No carbs before sleep. But how long before?

Question

Facts

• You need carbs (preferebaly fast absorbing type) after a full on gym session to fuel the muscle and stop the body from losing muscle.
• It's always recomended not to take carbs before sleep. (I am gonna assume to maximise the fat-loss process)
• You need at least 8hrs, and recomneded up to 10 hours (for pro bodybuilders with intense training) of good sleep to recover and balance out the hormones.

Scenario

So if you're a person who goes to gym after finishing from work and possibly finishing the gym session by 9 or even later and need to be in bed by 10:30 to be able to have the minimum amount of recomended sleep, this feeding time can be extrememly complicated.

Since I think lots of people fall into this catagory I felt the need to verify following facts in more details:

Questions

• How long of the rest period you need to give for the food with high carbs content to digest?
• How long before sleep you should consider not taking foods with high carbs content?
• In the instance of finishing the workout and being required to go to bed straight away, what to do not to deprive the body over-night (from carbs point of view. I don't want to touch on the Casein protein topic) and stop the muscle loss?

Answer 1

The first 2 so called 'facts' you've listed I think you may find that with a little more research are not actually FACT.

I really don't believe it matters when you eat. If 30 minutes before you go to bed is when you eat your last meal, then that's exactly when you eat.

The whole 'no carbs before bed' thing is a bit of a myth based on everything I've read. I'm actually yet to come across an article backed by some kind of science that proves that carbs before bed are actually bad for you or will have adverse/negative affects.

So long as you don't consume more than daily intake of carbs / calories in total (or the rest of your macros for that matter) whether you eat them all in the morning, all at night, or divide them up evenly throughout the day makes no difference.

I personally drink 300-350ml of full-fat milk, a scoop of protein powder, huge handful of blueberries, cocoa, cinnamon and spirulina about 20-30 minutes before bed (sometimes I will throw in a banana also). I've been doing this for a "long" time and wouldn't change it for the world.

Honestly, try it. Have your last meal as soon as you can after your workout - and then go to bed. I think you'll find it makes no difference.