How bad are Carbs late at night when trying to lose weight?

[skelooth]

I have been craving bread at night like a mad man............. I'm salivating thinking about the toast I'll eat at breakfast tomorrow. My hunger has been getting really bad later at night lately, jacked tiger had a similar topic not too long ago.

Am I really going to screw something up if I eat a piece of whole grain bread an hour before bed? I haven't, but damn I want to.

I normally restrict carbs to damn near 0 once 5:30-6pm hit. I'm usually in bed at like 10, and up at 6.

[fast f4i]

what up,

If you eat a piece of bread an hour before bed, I would think you would burn off the 80 or so calories in that slice within the hour just by being ALIVE. I wouldn't worry about it too much bro, but I feel your pain.....drink lots of water too. Losing weight is all about managing your calories, and not necessarily what the calorie source is.. (i.e. protein, carbs, fats..) they are just different densities to my understanding.

--fast f4i

[skelooth]

Yeah, I'm so obsessed that I'm petrified of eating a slice of bread late at night I just know I'm not supposed to be eating carbs at night, though I don't fully understand the science wise. I start my day off with lots of carbs and slow the carb intake down as the day progresses............ but omfg the craving for things like bread are insatiable. I feel "miserable without bread".

From what I understand: Any carbs I eat that aren't expended, will become fat. And since i'm not 'doing anything' while i'm asleep, any carbs I eat will be stored as more love handle. Though I'm not quite sure why it's good to eat good fats before bed.

You know, there's so much different advice and articles, it's hard to decide exactly how to go about this.

[Musicguy]

Originally Posted by skelooth

From what I understand: Any carbs I eat that aren't expended, will become fat.

Well, the bottom line, as I understand it, is that any calories that are eaten and not used by the body for its normal functioning or expended as fuel for some activity will be stored as fat.

Dry toast, made from 100% whole grain bread, shouldn't be too bad. Why not experiment? If you keep track of bodyweight, measurements, the way you feel, and what you're eating (and when), you should be able to determine what impact (if any) eating whole grain bread in the evening has on on your progress. Then, you can make adjustments accordingly.

It's experimenting with things like this that make the fitness lifestyle interesting and fun. You learn more about how your body responds to different foods and eating plans.

I know what you mean by the information "overload" that's available to us these days.

Like you, I like to minimize carb intake in the evening... however, from time to time I enjoy whole grain toast later in the day. Another way of thinking about it is to think about the total calories "in" over a 24 hour period.

BTW... one of my favorite toppings for toast: take some ricotta cheese, and sweeten it with some artificial sweetener or stevia, stir in some ground cinnamon, and spread it on. A local bakery near here makes a raisin-walnut bread which has only 100% whole grain flour. This ricotta cheese spread on toast made with that bread... mmmmmm.

Sorry, I guess I'm not helping matters now, am I?

[Adam444]

I am the exact opposite. I don't worry about calories (as long as I don't go over my limit) but worry about where the calories come from.

I would rather eat a cup of almonds than a bag of chips... just my 2 cents.

[JMD]

Chew gum or rinse with mouthwash.Having a minty feeling in my mouth always makes me not want to eat anything because it tastes like crap,except for water.

Wheat toast isnt bad,the one i have is 40 calories a slice and its got lots of fiber ,low carb on top of it.

Personally,If im really really hungry I'll have a slice of healthy choice lunch meat,45 calories and 9g's of protein.

[leonutz]

many people say restrict carbs at nite but i think that is jus bull****.

the science behind not eating carbs is that if they r not burnt off they would be convert to fats

however, same thing goes for protein. so jus eat the amount you require to ensure positive nitrogen balance in ur body thru the long night and top up the remaining calories u need to hit your daily calorie quota with either carbs or fats, (good fats would be the best choice)

[lanif]

No no no no no, carbs at night=bad.
Skelooth, those carbs will turn into fat, no matter how complex or starchy they are, with an exeption to fibrous greens. Its not mainly just the carbs or calories, its the insulin which is secreted to stabilise blood sugar levels. You're pancreas will secrete more insulin, since you are more insulin RESISTANT at night, so what does that mean? FAT STORAGE!!! you have to resist temptation bro, i remember back then, bread was my favourite food in the world. You name any sandwhich, nutella, peanut butter, burgers, I LOVED bread. I'd have it with pasta!! What did that do for me, it gave me 22% body fat. You have to also remember bread is very processed, even wholemeal. It just has a lower GI. The only time I have bread is when I'm either having a cheat meal or a high carb day, thats it. I honestly haven't touched a piece of bread for 4 months. I could bet my life I loved bread more than you do, but I stopped buying it then the cravings went away. Out of sight, out of mind. Just increase your oatmeal amount in the morning and I guarantee you cravings will be less. Your body is just craving carbs, you must be skimping them at day time?

And also, try visualising a picture in your mind, just standing there at 10% bodyfat at the beach, is that worth a piece of ****en bread?!?! REALLY?!! Just say to yourself if that a washboard, 97% fat free stomach is worth a 10 second piece of happiness?!!

[xxghostxx]

Insulin secretion going into sleeping does not automatically partition glucose to fat stores, it's much more complex than that.

[BodyBuild03]

Read this and judge for yourself...

Carbs during the night do not promote any fat accumulation. If your total daily carb intake, for example, is 300 grams, then to share them evenly in five meals, each meal would have to contain 60 grams. So if you end up fulfilling your Glycogen stores at dinner (8 P.M.) why should it make you fat?

It's a myth that needs to be erased! But one thing behind the myth is true, but it's physiology! If you consume a meal containing carbs late at night right before going to bed, it won't allow you to get as defined as possible while dieting.

Why? During the very first phases of your sleep a very powerful hormone, GROWTH HORMONE, is secreted from the pituitary gland in bursts. It has a powerful effect on lipolysis and on protein synthesis.

High insulin levels inhibit GH secretion, which is in turn stimulated by high blood glucose levels. In other words GH secretion matches very well with Hypoglycemia during then first phases of sleep! Physiologically speaking, hyperglycemia induces a somatostatinic hypertone. GHRH (growth hormone releasing hormone) stimulates GH secretion, Somatostatin inhibits it!

[lanif]

First of all, why would you eat carbs late at night? Your glycogen stores are already restored if you are eating carbs during the day, plus you need carbs during the day for energy. Not eating carbs at day time will leave you tired, then having them at night before sleep seems pretty stupid because you don't need energy to sleep. Its not a myth, research has shown more insulin is secreted at night time. Even though the carbs are not substantally(sp?) turned into fat, though there is more of a chance you'll store fat at night rather than during the day, plus you're more active at day time.

[HAMMER35]

Originally Posted by skelooth

Yeah, I'm so obsessed that I'm petrified of eating a slice of bread late at night I just know I'm not supposed to be eating carbs at night, though I don't fully understand the science wise. I start my day off with lots of carbs and slow the carb intake down as the day progresses............ but omfg the craving for things like bread are insatiable. I feel "miserable without bread".

From what I understand: Any carbs I eat that aren't expended, will become fat. And since i'm not 'doing anything' while i'm asleep, any carbs I eat will be stored as more love handle. Though I'm not quite sure why it's good to eat good fats before bed.

You know, there's so much different advice and articles, it's hard to decide exactly how to go about this.

From my understanding of carbs you are right if you eat a light carb 1 hour before bed i dont think its bad. But overloading will turn to fat being that you are going to bed and not expending any energy at all just sleeping. I will eat some cottage cheese at night or a caesin protein shake before bed. so i can get a full feeling. Now if y ou work out late you will need to replenish glycogen stores after your work out as well as eat. At that point if you work out hard enough you will have depleted all glycogen stores in your muscles and stomach and body will be more responsive to nutrients at this time

[th3pwn3r]

Originally Posted by HAMMER35

From my understanding of carbs you are right if you eat a light carb 1 hour before bed i dont think its bad. But overloading will turn to fat being that you are going to bed and not expending any energy at all just sleeping. I will eat some cottage cheese at night or a caesin protein shake before bed. so i can get a full feeling. Now if y ou work out late you will need to replenish glycogen stores after your work out as well as eat. At that point if you work out hard enough you will have depleted all glycogen stores in your muscles and stomach and body will be more responsive to nutrients at this time

Why in the world would you bump a thread that's 5 years old?

[koatliki]

Yeah, you'd think that the OP would have that question figured out 5 years later

[Reman]

Originally Posted by HAMMER35

From my understanding of carbs you are right if you eat a light carb 1 hour before bed i dont think its bad. But overloading will turn to fat being that you are going to bed and not expending any energy at all just sleeping. I will eat some cottage cheese at night or a caesin protein shake before bed. so i can get a full feeling. Now if y ou work out late you will need to replenish glycogen stores after your work out as well as eat. At that point if you work out hard enough you will have depleted all glycogen stores in your muscles and stomach and body will be more responsive to nutrients at this time

But this doesn't matter if you have eaten less calories earlier day. It's calories in vs. calories out. Eating anytime, anything too much will make you fat.

And the GH spike will come, no matter do you eat carbs or not. There's so called 'afterspike' in GH. Insulin will hold GH back for some time, but it will come .

And I'm very sorry if OP has figured this out within these five years .

[dbluegoat]

Originally Posted by lanif

No no no no no, carbs at night=bad.
Skelooth, those carbs will turn into fat, no matter how complex or starchy they are, with an exeption to fibrous greens. Its not mainly just the carbs or calories, its the insulin which is secreted to stabilise blood sugar levels. You're pancreas will secrete more insulin, since you are more insulin RESISTANT at night, so what does that mean? FAT STORAGE!!! you have to resist temptation bro, i remember back then, bread was my favourite food in the world. You name any sandwhich, nutella, peanut butter, burgers, I LOVED bread. I'd have it with pasta!! What did that do for me, it gave me 22% body fat. You have to also remember bread is very processed, even wholemeal. It just has a lower GI. The only time I have bread is when I'm either having a cheat meal or a high carb day, thats it. I honestly haven't touched a piece of bread for 4 months. I could bet my life I loved bread more than you do, but I stopped buying it then the cravings went away. Out of sight, out of mind. Just increase your oatmeal amount in the morning and I guarantee you cravings will be less. Your body is just craving carbs, you must be skimping them at day time?

And also, try visualising a picture in your mind, just standing there at 10% bodyfat at the beach, is that worth a piece of ****en bread?!?! REALLY?!! Just say to yourself if that a washboard, 97% fat free stomach is worth a 10 second piece of happiness?!!

rofl...whatever....i eat sometimes up to 80g of carbs anywhere between 9 and 11....done it alot and still losing fat....

[Sabouneh]

wow.. lanif you got fat and were 22% because you over ate.. not because you ate carbs before you went to bed..

[PickItUp]

If at the end of the day, you have 100 Cal to spare, eat the bread, and feed the craving. If however you have already had your Cal for the day...skip the bread, and move on.

[roms15]

lol i wonder if the op finds this.

[tryingtofocus]

Didn't even notice this thread was 5 years old till the one kid mentioned it, lol!

I eat carbs at night as well.........to the point I have had my dinners at 1100 at night due to my work schedule and having a bad stomach and not trusting myself to eat at work..........(I don't get many breaks at my job and need relief to go to the restroom) I still am losing weight.........carbs and all.....IMO it is Broscience or whatever you want to call it.

[trance__dreamer]

Originally Posted by dbluegoat

rofl...whatever....i eat sometimes up to 80g of carbs anywhere between 9 and 11....done it alot and still losing fat....

atta boy! /m\

[bigpoppaapp]

why not try eating that bread, and then doing pushups and/or situps every night, u can burn the calories before you go to bed and your chest will get stronger.

[Throwdown515]

Does not matter when or how much you eat at any given time during the day as long as the calories are below Maintenance level. Just make sure you eat the amount of protein your body needs to keep muscle. Everything else is bro-science.

[Dietdude]

I know it is unpopular, but I agree. My rep power didn't get this high by being Mr Agreeable...

That said because some FAT a$$ continues to lose weight by taking out 75% of the fats he used to eat out of his diet, still weighs 300lbs and keeps losing weight when he eats a subway before bed doesn't mean everyone should. Or because someone, has had some success in keeping some carbs in their diet at bedtime...Paying the price, and learning training your body to overcome those cravings, will the true price be paid. And the lean body we all work for will be theirs, for everyone who continues to eat 'trash' before bed, since you cannot say for sure how far ahead you would be without them, for the sake of argument can you see his logic...of course. Yet, no one wants to step up to the plate and say this is the wrong thing to do because...they themselves do not have that willpower...

Nuff said...Lanif...way to go! Standing up for what is right, not necessarily popular...but right nonetheless!

[sleep_tactic]

i didnt even notice how old this thread was until someone mentioned it, lol. on my part, i sometimes eat a decent amount of carbs before i go to sleep. my body craves carbs on the days that i have jiujitsu practice and not so much on the lifting/cardio days. so i give in with either a scoop of brown rice. wholegrainn breador some oatmeal. when i wake up the next morning, i feel 10x's better than i do, when i didnt eat carbs before bed. weight has never gone up, nor has fat.

if you are active and have a control on your eating, i dont think its too much to worry about. now if you are shooting for the sub 10% bodyfat levels, i cant help you there.

[dbluegoat]

Originally Posted by Dietdude

That said because some FAT a$$ continues to lose weight by taking out 75% of the fats he used to eat out of his diet, still weighs 300lbs and keeps losing weight when he eats a subway before bed doesn't mean everyone should.

??? you directing that at me?

Originally Posted by Dietdude

for everyone who continues to eat 'trash' before bed, since you cannot say for sure how far ahead you would be without them, for the sake of argument can you see his logic...of course. Yet, no one wants to step up to the plate and say this is the wrong thing to do because...they themselves do not have that willpower...
!

who said anything about eating subway or trash? not a damn thing wrong with chicken and 80g of brown rice an hour or more after working out for 2hrs.