Carbs at night if didn't have enough carbs during the day

danctes
danctes Posts: 2 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hello!

If I didn't have my carbs in the morning, should I take them now at night or do carbs make you fat if eaten at this time of day?

If I take my missing carbs of the day than my daily intake is going to be as targeted (no extra protein for the day).

Or should I just have a normal meal (chicken, rice and veggies) and cut my losses because my muscles will need protein overnight (this will end my day with too much protein intake and too little carbs).

Today was a workout day.

I'm a beginner so sorry if my question doesn't make sense or if I say the same thing too many times, but wanted to make sure I made everything clear in the first post.

The photo shows how my nutrition chart looks today, before my last meal.

There is a little too much fat because of the breakfast.

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Thank you!

Replies

  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 2,705 Member
    edited December 2020
    You say you're a beginner so my first word to you is relax. You do not need to stress over your exact levels of nutrients or macros every day. The first thing you need to tackle is your calories.

    You don't mention whether you are trying to lose weight, gain weight, or any other specific goal.
    Most folk on MFP are trying to lose weight but the principles are the same whatever you are aiming for.

    I bet you didn't worry about macros before you joined mfp and a few more days not worrying about them won't hurt. For a while just concentrate on finding out about the food you like to eat. Eat your usual foods but log everything. You will soon learn the calorie value of different foods and you can adjust your diet accordingly. After a couple of weeks you can look back over the diary at the nutrient and macros and start to plan ahead to get the best mix of nutrients for you.

    By the way, you still don't need to hit the exact figures each day - weekly averages are fine.
    If you are changing your way of eating you should take small steps - you will get there if you persevere but if you make it too difficult you may give up.

    edited to add - you posted this in the "gaining weight and body building" thread so I guess you're not trying to lose weight but the principle is the same.
  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 2,705 Member
    I forgot to answer your specific question

    "If I didn't have my carbs in the morning, should I take them now at night or do carbs make you fat if eaten at this time of day?"

    The answer is it makes no measurable difference what time of day you eat a particular food (providing of course it doesn't upset your stomach or keep you awake at night).

    RELAX!
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    As above, I wouldn’t worry too much about macros right away. I personally tend to eat lower fat and when I noticed it, I tweaked some things (swapped out 1% cottage cheese for 4% for example).

    Meal prepping in advance will be your best option to get close on your macros. Again, seconding above, you do NOT need to hit the macros perfectly. I personally don’t worry about my carbs at all, but I love carbs and seem to get plenty of them without thinking about it.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,966 Member
    I think you're overstressing (and maybe overthinking) about the macros. Bodies are adaptable and flexible.

    It doesn't matter when you eat your carbs, unless the timing affects your appetite (making it easier/harder to stick to calorie goal) or your energy level (making it easier/harder for you to keep up everything in daily life and have good exercise intensity).

    If overall (over a day or the course of multiple days) you're in a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight; if you're in a calorie surplus, you'll gain weight; if your calories in/out balance out on average, you maintain your current weight. When you eat the calories doesn't matter.

    Nutritionally, you need a certain minimum of protein, fat and fiber for best odds of good health. (It's also a good plan to get in at least 5, and ideally more, servings of veggies/fruit for micros.) Once you have those in, you can spend your remaining calories any way you want to: Carbs, protein, fats. Carbs are not (in the technical sense of the term) an "essential nutrient". Your body can manufacture them out of other things, basically. It can't do that with protein (essential amino acids) or fats. So you need to consume protein and fats, for best health.

    As far as timing, there's IMU still some dispute (including in the research) about whether it's better to spread protein over the day vs. concentrating it in certain meals (and the answer may differ by age, activities, etc.) The average healthy person, though, doesn't need to obsess about that. (May matter more to elite athletes or people with certain health issues.)

    For weight management, what matters is calories, and only calories, especially in the short run. In the longer run, sub-par nutrition can tank energy level (reducing calorie expenditure) or cause cravings (making it hard to stick with a calorie goal long enough to achieve your goals). In those ways, nutrition may indirectly affect weight management goals in the long run. But as far as direct effects: It's calories. Nutrition is for health, energy, body composition, etc.

    You're doing fine.
  • danctes
    danctes Posts: 2 Member
    Yes, I am trying to build muscle and also think I got it:
    - no, it doesn't matter what time of the day you eat your macros (the actual answer to the question);
    - focus on calories and not on macros especially if you're not a professional athlete;
    - relax and enjoy.

    Thank you, everyone, for your well constructed, well argumented, detailed, kind and grammatically correct answers!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    If you want a more flexible approach then an alternate and popular way to look at macros is to regarding your calorie goal as the over-arching priority and within that goal regard protein and fat as minimum goals (in grams not percentages). Once those minimums are met the rest of that day's calorie allowance can come from any macro.
    This explains it in more detail....

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

    Do remember that a MyFitnessPal daily calorie goal intends you to add an estimated burn from your exercise. e.g. the base calorie goal is only for a day with no purposeful exercise.

    The specific question of carbs late in the day - in reality carbs are very rarely stored as fat, you would more likely just be topping up your glycogen reserves. A good thing for someone who exercises.

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