Yep, thanks for the answers. I don't eat much before a workout either, but I do after it. I guess that from what I've read, the downside of taking protein before bed is that the body may consider that since it's not really doing any effort, it can just store all that, rather than rebuild muscle. So, for instance, perhaps it might not be a good idea to take the protein unless you've actually worked out that day/evening ?

As for the pear/apple thing - yeah, crunches and similar stuff didn't help much... or maybe it did only in the sense that my love handles haven't grown larger...
Anything else short of liposuction that I can do about it ?