No carbs after lunch?

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Daphne1994
Daphne1994 Posts: 32
in Food and Nutrition
Not that i follow this or plan on following this rule, but i dont really understand it. Vegetables and fruit are carbs for example. So i cant eat an apple for my afternoon snack? lol. or do they mean pasta, breads, rice, etc. Just curious
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  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    That's a silly rule. Where did you hear that?
  • sissiluv
    sissiluv Posts: 2,205 Member
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    Sounds like a load of bull to me. Complex carbs are good for you!
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    Haven't the faintest idea....I wouldn't try to follow something like that. they probably mean pasta and bread, but still....sometimes I have a bowl of cereal as a late night snack....
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
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    The only reason I would cut down on carbs after lunch is if they gave me digestion issues like bloating. Otherwise, eat on.
  • simplyciera
    simplyciera Posts: 168 Member
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    The only reason I would cut down on carbs after lunch is if they gave me digestion issues like bloating. Otherwise, eat on.

    I agree. i don't eat carbs after 5 because they make me bloat and retain water. For those that don't suffer from that, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. Even though you metabolize slower throughout the day: the slowest at night and when you're sleep. So when you eat a lot of carbs at night, you won't burn through them as quickly like if you ate them in the morning. But it all does come down to you have to burn more than you consume. Do what makes you feel comfortable!
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
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    It doesn't matter when you eat carbs. In fact it's probably better to eat carbs, especially starchy carbs later in the day. Think about it. They typical breakfast is fairly high in carbs and what do we do around 10:30? Drink coffee to wake us up. Around noon we have another dosing of carbs and around 2-3 we can barely keep our eyes open. I have been trying this approach. Low carbs higher fat during the day except for after a workout and lower fat higher carbs in the evening. I noticed I don't have afternoon slumps.
  • Daphne1994
    Daphne1994 Posts: 32
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    I totally agree with all you guys, i was just confused by the rule. I have heard it before but what prompted me to ask was in another post it is listed as one of the skinny rules by bob harper.
  • 2stepscloser
    2stepscloser Posts: 2,900 Member
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    I try to eat the majority of my carbs (breads, pastas, etc.) during the day so my body has time to burn them off. I still eat fruits and veggies at night.
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
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    I try to eat the majority of my carbs (breads, pastas, etc.) during the day so my body has time to burn them off. I still eat fruits and veggies at night.
    It doesn't matter when you eat the bread and pasta, your body will burn it off morning, noon or night.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
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    The only reason I would cut down on carbs after lunch is if they gave me digestion issues like bloating. Otherwise, eat on.

    I agree. i don't eat carbs after 5 because they make me bloat and retain water. For those that don't suffer from that, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. Even though you metabolize slower throughout the day: the slowest at night and when you're sleep. So when you eat a lot of carbs at night, you won't burn through them as quickly like if you ate them in the morning. But it all does come down to you have to burn more than you consume. Do what makes you feel comfortable!
    carbs also cause me to bloat and retain water, i stopped caring cause I know it doesnt mean I am getting fatter, it also doesnt mean my fat stores arent getting smaller
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
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    I try to eat the majority of my carbs (breads, pastas, etc.) during the day so my body has time to burn them off. I still eat fruits and veggies at night.
    thank god fruits dont have carbs
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Not that i follow this or plan on following this rule, but i dont really understand it. Vegetables and fruit are carbs for example. So i cant eat an apple for my afternoon snack? lol. or do they mean pasta, breads, rice, etc. Just curious

    Who's "they?"

    I worried a lot more about carbs when I was sedentary and I think it can be beneficial for truly sedentary people...now that I lift, run, and do a whole bunch of other stuff, I eat all the carbs and eat them whenever the hell I want to. If I didn't eat the carbs with my workout regimen, I'd be hitting the wall by lunch.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I try to eat the majority of my carbs (breads, pastas, etc.) during the day so my body has time to burn them off. I still eat fruits and veggies at night.
    It doesn't matter when you eat the bread and pasta, your body will burn it off morning, noon or night.
    ^^this

    Some people with medical reasons like diabetes need to time things to avoid spikes and whatnot, but the only good reason most of us have for eating things at certain times is personal preference. You won't burn more or less or have it turn into or not turn into fat (or gold :bigsmile: ) based on when you eat it. It has been pretty conclusively proven that meal timing doesn't matter. Total calories matters for weight loss (must be less than you burn) and macros matter for general health. When you get them throughout the day does not matter. Whoever "they" are, I would be very wary of any other advice also.
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
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    A body builder in my gym said that to aid weight loss I shouldn't eat carbs after 6pm.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    A body builder in my gym said that to aid weight loss I shouldn't eat carbs after 6pm.

    I eat around 400 grams of carbs a day all the way up to laying in bed at night and have lost a few pounds so either I am a special snowflake or your bodybuilder friend hasn't a clue..... OP the only reason to restrict carbs in the evening would be if you have digestive issues or maybe acid reflux that would cause you discomfort when you go to bed.... Carbs are not the enemy, never have been never will be.... Best of Luck
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
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    See this is the confusing thing about this site at times. On one hand I've a professional body builder saying one thing and on the other I've got a guy who has lost over 300lbs telling me the opposite - it's quite confusing for us noobs ;)

    Guess its horses for courses eh?
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    I try to eat the majority of my carbs (breads, pastas, etc.) during the day so my body has time to burn them off. I still eat fruits and veggies at night.
    It doesn't matter when you eat the bread and pasta, your body will burn it off morning, noon or night.
    ^^this

    Some people with medical reasons like diabetes need to time things to avoid spikes and whatnot, but the only good reason most of us have for eating things at certain times is personal preference. You won't burn more or less or have it turn into or not turn into fat (or gold :bigsmile: ) based on when you eat it. It has been pretty conclusively proven that meal timing doesn't matter. Total calories matters for weight loss (must be less than you burn) and macros matter for general health. When you get them throughout the day does not matter. Whoever "they" are, I would be very wary of any other advice also.

    QFT and will add even some of us (Type 2 Diabetic diagnosed in 2009) can just use personal preference as well.. I know now how my body responds to spikes and low blood sugars and adjust my eating according to these times... I never go to the gym fasted, never go to bed without a certain amount of carbs/calories in me (to avoid 3 a.m. blood sugars crashes), etc, etc.... it does all come down to personal preference and doing what works best for you....
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    See this is the confusing thing about this site at times. On one hand I've a professional body builder saying one thing and on the other I've got a guy who has lost over 300lbs telling me the opposite - it's quite confusing for us noobs ;)

    Guess its horses for courses eh?

    My general philosophy may be different than this Pro bodybuilder.... and whether he is bulking (off season) or cutting (in contest mode).... I base my caloric intake and macro's on general overall health and well being ( I am 42 and not looking to compete against anyone but myself) so I am a firm believer in fueling my body for the workout I ask of it to do... That being said I believe I do this with carbs as my main macro so I tend to stick to a 50/25/25 split (Carbs,Protein,Fats) and my body responds nicely to this ratio... I start 40/30/30 but have adjust to where I am now... Again personal preference is the key and find what works best for you...... At 560 lbs. (and a Noob) I had no clue what I was doing other than I knew I was consuming over 10,000 calories a day maintaining my 500+ pound body so I have spent the last 4 years doing trial and error..... Best of Luck
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    See this is the confusing thing about this site at times. On one hand I've a professional body builder saying one thing and on the other I've got a guy who has lost over 300lbs telling me the opposite - it's quite confusing for us noobs ;)

    Guess its horses for courses eh?
    On a lot of questions, there are competing small studies that might reach different conclusions. As far as meal timing goes (and by meal, I just mean consumption) all the theories that it matters were crushed by studies and data mining not all that long ago. The data mining was one of those "DUH" moments for the medical field. They have more data than they know what to do with from various facilities where patients are fed on varying schedules, weighed, measured, etc, plus there were studies done explicitly to test the effects of eating at different times. They found only a very slight effect for protein before strenuous workouts, but nothing else consistently mattered to a measurable degree.
  • KimLee76
    KimLee76 Posts: 89
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    Not that i follow this or plan on following this rule, but i dont really understand it. Vegetables and fruit are carbs for example. So i cant eat an apple for my afternoon snack? lol. or do they mean pasta, breads, rice, etc. Just curious

    Well, just to look at it, it appears to be saying no carbs after lunch lol so I'd take it at face value and assume that would include all carbs.

    Now for the part you did not ask, made a disclaimer lol, yet it still keeps getting answered...there are all sorts of plans with rules about what to eat when for some reason or other. Even the more popularly accepted 6 small meals a day is one such rule. Theoretically, it seems that it should not matter when you eat but how much. I guess this is mostly true (metabolism effects aside), but that doesn't mean I'd test the validity by starving all day and consuming all my calories in one meal right before bed. I prefer to eat most of my carbs earlier in the day not because of any gastroestinal issues (I can eat cold pizza and drink a pot of coffee right before and sleep like a baby) but because that's when I need the most energy.

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