Hola from South Padre, where Halloween has come and gone, but the leftover candy is still lurking around like a zombie that refuses to die and it is an excuse to subject you to my favorite video of the guys from GWAR going out to get candy HERE.

And according to the nutrition police, eating any of that candy after 7 PM means your body will immediately ship those calories straight to your belly fat.

Booooo!

Apparently, your metabolism turns into a pumpkin at night, and anything you eat after dark gets stored as fat.

WTF?

Did someone forget to tell your metabolism what time it is?

I was recently nerding out on a podcast featuring my buddy Dr. Mike Ormsbee, an exercise physiology researcher at Florida State University, and Dr. Gabrielle Lyon about eating protein before bed.

Unlike the Instagram experts who got their PhD from the University of TikTok, Ormsbee has actually studied this stuff and runs an entire lab doing research in this area.

His lab even stuck tiny probes into people's belly fat (a technique called microdialysis) to measure what was happening to fat metabolism (Kinsey et al., 2016).

Full thumbs up from me.

So, will eating before bed turn you into a metabolic monster?

Nope. Not automatically.

Your body doesn't shut down at night like a haunted house after Halloween.

It's still burning energy, repairing tissue, and trying to recover from whatever meathead madness you inflicted on it earlier.

Some of Ormsbee's research found that eating protein or carbs before bed increased morning resting energy expenditure in active college-aged men (Madzima et al., 2014).
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In a 2018 study of active women, 48 grams of casein before bed raised next-morning resting metabolic rate by about 4%, though the results varied widely (Madzima et al., 2018).

Before you start chugging a gallon of whey at midnight, the effect was modest. You're not turning into some supernatural fat-burning vampire.

But what about casein vs. whey?

For years, casein was the holy grail of bedtime protein because it digests slowly.

Turns out, casein and whey have both been studied, and the results are mixed.

My vote? Stop arguing about protein powder like it's a religious war.

If you're hungry before bed or short on your daily protein, grab something with roughly 25–40 grams of protein.

Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, skyr, or a whey/casein shake all work.

If you've already hit your protein target and aren't hungry, congratulations! You can go to bed without another feeding.

And if eating before bed screws up your sleep, skip it. Sacrificing sleep to optimize protein timing is like inviting Freddy Krueger into your bedroom to improve recovery.

The bottom line and enough of my Halloween name dropping?

Your metabolism doesn't magically turn your food into belly fat when the sun goes down.

Total calories, adequate protein, resistance training, and sleep still rule the metabolic kingdom.

A protein snack before bed can be useful, but it's not mandatory.

And while a bowl of Greek yogurt won't destroy your fat-loss efforts, crushing an entire leftover Halloween candy bowl during a Netflix marathon may be a different story.

Check out the full nerd-fest with Ormsbee and Lyon here: Ormsbee and Lyon nerd-fest on YouTube​

If you are looking for a solid protein powder to use in a pinch, my friends at Driven Nutrition got you covered below

>> Driven Protein <<

Use Code DRMIKE to save 15%

It is an affiliate link and I even ordered a bunch of protein and other supplements to be shipped down here for the month myself.

Now go lift something heavy, enjoy a few leftover Reese's if they fit your plan, and stop being afraid of your refrigerator after dark.

Much love,
Dr. Mike
PS- any protein questions from the Driven page, hit me up.

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References

Kinsey, A. W., Cappadona, S., Panton, L., Allman, B., Contreras, R., Hickner, R., & Ormsbee, M. J. (2016). The effect of casein protein prior to sleep on fat metabolism in obese men. Nutrients, 8(8), 452. doi:10.3390/nu8080452

Madzima, T. A., Panton, L. B., Fretti, S. K., Kinsey, A. W., & Ormsbee, M. J. (2014). Night-time consumption of protein or carbohydrate results in increased morning resting energy expenditure in active college-aged men. British Journal of Nutrition, 111(1), 71–77. doi:10.1017/S000711451300192X

Madzima, T. A., Melanson, J. T., Black, J. R., & Nepocatych, S. (2018). Pre-sleep consumption of casein and whey protein: Effects on morning metabolism and resistance exercise performance in active women. Nutrients, 10(9), 1273. doi:10.3390/nu10091273

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Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

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