Carbs at night/before inactivity?

It's a classic question that's always being debated, it seems! What are your thoughts: substantial amount of carbs at night -- good or bad? (Obviously there'll be a difference depending on how much is 'substantial' and if they're complex or simple... But let's hear it!)

Replies

_John_

Neutral

AnvilHead

Doesn't matter. CI<CO. Your metabolism is perfectly capable of processing carbs whether you're active, inactive, awake or asleep.

yarwell

Not for me, adding a load of stuff I wasn't going to use would ramp up my glucose stores and increase my fasting blood sugar.

stevencloser

Eating (anything, not just carbs), before bed might make it harder for you to sleep. That's all.

lacroyx

Whether its carbs or other, I personally sleep better if I stop eating at minimum 2hrs before going to sleep. If I find if I eat then go to bed soon after, 90% of the time I have to wake up and go to the bathroom, interrupting my sleep.

Scamd83

stevencloser wrote: »

Eating (anything, not just carbs), before bed might make it harder for you to sleep. That's all.

Opposite for me, carbs and fat at night are great for inducing sleep.

ndj1979

Does not matter one bit for anything....

snickerscharlie

The only thing that matters (barring a medical issue) is whether or not it fit into your calorie budget for the day - not when you ate it. Night time is no different.

ndj1979

cgchow wrote: »

It's a classic question that's always being debated, it seems! What are your thoughts: substantial amount of carbs at night -- good or bad? (Obviously there'll be a difference depending on how much is 'substantial' and if they're complex or simple... But let's hear it!)

actually this has been proven to be a myth and is not a classic question at all ...

lemurcat12

Makes no difference unless eating before bed interferes with your sleep.

RodaRose

I am more likely to have my carbs at night than during the day. They seem to help with sleep sometimes.

dubird

As far as I can tell, it's neither good nor bad for a majority of people. I can have garlic toast and go to bed with no issues. However, some people have medical issues that make it a bad idea, like chronic acid reflux. And in that case, it's not carbs but really anything within a certain time period before sleeping.

_Waffle_

dubird wrote: »

As far as I can tell, it's neither good nor bad for a majority of people. I can have garlic toast and go to bed with no issues. However, some people have medical issues that make it a bad idea, like chronic acid reflux. And in that case, it's not carbs but really anything within a certain time period before sleeping.

Came here to say this. It only matters if you have some type of a reflux that flares up when you lie down at night. It doesn't matter for weight loss.

sijomial

Neither good nor bad.
Only time I worry about carb timing is when I'm cycling 4+ hours and I don't do that at night.

Carbs late at night would tend to help me sleep.

Christine_72

I ate a huge meal the other night right before bed, it was the worst feeling ever! All I wanted to do was get up and walk, walk it off or something. I usually stop eating a few hours before bed. Carb heavy or not, not a good idea for me.
sorry, didn't answer your question, but I think you've got all the answers you need from the above posters.

GsKiki

Just a personal preference. I can't really sleep with full stomach (no matter what food it is). I do know some people who can't fall asleep without eating.
You should do what makes you feel good, there is no scientifically better way to do it.

RoseTheWarrior

My own personal preference: I'm hungry in the mornings, so eat several small meals throughout the day. I eat dinner around 6 p.m. and never eat again after that, because I'm simply not hungry. But regardless, I don't think it matters at all, as long as you are in a caloric deficit, you'll lose weight. Won't matter when you eat, or when you eat carbs in particular.

KeithCornick

For myself personally while away at work my last meal before bed consists of a fair amount of carbs because I train early in the morning on an empty stomach. Found adding carbs to the last meal helped me significantly with energy and strength during my morning workouts. If I was to train later in the day I would avoid carbs during my last meal.

niamibunni

Nothing after 6pm for me. Night snacking was an issue, especially with the carbs. I sleep so much better now and my digestive issues hardly bother me.

nvmomketo

I woud say it depends on cravings and medical issues.

If carbs increase your appetite or cravings then saving it for later in the day might help with that.

If you have insulin resistance then having carbs ate in the day, without exercise, could be a problem for blood glucose levels in the morning. Carbs in the evening affects my FBG.

lemurcat12

KeithCornick wrote: »

For myself personally while away at work my last meal before bed consists of a fair amount of carbs because I train early in the morning on an empty stomach. Found adding carbs to the last meal helped me significantly with energy and strength during my morning workouts. If I was to train later in the day I would avoid carbs during my last meal.

This was true for me when I was running first thing in the morning more regularly. I tend to have starchy carbs at dinner anyway, but sometimes don't, and it mostly makes no difference for me except I think the carbs help when I'm planning a pre breakfast workout.

I do tend to eat late (9 or after) just because of my schedule -- I'm usually not home until after 8. It's usually not right before bed so makes no difference to my sleep, I avoid being stuffed because that's unpleasant anyway, and not only do I not snack, but eating late makes it less likely that I will want to (although even when I go out to dinner early before the theater I rarely want to).

cwolfman13

I have carbs, protein, and fat throughout the day...my meals tend to include all three macro-nutrients...I hit my targets for the day and that is all that is important. The timing of carbs can play some role in performance, particularly before an endurance activity (i.e. a marathon runner may start carb loading a couple of days before the marathon)...and they can play a role in recovery afterwards...but for most people, the benefits of this are substantially misunderstood and people think they need to carb load or whatever before a 5K or have some kind of special recovery formula after a run of the mill workout when in reality, a well balanced and nutritious diet is going to be more than adequate.

I eat dinner most nights around 8:30/9 and it always includes some kind of grain or starch...it had no bearing on me losing 40 Lbs pretty easily, nor has it had any bearing on my almost three years of maintenance.

These types of recommendations like don't eat after X time or don't eat carbs after Y time, etc tend to simply be ways of controlling consumption in the absence of calorie counting or following another prescribed diet plan...unfortunately, do to a lack of understanding, this kind of stuff gets turned into all kinds of woo for which it was never intended.

cgchow

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I have carbs, protein, and fat throughout the day...my meals tend to include all three macro-nutrients...I hit my targets for the day and that is all that is important. The timing of carbs can play some role in performance, particularly before an endurance activity (i.e. a marathon runner may start carb loading a couple of days before the marathon)...and they can play a role in recovery afterwards...but for most people, the benefits of this are substantially misunderstood and people think they need to carb load or whatever before a 5K or have some kind of special recovery formula after a run of the mill workout when in reality, a well balanced and nutritious diet is going to be more than adequate.

I eat dinner most nights around 8:30/9 and it always includes some kind of grain or starch...it had no bearing on me losing 40 Lbs pretty easily, nor has it had any bearing on my almost three years of maintenance.

These types of recommendations like don't eat after X time or don't eat carbs after Y time, etc tend to simply be ways of controlling consumption in the absence of calorie counting or following another prescribed diet plan...unfortunately, do to a lack of understanding, this kind of stuff gets turned into all kinds of woo for which it was never intended.

This is generally how I've felt about the whole carb thing, too. Just keeping it balanced as long as I'm not going for intense workouts. So many people put a ton of stock in the whole matter, though. I know some people who try and cut carbs drastically/avoid them like the plague altogether-- and I'm like "...but we need carbs. They're kind of important. Just hit your other macros, too..."

Congrats on the 40lbs and maintenance, btw!!

cgchow

Christine_72 wrote: »

I ate a huge meal the other night right before bed, it was the worst feeling ever! All I wanted to do was get up and walk, walk it off or something. I usually stop eating a few hours before bed. Carb heavy or not, not a good idea for me.
sorry, didn't answer your question, but I think you've got all the answers you need from the above posters.

Those kinds of situations are when we wish we could power-sleepwalk, right?

Christine_72

cgchow wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

I ate a huge meal the other night right before bed, it was the worst feeling ever! All I wanted to do was get up and walk, walk it off or something. I usually stop eating a few hours before bed. Carb heavy or not, not a good idea for me.
sorry, didn't answer your question, but I think you've got all the answers you need from the above posters.

Those kinds of situations are when we wish we could power-sleepwalk, right?

Haha Yes indeedy! I'll be in to that

Erica_theRedhead

Scamd83 wrote: »

stevencloser wrote: »

Eating (anything, not just carbs), before bed might make it harder for you to sleep. That's all.

Opposite for me, carbs and fat at night are great for inducing sleep.

Same here, I work overnight and have to have some oatmeal or toast before bed. It helps get me to sleep better than protein/fat alone.

Hornsby

Of the 500 grams of carbs of had today, 200 have come since 6pm. I'll be a bit bloated in the morning I'm sure.

stevencloser

kimyrachel wrote: »

Not Bad At All. Take it from me.. I get my daily 90% of my calories from carbs (rice, pasta, veggies and fruits) I eat whenever I am hungry, no restriction, no matter what time of the day. So don't worry about carbs at night!

That doesn't seem healthy.

SteveJWatson

Like others have said, its personal preference - I tend to eat most of my carbs in the day, leaving none of my budget left for my evening meal. I find it helps me perform better at work, having a physical job, no reason other than that...

senecarr

stevencloser wrote: »

kimyrachel wrote: »

Not Bad At All. Take it from me.. I get my daily 90% of my calories from carbs (rice, pasta, veggies and fruits) I eat whenever I am hungry, no restriction, no matter what time of the day. So don't worry about carbs at night!

That doesn't seem healthy.

Yeah, I'm hoping the 90% is that 90% of her foods are carb rich rather than 90% of her macros are carbs. Though if one had a TDEE of 6000 kcal, the maybe then it would be ok? 600 calories would leave room for 80 grams of protein and 31 grams of fat. Eh, even that sounds a little off, particularly protein for someone who could sustain 6000 kcal worth of daily activity.