One of the key elements of a proper bodybuilding nutrition program is to ensure that you eat frequently throughout the day. A bodybuilding nutrition program should revolve around balanced meals specifically designed for muscle building, consumed every 2-3 hours. This puts your body into an anabolic state, increases fat-burning metabolism, and stabilizes energy levels. Maintaining this bodybuilding nutrition program is simple during the waking hours of the day... But how do you maintain it while asleep? Here's the timeline: You eat the last meal of your daily bodybuilding nutrition program an hour before going to bed, sleep for 8 hours, and then eat breakfast about half an hour after waking up. That’s a total of 9.5 hours without any muscle-building nutrition! If we emphasize a well-balanced bodybuilding nutrition program consisting of high-quality, growth-supporting nutrients at frequent intervals during the day, why do we abandon this logic at night? At night, muscle recovery and growth peak, so isn’t it logical to ensure your muscles receive all the protein, carbohydrates, and fats they need? Why would you let your body endure a starved, catabolic period when it's easy to continue your bodybuilding nutrition program at night? Not everyone will do this, but if you want to accelerate your bodybuilding progress to top levels, consider eating a muscle-building meal halfway through your sleep. Sure, it may seem extreme, and you might think only obsessive lifters would incorporate their bodybuilding nutrition program into their sleep, but if you think about how simple it can be, you might also consider it. First of all, this doesn't have to be a regular solid-food bodybuilding meal typically consumed during the day. I’m not talking about waking up and sitting at the kitchen table to eat a plate of chicken and potatoes or a steak with rice. This method will likely interfere with your sleep and isn't a long-term approach you can maintain as part of your bodybuilding nutrition program. Instead, this meal should be in liquid form so you can wake up, quickly and easily drink it, and then go right back to bed. Add 30-40 grams of protein powder (in the form of whey, egg, or casein) to 1-2 cups of skim milk. In this way, you can get a quick dose of high-quality protein without losing much sleep due to chewing times or meal preparations. You can also mix in a tablespoon of a healthy unsaturated oil source, such as flaxseed oil or extra virgin olive oil. Adding these fats will keep your body in an anabolic state for a longer period by slowing down the release of the protein and helping your muscles grow and recover. What is the best time to consume this easy meal? Ideally, aim for halfway through the night, but if you wake up naturally at another time, that works too. I don’t recommend forcing yourself out of bed with an alarm clock, as this will disrupt your sleeping pattern and could leave you feeling fatigued the following day. You might question whether this middle-of-the-night feeding method works for every bodybuilding nutrition program. The only way to really know is to try it yourself. When adding this into my own bodybuilding nutrition program and my clients' programs, I’ve found that most of the time, the effects have been good. Most people wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom anyway, so adding a small detour to the kitchen to drink a protein shake isn’t really a big challenge. If you're serious about improving your bodybuilding nutrition program, adding a shake in the middle of the night can make all the difference. A few hundred calories can sometimes make the difference between maintaining your weight and gaining it. To get the most out of your bodybuilding nutrition program, be sure to give this method a try. Rick Yeo is a health and fitness consultant who provides tips and reviews on different ways of gaining muscles, weight loss, and overall fitness. Muscle Gains/Burn Fats Truths