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Eating most all protein at one meal.

4K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  Daytona 
#1 ·
Having tried for a few years to spread my allotted protein over three meals, I still find that I over-eat meat at the evening meal, which is our large/main meal of the day (this isn't going to change as I don't live alone).

I am wondering if eating only a small amount of protein for breakfast and lunch, and having most of the protein (meat) at one meal would in effect cause an excess of protein being glycogenated (is this a word?). Or, is it the total protein irregardless of when it is eaten?

In practice, I'm finding that I do well without meat or very much protein at breakfast (high fat), and only a small amount at lunch (lots of veggies and olive oil). I really do like to have an evening meal with a good portion of meat.
 
#3 ·
This is my guess - and it's only a guess. I would expect my body to use protein when it needs it and "bank" any leftovers. So I would suspect that giving it the protein in one lump as it were would mean more would end up in the liver for future use as glycogen. Evidence? I haven't got any to back my idea up.
I don't think you're too far off. I think the body does most of its maintenance during our sleep cycles. So I think the protein we eat during the day get utilized primarily during sleep.

That said eating more than we need during the day will be shown primarily in our FBG. How to avoid it? I found, for me anyway, best things to do 1). Eat some veg before I eat protein. 2). Make sure to limit portion size of protein an load up on LC veg and fats. 3). Eat most of my daily fat requirement at dinner.

Hard to overeat with lots of LC veg and loads of fats :)
 
#7 ·
VeeJay,

I was wondering that very same question (good minds think alike).

My FBG has been rising steadily recently so I think I must be eating more protein at night (but I didn't think anymore than I did before?) but I have also increased my fats but that doesn't seem to have made any difference.

Will try and cut back and see what happens.
 
#8 ·
Mmm, my son has been staying with me for the past few days and I have been cooking his evening meal when he comes home from work. I know that I been eating larger amounts of meat than usual and from reading the above this is probably why my last three FBGs have been higher than normal. My day time readings are also a bit higher. Gotta watch that protein!
 
#9 ·
When I talked with my doctor about this, he said that while your body can store things like glucose (as glycogen) and fat (as triglycerides), protein doesn't have an inert storage form for later use. The body is constantly breaking down and rebuilding itself, so it takes what it needs when it needs it. Any excess glucogenic amino acids are converted to glucose and ketogenic amino acids to the building block for ketones.

He advised that I would have more of the protein used by my bones, muscles and organs (and less converted into glucose) if I spaced out my protein throughout the day, or at least ate the big protein meal after exercise when my muscles were busy rebuilding.

I tried it out and found that I had better blood sugar following that than what I prefer to do, which is a giant steak at night. I know it's not "official" information but that's what he explained and it made sense to me.
 
#10 ·
Thanks, Daytona. That is certainly good information from someone who appears to know what he's talking about. So I guess I'll just try to stick with protein at all three meals. (This is giving me another reason to get that treadmill! )
 
#11 ·
The body uses protein on a continuous repair cycle whenever it is at rest. This basically suggests that protein should be ideally balanced throughout the day between whatever number of meals you eat. If you are going to have one heavier meal than the others try it straight after exercise.

However scientific evidence suggests that dairy proteins are better digested in the evening than at other times of day. (I remember that you don't do dairy Veejay, this was for other readers to experiment with)

Excess protein is excreted via the kidneys in urine, which is why high protein diets are problematic.
 
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#14 ·
If you decide to try out a protein shake, make sure to test a few times. Many of us here have found that different brands and types (e.g. protein isolate vs protein concentrate, etc) have a very different effect on our blood sugar. Also some brands have much higher carbs than others so make sure to read the label and ingredients.

That said I have been very happy with a formula I get from my gym that contains only whey protein isolate, coco powder and stevia. It's 5g of carb per 30g serving. The trick for me is to make more of a "fat shake" than protein shake. :) Below is the recipe I have been using:

http://www.diabetesforum.com/diabetes-diet-nutrition/13166-peanut-butter-chocolate-shake.html
 
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