Carbs at Night?

[krissi006]

How do you all feel about Carbs at night?

I don't like eating a huge meal before bed so sometimes I'm not in the mood for Egg Whites as my last meal.

I have a Pro Shake that I use:
195 cals
6g fat
11g carbs / 2g sugar
25g pro

I much rather drink something than eat something late at night..
think carbs are detrimental to your diet at night? or No?

[gjohnson5]

Sugars = conditionally yes
Complex carbs = no

If you workout at night then sugars should be used not so bad

Originally Posted by krissi006

How do you all feel about Carbs at night?

I don't like eating a huge meal before bed so sometimes I'm not in the mood for Egg Whites as my last meal.

I have a Pro Shake that I use:
195 cals
6g fat
11g carbs / 2g sugar
25g pro

I much rather drink something than eat something late at night..
think carbs are detrimental to your diet at night? or No?

[sherdi]

It's a myth that you cannot eat carbs at night.....it really doesn't matter when you eat them...your body doesn't know the time....as long as it fits into your calorie/macro range for the day, go for it!!!

I enjoy fruit, dairy, dark chocolate, pb, cottage cheese, nuts, ricotta cheese, bran etc all at night and it helps me with my training and diet!!!

[krissi006]

Sweet, then I'm golden.
I usually put a quarter scoop of fiber one in my Muscle Milk Light at night to slow the digestion down a tad, wasn't sure if the extra fiber made a difference.
But yeah I use Calorie King software to track every thing I put into my mouth..Geeze thanks for ALL your responses!! So helpful.

[gjohnson5]

I agree with your listing except for the fruits. That is if you train at night then it's not an issue. The elevated blood sugar before before bedtime would convert those sugars into fat. If liver glycogen is full , the fructose would probably turn to fat as well

I'm not sure how eating fruits at night helps your training and diet , but I would examine the benefits of that entry

Originally Posted by sherdi

It's a myth that you cannot eat carbs at night.....it really doesn't matter when you eat them...your body doesn't know the time....as long as it fits into your calorie/macro range for the day, go for it!!!

I enjoy fruit, dairy, dark chocolate, pb, cottage cheese, nuts, ricotta cheese, bran etc all at night and it helps me with my training and diet!!!

[twinnett]

She's not eating JUST fruit...she's balancing it w/ protein and good fats and carbs, so the elevated blood sugar isn't really an issue

[JerrysGirl]

I eat oatbran and protein powder after my workout around 6:30pm. And when I really crave them, I eat the same thing again around 9pm.

Overall, I think it does not matter. You lose in a deficit, you gain above maintenance.

[gjohnson5]

I didn't say she was just eating fruits....

It doesn't matter if the diet is "balanced" or not (unless the food is a "0" on the GI index). All food you eat have a potential to elevate blood sugar. It's called the glycemic index. I agreed with the other entries because they are complex carbohydrates or foods lower on the GI index

The so higher GI foods at bedtime (the fruit) I would look at

Originally Posted by twinnett

She's not eating JUST fruit...she's balancing it w/ protein and good fats and carbs, so the elevated blood sugar isn't really an issue

[Defiant1]

Originally Posted by krissi006

How do you all feel about Carbs at night?

I don't like eating a huge meal before bed so sometimes I'm not in the mood for Egg Whites as my last meal.

I have a Pro Shake that I use:
195 cals
6g fat
11g carbs / 2g sugar
25g pro

I much rather drink something than eat something late at night..
think carbs are detrimental to your diet at night? or No?

The "science" on eating carbs or anything at night keeps going back and forth.

In this case, and in all cases like these, I would go with your instinct.

I remember in the 80s, during the "you can eat as many carbs as you want as long as you don't eat fat" I noticed I was getting fatter from carbs....

My point is to trust your instincts.

I'll come out and say it. My OPINION is that eating late, especially carbs, puts more bodyfat on. To me, it just makes COMMON sense. Our bodies are fat STORAGE machines, not fat burning machines. They are optimized to take any advantage to store calories as fat.

Go with what you feel is happening......then let the science catch up to you in a few years.

I have seen this happen in so many cases... it is unbelievable.

[twinnett]

Well the OP is 110#...I don't think she needs to worry about tiny details...she needs to get in the carbs anywhere she can and not be afraid of them

[gjohnson5]

We agree on something...

Also since this is a female forum, I think this issue is worse on gals since they don't have the muscle mass and thus the fat "oxidation" potential of a guy when resting.

Originally Posted by Defiant1

I'll come out and say it. My OPINION is that eating late, especially carbs, puts more bodyfat on. To me, it just makes COMMON sense. Our bodies are fat STORAGE machines, not fat burning machines. They are optimized to take any advantage to store calories as fat.

[Samantha905]

a personal trainer at my gym said to eat less carbs at night because you wont use them so will be stored as fat and not used. I thought, like some have said, that it overall calories that determine weight gain/loss.

[SumthinOrNuthin]

It depends on many things but the 2 main ones are;

1) have you any evidence to suggest that carbs at night have a bad effect on you, personally. We're all different and we all handle carbs differently. If you don't believe its ever caused you a problem then why try to fix what isn't broken?

2) just how deeply to you want to micro-manage your nutrition? If you're running up to a comp then hell yes, do whatever it takes. If you're not competing and just looking for extra 'tricks' to boost your fat loss then its going to be a case of trial and error. Try not eating carbs at night for maybe 6 weeks and assess what effect it has. If it makes no difference then you'll know you have the option to eat carbs whenever you like with no adverse effect

[sherdi]

Originally Posted by gjohnson5

I didn't say she was just eating fruits....

It doesn't matter if the diet is "balanced" or not (unless the food is a "0" on the GI index). All food you eat have a potential to elevate blood sugar. It's called the glycemic index. I agreed with the other entries because they are complex carbohydrates or foods lower on the GI index

The so higher GI foods at bedtime (the fruit) I would look at

Mostly all fruit have a low (ish) glycemic index and as long as they are eaten with protein, fat etc the potential to elevate blood sugar is very very low and will actually help fight against catabolism while you sleep since you don't eat for a long period of time (till your first meal the next day).

honestly, fruit isn't the problem, everything can be eaten in moderation...as long as you balance your macros and make sure you are getting enough protein, and good fats, you can pretty much eat whatever you like!!!