Confused about carbs

H

hello_kitty

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I tried to post it on the men's forum but didn't get any replies. Hopefully here would be better.

From reading posts on this forum I understand that to lose weight I need to eat most carbs in the first half of the day. So I figured out using various calculators that I should be eating around 35g of carbs, 25g of protein and 6g of fat per meal 5 times a day. What confuses me is how to manage not to eat any carbs (or just vegetables) in my meals 4 and 5. Am I supposed to split my daily carb requirement between my 3 first meals then? But I cannot possibly fit that much into me in one sitting and then will I not go hungry in the evening on just chicken breast and spinach?
 
If you are eating balanced out like that with each meal then you can continue to eat like that through your last meal of the day. Really what happens for most folks is they eat a huge amount of carbs right before bed when their sensitivity levels are not high and you know the rest.
 
I'd stick with eating 1 carb and 1 protein at each meal. As Evolution said... most people gorge on carbs at night. This is not good. But if you eat good carbs AND protein at each meal (including those later in the day) you should be fine.

One caveat- fruit is better during the first half of the day. Try to keep the later carbs more complex (veggies, sweet potato, brown rice, etc).
 
aaarg im so confused.

i was told to remove all carbs from my 9-10pm post workout evening meal.

should i be having a sweet potato with my chicken and veg?

im finding that i keep reaching for the bran flakes about nowish
ben
 
benelson101 said:
i was told to remove all carbs from my 9-10pm post workout evening meal.
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That's because these people don't know what they're talking about. These are the ones that will tell you that carbs make you fat.
 
I probably told you that but that was because you said you were going to bed right after your workout. I don't eat carbs right before I go to bed. It works for me. I eat carbs all throughout the rest of the day though.
 
benelson101 said:
aaarg im so confused.

i was told to remove all carbs from my 9-10pm post workout evening meal.

should i be having a sweet potato with my chicken and veg?

im finding that i keep reaching for the bran flakes about nowish
ben
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There are different types of carbs. You don't want a apple before bed but chow down on lettuce, carrots, veggies kind of thing.

You want a carb before bed that give the least amont of fast spiking, you want a slow burning light carb like veggies.
 
Actually, after theleip posted that I have to retract my previous post. I eat chicken/tuna and broccoli almost every day not long before bedtime. Broccoli is obviously carbs.

Evolution, right after you work out should you eat carbs regardless...even if you're about to go to bed? For the last five years I've been avoiding starchy carbs right before bedtime regardless of my workout schedule. Maybe I've been wrong this whole time...
 
i always eat plenty of veg and it is close to what should be bed time. maybe if i could sleep properly it wouldnt be so much of an issue.

i presume sweet potatoes are a pre-bed no no?
 
I was revenous just before going to bed last night. Had to stick to cucumber, celery and some cottage cheese but a little slice of brown bread would've been soooo nice.
 
right there with you.

unfortunately i was having a bad night and gave into a bowl of frosties and a bowl of bran flakes. its too easy to make excuses.
 
I don't eat sweet potatoes right before bed but let's see what the experts have to say...maybe I've been depriving myself all this time at night for no reason :)

A couple of bowls of cereal won't kill ya so don't worry about it! :)
 
evo nailed it. there's nothing wrong with some carbs before bed, especially good sources of them. but personally i feel items like oats, potatoes, etc should be had earlier in the day to help fuel training sessions. :)
 
teresand77 said:
Evolution, right after you work out should you eat carbs regardless...even if you're about to go to bed? For the last five years I've been avoiding starchy carbs right before bedtime regardless of my workout schedule. Maybe I've been wrong this whole time...
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Your body can best utilize carbs in the morning and after a workout.
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again; a calorie is a calorie. Point is that to much of anything will make you fat and not enough of something will deter from performance. For most trainees, sensible calories within a 24 hour period is what is needed. For those individuals that are striving for certain reasons to get to a very very low bodyfat percentage may need to manipulate nutrient timing.

As a random number, 20 or 30 grams of carbs near bedtime isn't going to make you fat...100 grams maybe a bit much if the body cannot utilize it in the liver or the muscle.
 
Carbs Before bed

If your workout at night, I think taking in your carbs and protein before you go to bed, is a great Idea. Remember, if you don't give your body the fuel to repair itself from your workout, you won't get much if any benefit.

As far as carbs, the best ones are the unrefined ones, like, sweet potatoes, yams, oatmeal, brown rice, etc.

For me carb intake should be based on your acitivity levels.

This is why I don't like those formulas for determining your calorie intake, only you know I physical your are.

What I mean by that is this, who do think needs more carbs, the person who has a desk job.

Or the person who digs ditches for a living.

I know this is a silly example, but, I mean of course the person who digs ditches needs to not only eat more carbs but more food in general.

To me I think we are all getting crazy about the carb issue, if you stick to eating mainly, and I say mainly because we all eat junk food, good carbs in sensible amounts and stick to your workouts you will be fine in the long term.

And this leads me to my last point, by eating all kinds of foods, carbs fat and protein and yes, junk food, you will be less likely to feel deprived, so you'll stick to your eating plan over the long haul, which is how real body changes take place.

Hope this helps.
 
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