Hitting the gym before bed?

Many fear eating late, as they presume it turns straight to fat, however it’s important to remember that your metabolism never stops. If you don’t overdo your calories in the day then there is no reason why you can’t snack before you sleep. The best reason for snacking post gym is to help with your muscle rehabilitation, so this means that a good mix of proteins and fats is essential. Snacking before bed is also great to keep you from waking up cranky, hungry and lacking in energy. 

Here are a few of our suggestions for small snacks to have before bed on a gym night:

Cottage Cheese

A classic staple, cottage cheese is so versatile that you can mix it with anything that you like. Peanut butter, pineapple, flaxseeds, chia seeds, bananas and salmon all make good partners for night time. Packed full of Casein protein, cottage cheese releases its protein slowly during the night, also promoting prolonged absorption of amino acids! It’s win win!

 Salmon

As well as awesome in cottage cheese, Salmon is also great on its own as a snack. Full of super healthy Omega Fats it also contains a high amount of protein. The body itself cannot produce Omega 3 fatty acids, and many people don’t realise that they are falling short of this brilliant supplement. Helpful in almost every aspect of exercise from boosting gains, aiding recovery and used in cardiovascular, joint, skin, eye and brain health it’s well worth making sure you are getting a good amount in your diet. 

Greek yoghurt

Providing an excellent hit of both calcium and protein, greek yoghurt is a great low fat snack which can be combined with toppings including fresh fruit, flaxseeds, chia seeds, nuts and dried fruit. 

Canned Tuna

Wham, bam, canned Tuna is a healthy, easy, quick snack for those who want to undertake minimum effort. Tuna which is tinned in water contains less than 1g of Fat, so to maintain the perfect balance of fats and protein we need to add some fat! Drizzling a tablespoon of olive oil helps with this, this combination works great with the addition of fresh spinach. 

Omelette

If you’re starving then an omelette might be the right choice for you, a great source of protein, make sure you avoid going overboard on the filling. Choose low fat cheese, or make a plain one and add toppings such as cottage cheese, salmon or tuna after. 

Eating at night can affect the sleep quality of some people so it’s important to work out what is right for you. Test out a mixture of recipes and ideas, and know that you’re fuelling your body the right way. You’ll thank yourself for it in the morning.