So throughout the day, 8AM to 6PM I work and go to college, by the time i get home, go to the gym, and get back home from the gym, it's around 8PM at night and i have a very limited time for calorie consumption. I normally finish my main meal at 9PM, which consists of 1,800 calories (approx) and 90g of protein. An hour later after I've had a shower, I will have a meal replacement which consists of 1,100 calories and 65g of protein. So now it's 10oclock, and I am strict about going to bed no later than 11:30PM at night because I'm a big believer of getting enough sleep for recovery. My main point being that is me eating all my calorie and protein requirments about an hour or two before bed bad? will my body consume it in time to be put to use for muscle recovery?

What you eat is a lot more important than when you eat. Meal timing might play a small role, but in the grand scheme of things, your overall macros are going to be key. So yes, your body is still going to utilize the protein even if you eat it right before bed. You're intermittently fasting because of your schedule, which a lot of people do with great success.

Now it might be better to eat actual meals rather than the meal replacement. You might be missing out on some micronutrients, which even if you supplement, are better absorbed naturally through food. Any chance you can prep some meals beforehand to take to school and work, and eat throughout the day? Just a thought, if your current nutrition plan is meeting your macros and works for you, no reason to change anything.

You are actually doing a form of intermittent fasting. Your body absorbs the nutrients it needs regardless of when you eat them. As Johnny2603 said, it is more important what you eat rather than what you eat it. As long as you are meeting your macro counts and calorie goals for the day, you will be fine.

You mentioned a meal replacement with 1,100 calories. If that is a mass gainer powder, you need to ditch that immediately. They contain a ton of sugar which is how they get their calorie count so high. You will put on weight but it will mostly be body fat and over time those powders mess with your insulin sensitivity. It is better to eat some calorie dense, nutritious fats like nuts, olive oil, and coconut oil to add some calories to a meal instead of mass gainer shakes which are crap.

John

Instead of using a mass gainer could I possibly use a diet whey protein which consists of around 60g protein but only 300 calories in order for me to get my protein macros in, and then substitute the calories in my mass gainer for some pasta?

Macros at the end of the day, and at the end of the week, are more important than when you have them. If that's how your schedule has to work, then so be it, the main thing is you get that food in!

You could always make your own shakes with a mix of whey, oatmeal, peanut butter, some fruit, some greens, some oil.. throw some things like that togehter in a blender and you can have a high protein, high calorie shake that you KNOW is only filled with good quality food 😁 

Or you can do what you suggested and switch the mass gainer out for whey and pasta.. or maybe you could have some quick protein from something like tuna so you're not overly reliant on whey either. Remember, they're supplements for a reason - to SUPPLEMENT your meal plan. The majority of your diet should be whole food, and while I know it's going to be tougher for you, you can still get some easy protein from something like tuna or Greek yoghurt before bed, in addition to some whey.

If you use a quality Whey protein and whole wheat (Semolina/durum wheat) pasta, then "yes" that would be a much better substitute. Mass gainers are nothing more than a powdered soft drink with protein added. They are probably one of the worst "supplements" that companies put out there.

John