What do you prioritize when you don’t have much time?

[blueskies88]

So let’s say it’s 10PM, and I should sleep now to get 8 hours of sleep till 6AM.

So between these what should I prioritize for today?

1: Sleep now

2: Eat more to reach the protein goal for today (assuming I need around 15-25g to reach it)

3: Eat more to reach the calorie goal for today (assuming I’ve reached around maintenance)

4: 15 minute stretch, which I do to fix my posture.

So what should I prioritize in that case? I put myself in this situation many times and don’t know what to do.

 

[junior59]

@blueskies88 priority order

0: time management

0a: not overthinking things

1: Sleep

If you couldn't slot 2 extra minutes at some point in the day to slot in an extra 25g of protein, that's horrible time mismanagement. Stretching maybe a bit longer but same thing

 

[vitalizing]

@blueskies88 Sleep

Sleep is fundamental and way more important than any amount of protein or calories or stretching.

You can fix those when you fix your sleep. It's not even a question.

 

[sports]

@vitalizing I'd slam a casein shake and then go to bed... takes 5 min

 

[vitalizing]

@sports Sure, fine, but only because it’s so fast.

But if you HAVE to slam a protein shake 5 mins before bed then you need to do your diet better. You shouldn’t be in that position regularly.

Even when, sleep and training stimulus matter more than protein. Simple as.

When it’s bed time you sleep and you should have enough structure to get what you need in through the day to meet your goals.

 

[christianmom21]

@vitalizing I don't see the problem with quickly slamming a protein shake to reach your target regularly.

 

[anne_l]

@vitalizing Protein before bed, casein especially, is recommended by many in the strength and nutrition world.

 

[sports]

@vitalizing 100% agree. Have a better schedule.

 

[dymesgirl]

@sports That's my ritual, and it works well. Casein protein is arguably a waste of money, as it's largely rehydrating dehydrated milk (granting the milk sugars, fat, and whey protein, so a messy argument), but I've been willing to pay the price for it given how well I sleep when I drink it before bedding down. Keepin' things anabolic in the midnight hour!

 

[sports]

@livingme7 Casein is a slow digesting protien ideal for taking before bed.

 

[livingme7]

@sports Whey is idealer because it's better than casein.

 

[ruachristian]

@sports Sorry for bringing this off topic but how does the casein powder taste? I know taste is different for some people but im still curious about your opinion on it. I’m still trying to find a good tasting power but the one I have now tastes disgusting. The only good one I have is Fairlife but I try not to drink them as much unless I need a quick protein drink since they are expensive.

 

[sports]

@ruachristian I can't find it right now, but I liked the ON casein bananna. I like to mix it a little thick and to me it tastes like banana pudding and is like a desert to me. My wife hates it. Everybody's taste is a little different.

 

[dawn16]

@sports Sure. But the question was what is the biggest priority, and sleep would definitely be the top of the list.

 

[sports]

@dawn16 If you're talking about meal prep to get protien, skip it and go to sleep. I'd take the 5 extra minutes to slam a protien shake first then go to bed. 5 min of extra sleep won't make or break anything.

 

[dawn16]

@sports I would assume it wouldn’t either, which makes the entire question pointless. But, that aside, of the choices, sleep is definitely the biggest thing.

 

[heartfire]

@blueskies88 It takes 2 minutes to make and drink a protein shake which covers 1 2 and 3

 

[alex17791]

@blueskies88 First off, this is micro optimization and it really doesn't matter much what you do on a single day especially if you were close to your goals.

Second, why can't you do more than one? Say you need 20g of protein and 300 kcal, you could eat yogurt or a whey shake or something light and then go to sleep. If eating a snack before bed causes you to not sleep as well or delays your sleep time by an hour, then sure just skip the snack and go to bed.

15 minutes of sleep isn't going to make or break anything, but neither are the missing calories. From a mathematical standpoint, 15 minutes of sleep from a target of 8 hours would be -3% vs missing 20g of protein from a target of 165g would be -12% vs 300 kcal from a target of 3000 would be -10%; in those examples, maybe the protein would be most important.

You can always stretch in the morning. You can also eat more in the morning, but your body will go longer without protein to fuel muscle-protein synthesis while you sleep. The difference is going to be minimal either way assuming the late night snack doesn't affect your sleep.

 

[neworthodoxdenomination1]

@blueskies88 Well 2 and 3 would be accomplished together in like two minutes. If your protein powder is 120cal and 25g protein per scoop then two scoops with 16oz of almond milk would be 300cal and 50g of protein, fulfilling the missing protein and putting you in a nice 300 calorie surplus.

And then just go to sleep fuck the posture stretches lol

 

[medo]

@blueskies88 While writing the question, you could have easily gotten some protein also a couple simple stretching poses before bed RIGHT NEXT to the same bed takes no more than 5 minutes if u really wanna get it all...

If you are so into it all you sure wouldn't have waited for 10pm to miss these tasks, that are not even that hard to organise your day around them.