Too many carbs before bed...

Enginette

I was hoping to get some feedback from those who exercise in the evening after they have eaten all their calories for the day (with the exception of the Results and Recovery Drink).

I am an Insanity grad and have just started a P90X/Insanity hybrid. The only chance I have to workout during the week is at 8:30pm, after the kiddos have gone to bed. I have tried doing the early morning workout and it just doesn't work for me.

My question is after finishing my workouts (9:30-10:00pm) I drink my Results and Recovery Formula. I am in bed by 10:30pm-11:00pm (after shower, of course) and I am wondering if drinking that many carbs (40g) is bad for me right before bed?

Sidesteal

Provided the following conditions are met:

1) You are not exceeding your daily intake goals.
2) You aren't having awful sleep due to late eating.

Then have at it.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

nope, not at all bad. 40g is not much at all and will be taken up by your body to replenish muscle glycogen. If you're not getting the results you want then consider a different shake w/ less carbs but I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Enginette

Provided the following conditions are met:

1) You are not exceeding your daily intake goals.
2) You aren't having awful sleep due to late eating.

Then have at it.

I eat my exercise calories, but I usually am still at a deficit (1500 calories net, 1800-2000 calories total). I was trying to reduce my carb in take to 30% but am finding it near impossible, especially considering the amount in the R&R Formula.

I never have trouble sleeping! My head hits the pillow and I am OUT like a light!

UponThisRock

Calories in vs. Calories out determines changes in weight, not the time of day you eat certain macronutrients

Acg67

Provided the following conditions are met:

1) You are not exceeding your daily intake goals.
2) You aren't having awful sleep due to late eating.

Then have at it.

I eat my exercise calories, but I usually am still at a deficit (1500 calories net, 1800-2000 calories total). I was trying to reduce my carb in take to 30% but am finding it near impossible, especially considering the amount in the R&R Formula.

I never have trouble sleeping! My head hits the pillow and I am OUT like a light!

you know you don't need to have the R&R drink right after your workout, right? looking at the label it's mostly dextrose and maltodextrin, with a little bit of protein. if you were preforming glycogen depleting workouts, then a fast acting carb + protein may be beneficial, but in this case i don't think it provides any extra benefit.

If you did think it provides a benefit, you could get a 10lb of dextrose for $16 and a 5lb tub of protein for $30+ which would give you many many more servings than the R&R drink

Sidesteal

you know you don't need to have the R&R drink right after your workout, right? looking at the label it's mostly dextrose and maltodextrin, with a little bit of protein.

^ If this is the case with that drink, I would stop drinking it too. OP, consider saving those calories for something with more satiety.

if you were preforming glycogen depleting workouts, then a fast acting carb + protein may be beneficial, but in this case i don't think it provides any extra benefit.

Agreed. OP, The only context in which this would be useful (assuming you can meet macronutrient sufficiency w/o the drink) would be if you are depleting glycogen AND you need glycogen replenished fast so that you can do it again within a few hours.

For example, if you're depleting glycogen in your evening workout and you plan on waking up at 2am to run hill sprints, then yes, you should rapidly replenish glycogen. Otherwise, let your normal food intake do it at it's own pace and you'll be just fine.

wolfchild59

I also work out later in the evening, often starting between 9pm-10pm, and while I don't do any kind of "recovery" drink, I do often eat close to bedtime. But I always have a caloric deficit for the day and carbs at night don't cause me sleep issues. I still see losses on the scale and haven't seen it hinder me in any way. I see more of a negative effect if my deficit is too large actually, so I'd rather eat than not.

But that's my body's nature, which may be different than yours, so do some trial and error to see what works, but no that there is no set "wrong" in any of this, only differences from person to person.

Enginette

Provided the following conditions are met:

1) You are not exceeding your daily intake goals.
2) You aren't having awful sleep due to late eating.

Then have at it.

I eat my exercise calories, but I usually am still at a deficit (1500 calories net, 1800-2000 calories total). I was trying to reduce my carb in take to 30% but am finding it near impossible, especially considering the amount in the R&R Formula.

I never have trouble sleeping! My head hits the pillow and I am OUT like a light!

you know you don't need to have the R&R drink right after your workout, right? looking at the label it's mostly dextrose and maltodextrin, with a little bit of protein. if you were preforming glycogen depleting workouts, then a fast acting carb + protein may be beneficial, but in this case i don't think it provides any extra benefit.

If you did think it provides a benefit, you could get a 10lb of dextrose for $16 and a 5lb tub of protein for $30+ which would give you many many more servings than the R&R drink

The recommendation is to drink within one hour of working out. What are examples of glycogen depleting workouts? I would assume Insanity and P90X do just that.

Rae6503

Can I be a ***** for a second? Beach body tells you to drink their expensive drink after their expensive workouts?...... Yeah, they are just trying to take you money.

UpEarly

Carbs before bed actually HELP induce sleep! Talk to any doctor that specializes in insomnia and other sleep disorders, and a pre-bed serving of carbs is something they'll pretty consistently recommended. :-)

albinogorilla

I work until midnight, and work out in the midnight to 2am window, and afterward i just knock back a scoop of whey with water, 4 carbs. I try to stay low carb as much as possible anyway though. I put down some carbs before hand to get me through, but dont care much for eating them that late in the day.

Enginette

Can I be a ***** for a second? Beach body tells you to drink their expensive drink after their expensive workouts?...... Yeah, they are just trying to take you money.

What do you use as a post workout recovery drink? There is no denying that good post workout nutrition is important.

musclebuilder

Can I be a ***** for a second? Beach body tells you to drink their expensive drink after their expensive workouts?...... Yeah, they are just trying to take you money.

What do you use as a post workout recovery drink? There is no denying that good post workout nutrition is important.

Protein or protein/carbs are fine for your post WO..I agree with the poster above that you'll get a better bang for your buck buying a tub of protein and seperate carbohydrate source be it dextrose, oats or whatever. And you'll likely get a larger serving of protein from your home made shake which considering your WO schedule is beneficial in my view.

diletta24

since your metabolism works more after exercise (even until 18 hrs later!) it's not only ok have carbs before bed, it's necessary. You'd be more likely to binge at breakfast otherwise. Make sure these are low-medium GI carbs. As you probably know high GI carbs tend to increase new fat synthesis and storage because of high and fast insuline level spike..and bla bla bla Hope it sounds clear