What's a normal/healthy way to schedule your carb-y meals through the day/week?

pumpkinpocalypse

Do you guys only have one slightly ''Carb-heavy' meal per day? Or do you get your serving of starch/carb at every meal? (like rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, beans etc. you know, those. I mostly eat whole grain-everything but the carbs don't just magically disappear because of that)
I've read that most of the time it's better to not have any at, let's say for example, one of those kind of carbs at lunch if you're going to be eating some later that day. ''Skip the rice at noon if you're having pizza for dinner'' kinda deal. Makes sense but at the same time, I see so many people having them all day long with ease so i guess that judgement was flawed or a bit too intense.
I'm wondering especially since I like putting my big carb dose of the day (by carb, acknowledge that I don't count fruits and veggies in. I like to eat those in terrifying quantities and I don't care. Talking about starchy and grain products here) at night, but it feels sometimes unconvienient to have to save it all for dinner and not have some at lunch as well.
I'm attending a Clams n' Fries BBQ tomorrow night and of course I would like to treat myself with some fries. Would it be a good idea to have some buckwheat soba noodles at lunch on top of that or is that just a useless carb loading (considering it's also my rest day) ?
Thanks, the answer might be very obvious but i'm just confused since so much is said about either point of view. I guess I'm calling out on your own personal experience/daily diet and the way you fit the Holy Carbs Trinity in your day

veron10708

Hey, So I think the answer to your questions really depends on your goals. If you are trying to lose weight, having calorically dense foods earlier in the day is beneficial so you have time through out the day as you are moving to burn it off. In my experience, and from what others have shared with me, this is the best way. If you are maintaining, I still think that top-loading is beneficial to prevent gain, but you definitely have more flexibility to eat what you like at different times. I think the overall key is balance and consistency. Having carbs earlier in the day is ideal on a consistent bases, but if there are times where you would like to treat yourself at lunch and dinner, that is fair. This is a journey, and while one day's decision's do effects our long-term outcomes, they only do so when they become habitual. I am by no means an expert, but I hope this helps!!!

slaite1

Nonsense. Meal timing is not important, neither is "carb timing". Eat what you want-when you want-based on your calorie and macronutrients goals.

MamaBirdBoss

You're making it too complicated. Eat at whatever time makes it easiest for you to stick to your calories. Eat whatever you want that makes it work for you!

MamaBirdBoss

veron10708 wrote: »

Hey, So I think the answer to your questions really depends on your goals. If you are trying to lose weight, having calorically dense foods earlier in the day is beneficial so you have time through out the day as you are moving to burn it off. In my experience, and from what others have shared with me, this is the best way. If you are maintaining, I still think that top-loading is beneficial to prevent gain, but you definitely have more flexibility to eat what you like at different times. I think the overall key is balance and consistency. Having carbs earlier in the day is ideal on a consistent bases, but if there are times where you would like to treat yourself at lunch and dinner, that is fair. This is a journey, and while one day's decision's do effects our long-term outcomes, they only do so when they become habitual. I am by no means an expert, but I hope this helps!!!

This makes no sense. You think your body has a timer--at the end of the day, it starts pumping everything into fat????

pumpkinpocalypse

Thanks! Glad to see it's no big deal. Except I meant something more along the lines of ''is it fine to eat carbs at like, every meal, in the same day''...but i guess the same thing you've said still applies, there again it's about meal timing and it doesn't matter. Right?
I'm trying to find maintenance and I have 200g of carbs to play with everyday, why the hell not use as much of them as i can.

LKArgh

pumpkinpocalypse wrote: »

Thanks! Glad to see it's no big deal. Except I meant something more along the lines of ''is it fine to eat carbs at like, every meal, in the same day''...but i guess the same thing you've said still applies, there again it's about meal timing and it doesn't matter. Right?
I'm trying to find maintenance and I have 200g of carbs to play with everyday, why the hell not use as much of them as i can.

If you are a diabetic or prediabetic or have other insulin related issues, then you might need to balance your carbs throughout the day, so you are eating a predefined amount per meal (which your dr will help you figure out). Otherwise, it really does not matter.

cajuntank

slaite1 wrote: »

Nonsense. Meal timing is not important, neither is "carb timing". Eat what you want-when you want-based on your calorie and macronutrients goals.

I would disagree, but only in the context of activity. While meal timing does not play a huge role as once thought, there is still importance when its scheduled around activity. In the scope of things, maybe only around a 10%* affect, but still...now, 10%* of course means next to nothing if you neglect the first 80%* of the diet (calories and macros like you mentioned...(other 10%* being food quality and supplementation)). Since the body's default energy substrate is carbs, the timing of those carbs around activity has impact.

*Numbers and importance of these factors gleaned from charts offered by Eric Helms, Dr.Brad Shoenfeld, and Dr. Mike Israetel.

yesimpson

I eat carbs with every meal in some form e.g. breakfast cereal, sandwich for lunch, potatoes with tea. I have never thought twice about it really.

Ironmaiden4life

cajuntank wrote: »

slaite1 wrote: »

Nonsense. Meal timing is not important, neither is "carb timing". Eat what you want-when you want-based on your calorie and macronutrients goals.

I would disagree, but only in the context of activity. While meal timing does not play a huge role as once thought, there is still importance when its scheduled around activity. In the scope of things, maybe only around a 10%* affect, but still...now, 10%* of course means next to nothing if you neglect the first 80%* of the diet (calories and macros like you mentioned...(other 10%* being food quality and supplementation)). Since the body's default energy substrate is carbs, the timing of those carbs around activity has impact.

*Numbers and importance of these factors gleaned from charts offered by Eric Helms, Dr.Brad Shoenfeld, and Dr. Mike Israetel.

She's not talking about the impact of substrates in relation to NEAT, EAT , MPS or metabolic energy pathways. Don't confuse the girl.

Op eat your carbs when you want. As others have mentioned nutritional timing HAS NO EFFECT on OVERALL WEIGHTLOSS.

cajuntank

Ironmaiden4life wrote: »

cajuntank wrote: »

slaite1 wrote: »

Nonsense. Meal timing is not important, neither is "carb timing". Eat what you want-when you want-based on your calorie and macronutrients goals.

I would disagree, but only in the context of activity. While meal timing does not play a huge role as once thought, there is still importance when its scheduled around activity. In the scope of things, maybe only around a 10%* affect, but still...now, 10%* of course means next to nothing if you neglect the first 80%* of the diet (calories and macros like you mentioned...(other 10%* being food quality and supplementation)). Since the body's default energy substrate is carbs, the timing of those carbs around activity has impact.

*Numbers and importance of these factors gleaned from charts offered by Eric Helms, Dr.Brad Shoenfeld, and Dr. Mike Israetel.

She's not talking about the impact of substrates in relation to NEAT, EAT , MPS or metabolic energy pathways. Don't confuse the girl.

Op eat your carbs when you want. As others have mentioned nutritional timing HAS NO EFFECT on OVERALL WEIGHTLOSS.

That's why I said "but only in the context of activity".

pumpkinpocalypse

cajuntank wrote: »

slaite1 wrote: »

Nonsense. Meal timing is not important, neither is "carb timing". Eat what you want-when you want-based on your calorie and macronutrients goals.

I would disagree, but only in the context of activity. While meal timing does not play a huge role as once thought, there is still importance when its scheduled around activity. In the scope of things, maybe only around a 10%* affect, but still...now, 10%* of course means next to nothing if you neglect the first 80%* of the diet (calories and macros like you mentioned...(other 10%* being food quality and supplementation)). Since the body's default energy substrate is carbs, the timing of those carbs around activity has impact.

*Numbers and importance of these factors gleaned from charts offered by Eric Helms, Dr.Brad Shoenfeld, and Dr. Mike Israetel.

Well, I do try to put some more protein and healthy carbs-rich foods in my meals before and after a workout or exercice, so I have good fuel for them, but otherwise I don't go too precise with it. Meaning I won't make a fuss about getting exactly 20g or whatever of protein pre/post-workout, I just eat eggs, yogurt/oatmeal/nuts/brown rice and stuff uring those meals because I know theyre protein or carb rich, which is good, and that's it.

yesimpson wrote: »

I eat carbs with every meal in some form e.g. breakfast cereal, sandwich for lunch, potatoes with tea. I have never thought twice about it really.

Thanks for the input!! That is exactly the kind of answer i was looking for. Actual examples of people's lifestyles around that matter.

Need2Exerc1se

I'm on a high fiber diet so all of my meals are usually carby. When the carb is fiber, a lot of the calories do magically disappear. I'm having leftover pasta for lunch today.

mistikal13

All of my meals contain some sort or carbs. As long as they are within your calories for the day you will be ok.

lemurcat12

It really doesn't matter--I tend to have some carbs at all meals, but if I was having a really high carb breakfast and lunch I might skip the starch at dinner or, more commonly, if I exchange my usual veggie omelet at breakfast for oatmeal I might compensate by having a salad with protein for lunch or something else lower carb. It's all about meeting my overall goal, not timing. It's also not something I think much about, but just what I seem to naturally do.

I did try timing starchy carbs around workouts for a while to see if there was any benefit, and for me it was just a pain. I tend to prefer to keep things simple, though.