I have read NHE and HIE and am amazed at the sheer amount on knowledge crammed into these books. I am on the regular NHE plan. My question is as follows: What is the lesser of evils, lifting weights in the evening an hour or two before bedtime (but having the appropriate pre-workout nutrition in the body before working out, and eating cottage cheese and a salad before bedtime), or working out in the morning with only a whey protein shake in the system (e.g., awaking at 0515, drinking the shake, working out at 0530), but have proper post workout nutrition (e.g. fat +protein) and regular NHE meals throughout the day?

In my situation, I work long days (12+hours), and either work out early or late. Sometimes I have days off, I prefer to work out mid morning or in the afternoon. Some weeks I may even be able to lift on off days but do it two days in a row. So I guess my second question would be: Would lifting weights 2 days in a row at more optimal times of the day be of greater benefit hormonally than the above situation week in and week out? Thank you for your time.

The second option is preferable. Since writing NHE I've become more convinced of the hormonal ill-advisability of training late in the evening. Lifting weights on consecutive days is not necessarily bad, assuming you are not training the same muscles and a sufficient recovery period follows.