Muscle Building Snacks to Beat Night Hunger Pangs

It's close to bedtime and you are famished. Should you head straight to the fridge and grab whatever you can find? No, of course not! Check out these foods that satisfy your hunger, build muscles and don't add an inch to your waist

If you are a typical hardgainer, your metabolism usually works so well that by 10pm you would have digested most of the food that you've eaten at 6pm.

So should you ignore your hunger and go straight to bed (hopefully by 11 pm so that you get 7 to 8 hours of sleep), or should you eat and risk accumulating fat over the night?

You probably think this is a no-brainer since this is a website about gaining weight. But, let me emphasize again. We -- that's you and I -- want to gain lean muscle weight, not weight loaded with fat!

At night, our body slows down as it gets ready for sleep. Loading it with loads of calories right before bed will only tell your body to store the excess, unused calories as fat. So you need to be even more selective about the type of food that you eat close to bedtime than that during the day.

Here's a list of foods you can safely chew on without any negative consequences. Go easy on the portion. The suggested serving size is only a guide. You should stop eating as soon as you don't feel hungry.

The timing is important too. Aim to consume your night snack at least two hours before you sleep so that there's ample time for the body to break down the food and not disturb your sleep during the night.

1. Two handfuls of unsalted and unsweetened nuts. Flush down with a glass of water.


2. One apple and a handful of blueberries.


3. One cup of cocoa made with skim milk.


4. One baked or steamed sweet potato (with skin), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.


5. One cup of low-fat unsweetened yogurt topped with slices of ripe banana.


6. A small bowl of unsweetened oatmeal with warm low-fat milk and a handful of raisins.


7. Two slices of wholegrain bread spread with unsweetened peanut butter.


8. One slice of wholemeal toast with two scrambled eggs.


9. Any muscle building smoothie. If the portion is too large, reduce the ingredients accordingly.


10. A slice of steamed salmon, anyone?