
Casein
Egg
Beef
Complex
Vegetable

Some of them are absorbed very quickly (whey, egg), others - slowly (complex, casein).

Logic dictates (and science confirms) that you should take slow-burning types of protein at night. They are digested in 3 to 5 hours.

This means a continuous and stable supply of amino acids to muscle cells throughout most of the night's sleep, thereby preventing muscle breakdown.

Also, such a cocktail at night is effective during drying. It suppresses hunger well and creates a feeling of fullness for a long time.

For most gym goers, the ideal solution is the use of casein.

It has several benefits when taken before bed compared to other types. For example, the calorie content of a serving is 120 kcal. It contains 23 g of protein and only 4 g of carbohydrates.

If your goal is muscle mass and strength, and you are not concerned about the possible accumulation of excess fat, you can drink a combination drink before bed.

For example, one serving of the famous SYNTHA-6 from BSN contains 200 kcal and 22 grams of protein. Moreover, it contains 6 types, ranging from “fast” whey to “slow” casein.

As a result, the muscles continuously receive amino acids from the first minutes of administration and for another 3-5 hours.

The disadvantage of taking combined protein at night is its high calorie content and relatively high carbohydrate content (SYNTHA-6 has 14 grams per serving).

Excess calories can lead to the accumulation of unwanted subcutaneous fat, so this type of protein drink at night is recommended only for ectomorphs who have difficulty gaining weight.

Protein before bed

Achieving success in sports depends not only on training, but largely on a well-designed nutrition plan, which should include proteins, fats and carbohydrates in optimal quantities and at the right time.

In a sports diet, a special role is played by proteins, which contain amino acids necessary not only for the normal functioning of the body as a whole, but also for the growth and improvement of muscle quality. That is why protein is considered the most common food additive, because at its core it is a protein concentrate.

Proteins differ in their source of origin and rate of absorption - the time of their intake depends on this. And if everything is more or less clear with the use of a protein shake during the day and after training, then many athletes often have the question of whether it is possible to drink protein before bed.

Do you need protein at night?

It is believed that eating before bed provokes fat accumulation, but this only applies to foods high in fat and carbohydrates.

At night, the body needs protein, because it is at this time that catabolic processes that destroy muscle tissue are especially strong.

In addition, protein is necessary for the synthesis of certain enzymes and hormones, which are most active during sleep.

What protein do you need before bed?

The most popular overnight protein is casein because it is the only “slow” protein that is absorbed within 6-8 hours and gradually provides a high concentration of amino acids in the body, necessary for muscle growth and prevention of catabolism.

Casein has a complete amino acid profile and contains large amounts of l-glutamine, which strengthens the immune system and facilitates muscle recovery after intense training.

Should you drink protein at night when losing weight?

Casein protein contains more than 90% protein per serving with minimal calories, so it can be used even during a restricted diet.

Another important advantage of casein is that it leaves you feeling full for a long time and suppresses appetite, so it can really help out those who are used to snacking at night due to a strong feeling of hunger.

Is casein the best nighttime meal?

There is still a lot of debate in the sports community about whether to drink protein at night or whether it is better to eat cottage cheese (which also contains casein protein), but everyone agrees that it is ideal to combine both of these products. In terms of the amount of protein, 1 serving of casein corresponds to 300 g of low-fat cottage cheese without additives, and the calorie content of cottage cheese is 3 times higher. In addition, casein protein is fully absorbed by the body and is available in many flavors.

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