Carbs At Night: Fat Loss Killer Or Imaginary Boogeyman?

reegordon

I've never posted before (except when I first signed up) but I do read and comment on a lot of posts. I'm always on bodybuilding.com and thought this would be interesting to share with those who watch their carb intake.

Here's the link to copy and paste:

http://bbcom.me/Ndxl6i

magerum

Myth. I eat almost all my 300 - 400 g of carbs between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm. Then off to bed. Hasn't hindered my weight goals

Jester522

Myth. bb.com... hahah I wont go there.

ninerbuff

Broscience. Always a fact on BB.com.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

anemoneprose

I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter for 99% of people. The only issue with eating anything late is making your gut work when it's supposed to rest. (Which carbs help you do better & faster.)

Sarauk2sf

Here is an abstract of an actual study that indicates that carbs at night may actually be beneficial:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21475137

<snip>A simple dietary manipulation of carbohydrate distribution appears to have additional benefits when compared to a conventional weight loss diet in individuals suffering from obesity. It might also be beneficial for individuals suffering from insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Further research is required to confirm and clarify the mechanisms by which this relatively simple diet approach enhances satiety, leads to better anthropometric outcomes, and achieves improved metabolic response, compared to a more conventional dietary approach.<snip>

Lift_hard_eat_big

I'm eating cookie dough cheesecake as I type this. I'll go to bed after I'm done eating. I have no problem cutting when I eat carbs, fats or protein at night, morning, I eat whatever, whenever.

MoreBean13

I'm eating cookie dough cheesecake as I type this. I'll go to bed after I'm done eating. I have no problem cutting when I eat carbs, fats or protein at night, morning, I eat whatever, whenever.

I need more information on this cookie dough cheesecake. Sounds like something I NEED to add to my bedtime routine.

I always have a carb snack before bed. Helps the sugar plum faeries do their job.

AntWrig

I will say it depends on the person.

BootCampC

real boogie man , if its sugar

reegordon

The article is not saying that eating carbs at night makes you fat and actually leans toward the notion that it may be better. Everyone should do what works for them. If I followed all the advice I got when starting out, I would probably still be overweight and miserable.

Matt_Wild

No difference tbh. I'd aim for complex carbs myself however to prevent snacking tho.

_LilPowerHouse

For ME, as a diabetic, carbs at night SUCK!!!!
I wake up with a "Hangover" feeling because of the spike..

1973CJ5

I always eat before bed, otherwise I wake up in the middle of the night hungry.

BeantownSooner

I do believe it is individualized and each must make their own decisions. Will it hurt probably not? But, could it also be helpful for some? Probably so. To those that say, "It hasn't hurt me?", I simply ask, "Could you even be further along?"

I'll caveat a bit upfront. IF you exercise 1st thing in the morning and still have ample amounts of fat to lose "fasting" overnight could be beneficial. Not just carb restricting but simply don't eat before bed.

The reason:
Exercise (especially cardio-based) does two things metabolically. It burns calories and affects hormone levels in your body. Specifically, it helps raise levels of norepinephrine. Norepinephrine is a natural hormone in our bodies which underlies our "fight-or-flight" response and directly increases heart-rate which triggers the release of glucose from energy stores. Glucose is stored in our bodies are Glycogen where liver and muscle has only so much storage space. The rest of it is stored in our fat cells. The inverse of this can be seen as a rise in Insulin.

When you "fast" overnight, the levels of liver and muscle glycogen are normally very low when you wake up 1st thing in the morning. With depleted glycogen and low-blood sugar, you'll have the most optimal environment to burn fat instead of carbohydrates. Since carbs and glycogen are your body's primary and preferred source of energy if you have them available it will always use them first. When they're low (or non-existent) your body has little choice to tap into it's secondary energy source which is fat. Obviously our bodies are not that selective on what it'll burn as you'll likely use energy from all 3 sources but in this state the majority will come from stored fat.

As always it's an individual situation. Those with low-body fat already this probably would have a negative affect as if there's not much fat the body turns to muscle. Those that exercise at night this is probably much tougher to accomplish since you'll surely consume carbs throughout the day so there will always be a supply there.

That said, if you have a lot of fat you want to lose, eat ample amounts of protein to minimize muscle loss, can "fast" overnight and still push hard in your morning workouts then this could be an effective part of your weight loss strategy.

reegordon

I do believe it is individualized and each must make their own decisions. Will it hurt probably not? But, could it also be helpful for some? Probably so. To those that say, "It hasn't hurt me?", I simply ask, "Could you even be further along?"

I'll caveat a bit upfront. IF you exercise 1st thing in the morning and still have ample amounts of fat to lose "fasting" overnight could be beneficial. Not just carb restricting but simply don't eat before bed.

The reason:
Exercise (especially cardio-based) does two things metabolically. It burns calories and affects hormone levels in your body. Specifically, it helps raise levels of norepinephrine. Norepinephrine is a natural hormone in our bodies which underlies our "fight-or-flight" response and directly increases heart-rate which triggers the release of glucose from energy stores. Glucose is stored in our bodies are Glycogen where liver and muscle has only so much storage space. The rest of it is stored in our fat cells. The inverse of this can be seen as a rise in Insulin.

When you "fast" overnight, the levels of liver and muscle glycogen are normally very low when you wake up 1st thing in the morning. With depleted glycogen and low-blood sugar, you'll have the most optimal environment to burn fat instead of carbohydrates. Since carbs and glycogen are your body's primary and preferred source of energy if you have them available it will always use them first. When they're low (or non-existent) your body has little choice to tap into it's secondary energy source which is fat. Obviously our bodies are not that selective on what it'll burn as you'll likely use energy from all 3 sources but in this state the majority will come from stored fat.

As always it's an individual situation. Those with low-body fat already this probably would have a negative affect as if there's not much fat the body turns to muscle. Those that exercise at night this is probably much tougher to accomplish since you'll surely consume carbs throughout the day so there will always be a supply there.

That said, if you have a lot of fat you want to lose, eat ample amounts of protein to minimize muscle loss, can "fast" overnight and still push hard in your morning workouts then this could be an effective part of your weight loss strategy.

Well said!

SideSteel

I do believe it is individualized and each must make their own decisions. Will it hurt probably not? But, could it also be helpful for some? Probably so. To those that say, "It hasn't hurt me?", I simply ask, "Could you even be further along?"

I'll caveat a bit upfront. IF you exercise 1st thing in the morning and still have ample amounts of fat to lose "fasting" overnight could be beneficial. Not just carb restricting but simply don't eat before bed.

The reason:
Exercise (especially cardio-based) does two things metabolically. It burns calories and affects hormone levels in your body. Specifically, it helps raise levels of norepinephrine. Norepinephrine is a natural hormone in our bodies which underlies our "fight-or-flight" response and directly increases heart-rate which triggers the release of glucose from energy stores. Glucose is stored in our bodies are Glycogen where liver and muscle has only so much storage space. The rest of it is stored in our fat cells. The inverse of this can be seen as a rise in Insulin.

When you "fast" overnight, the levels of liver and muscle glycogen are normally very low when you wake up 1st thing in the morning. With depleted glycogen and low-blood sugar, you'll have the most optimal environment to burn fat instead of carbohydrates. Since carbs and glycogen are your body's primary and preferred source of energy if you have them available it will always use them first. When they're low (or non-existent) your body has little choice to tap into it's secondary energy source which is fat. Obviously our bodies are not that selective on what it'll burn as you'll likely use energy from all 3 sources but in this state the majority will come from stored fat.

As always it's an individual situation. Those with low-body fat already this probably would have a negative affect as if there's not much fat the body turns to muscle. Those that exercise at night this is probably much tougher to accomplish since you'll surely consume carbs throughout the day so there will always be a supply there.

That said, if you have a lot of fat you want to lose, eat ample amounts of protein to minimize muscle loss, can "fast" overnight and still push hard in your morning workouts then this could be an effective part of your weight loss strategy.

Respectfully, I think you have it backwards. Lyle would concur:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-qa.html


Fatty acid mobilization is typically not an issue in obese people, and mobilization is the key thing that improves during fasted training.

Already-lean people MAY have some benefit from fasted training. For the obese, it's probably not going to make any appreciable difference and I'd let personal preference rule method in this case.


But I think that overall, if you're worried about the amount of fat oxidation that occurs DURING the training bout, you're absolutely micro-managing the irrelevant details ESPECIALLY if you're not already lean.

BrianSharpe

Interesting read, thanks for the link.

curvystormcloud

I'm eating cookie dough cheesecake as I type this. I'll go to bed after I'm done eating. I have no problem cutting when I eat carbs, fats or protein at night, morning, I eat whatever, whenever.

I'm going to go with whatever this gentleman recommends. Clearly the cheesecake is working for him. *holds out plate* yes, please.

joejccva71

Meal timing is irrelevant. Carb timing is irrelevant. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want. But stay under your TDEE. Simple.

Matt_Wild

Meal timing is irrelevant. Carb timing is irrelevant. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want. But stay under your TDEE. Simple.

Carb timing is not irrelevant. Otherwise, why would body builders use insulin and growth hormone to spike protein/carbs into the muscle?

Of course in your every day person, the carb timing is faaaaaaaaaaaaar less important but to say it is irrelevant is a point of debate, not a set fact either way as there are many studies showing pro's and con's of both.