RunningAHEAD - Topic: no Carbs at night debate

charismama

posted: 6/6/2008 at 4:04 PM

DH is a personal trainer, he has been trying tooth and nail to get me to stop eating carbs at night to lose weight faster. He says Ill burn fat instead of sugar when sleeping. Is there some scientific facts behind this? I dont want to follow what seems like another ridiculous rule to lose weight. I eat healthy, I exercise,.. as long as im in my calorie range isnt that all that matters? What are your thoughts? Apologies if there is already a thread on this subject its hard to search something as broad as carbs.

Sara

2009 Long Branch NJ half marathon

Ennay

A Saucy Wench

posted: 6/6/2008 at 4:14 PM

define carbs at night If you mean whole grain stuff with dinner thats one thing, if you mean cookies before bed that is quite another. Tongue

I say calorie is a calorie EXCEPT if you have specific problems with carbs. I dont eat refined carbs or carbs alone before bed because I dont SLEEP as well and I tend to wake up hungry in the middle of the night if I do. On the other hand I have been insulin resistant in the past and clearly have blood sugar sensitivities. If I am hungry before bed I have protein. At dinner I have a whole grain carb. I dont buy the "burn sugar" "burn fat" thing with eating /not eating certain foods at certain times. That to me sounds like the same fad that brought us the fat burning zone myth. So say you burn FAT for energy at one time and SUGAR for energy at another. Whoop dee doo. At the end of the day your body is going to replace the energy burned with energy from food and fat stores will be adjusted accordingly.

I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

Daddyo

Go Pre!

posted: 6/6/2008 at 4:15 PM
modified: 6/6/2008 at 4:17 PM

Quote from charismama on 6/6/2008 at 4:04 PM:

DH is a personal trainer, he has been trying tooth and nail to get me to stop eating carbs at night to lose weight faster. He says Ill burn fat instead of sugar when sleeping. Is there some scientific facts behind this? I dont want to follow what seems like another ridiculous rule to lose weight. I eat healthy, I exercise,.. as long as im in my calorie range isnt that all that matters? What are your thoughts? Apologies if there is already a thread on this subject its hard to search something as broad as carbs.

Eat carbs. Don't eat 'em past 6 or 7 if you can help it. MTA: Drink water in the evenings or eat celery if you are feeling like snacking after 7PM. Monitor your overall intake accordingly. Keep running. You will lose weight. I lost 40lbs in about 1 year this way, and another 10 over the last year. If you don't eat the carbs, your workouts the next day will suffer. Bonus, do some light strengthening in the early evening (crunches, pushups, stretching etc) This will keep your metabolism up.

https://twitter.com/BeachesRunner

Ennay

A Saucy Wench

posted: 6/6/2008 at 4:18 PM

Quote from Daddyo on 6/6/2008 at 4:15 PM:

Eat carbs. Don't eat 'em past 6 or 7 if you can help it. Drink water in the evenings or eat celery if you are hungry. .

Celery makes me ravenous. Seriously ravenous. Celery and carrots are weird food for me. I cant eat them with out eating down the house 20 minutes later. Roll eyes

I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

Daddyo

Go Pre!

posted: 6/6/2008 at 4:26 PM

Quote from Ennay on 6/6/2008 at 4:18 PM:

Celery makes me ravenous. Seriously ravenous. Celery and carrots are weird food for me. I cant eat them with out eating down the house 20 minutes later.

That's hilarius. I have never heard of that. Watch carrots though....high sugar.

https://twitter.com/BeachesRunner

Marcus L S

The Greatest of All Time

posted: 6/6/2008 at 4:42 PM

I have heard this theory for years. Maybe it's accurate, maybe not. I have never read scientific evidence only heard anecdotal stories. From a metabolism standpoint, I think the burn fat not sugar bit while sleeping is incorrect. You will burn fat while sleeping no matter when you eat carbs. In fact, you burn fat sitting at your desk or while watching tv. You just don't burn much and it's mostly muscle triglycerides as opposed to fat stores from adipose tissue. This is why it's so hard to lose weight sitting on the couch Wink

all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.

Tchuck

SMART Approach

posted: 6/6/2008 at 4:48 PM

You will burn fat and sugar while sleeping. Let's just say it is a good habit to modify or limit simple carbs in evening unless you are refueling after a work out. I then would not deprive. I generally counseled my clients this way. It is very true that the body handles carbs best after work outs and in the a.m. I personally try to consume most of my carbs in a.m. unless long runs in pm then I will eat more in p.m. I really think balance is the answer. Carbs are not evil. Sugar/simple carbs are not great. Focus on nutritious, higher fiber whole grain carbs, veggies and some colorful fruit (in a.m.) and you will be just fine. Of course, make sure you take in some protein each meal also as it has a higher thermic effect than either carbs or fat and will burn more calories in digestion.

Run Coach. Recovery Coach. Founder of SMART Approach Training, Coaching & Recovery

Structured Marathon Adaptive Recovery Training

Safe Muscle Activation Recovery Technique

www.smartapproachtraining.com

valleygirl

posted: 6/6/2008 at 5:14 PM
modified: 6/6/2008 at 5:15 PM

Quote from Ennay on 6/6/2008 at 4:18 PM:

Celery makes me ravenous. Seriously ravenous. Celery and carrots are weird food for me. I cant eat them with out eating down the house 20 minutes later.

Apples do this to me! RE: high sugar in carrots? - seriously, folks - how many people do you think are overweight because they eat carrots? Sorry, Daddyo, it's nothing personal, just a pet peeve of mine. Wink

~ Mary ~

"Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about them, I just do them. The decision has already been made." - Patti Sue Plumer

RunZRun

running yogi

posted: 6/6/2008 at 5:18 PM

You have to find what works best for you. I could never eat a low carb dinner. That's the way I was brought up. So I carb load and have oats for breakfast. I eat at least 3 hours before my run. Run during lunch and have veges and protein for lunch. Strictly no carbs. Fruits for snack. Then for dinner I do carbs, but always whole grain, with fish or chicken and veges at 6:30pm everyday. Then yoga about 2 hours later. I lost 20lb,(went from size 8 to 2). After the entire process, this is what I believe in "calories in calories out". I eat very healthy, but I don't eat too much. It took me a year to lose those pounds though, but I think I will be able to maintain it, because I didn't make drastic changes to my diet. Also I "watch" my calories only 5 days a week. 2 days a week I just let go.

Marcus L S

The Greatest of All Time

posted: 6/6/2008 at 5:29 PM
modified: 6/6/2008 at 5:29 PM

Todd, After reading your report it made me think about when and what I eat. I am a huge fiber fan (at least 50g per day). Breakfast after my morning workout is by far my largest meal of the day and the most carb dense. My lunch is pretty spartan, but I have a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. All of my daily fruit is eaten by 1:00 pm. Even though I am not running right now, I am still working out twice a day M-Th as if I was running. And my dinner is still generally a protein shake in skim milk with some dextrose. In fact, it's that meal where I consume the most sugar at one sitting. After that I just nibble on cheese, crackers, or nuts but all of this is about an hour before bed time. Come to think of it, I consume protein with about everything I eat. Yes, every meal or snack contains protein and more than just a nominal amount. I guess you could sum up my diet as follows: 50/25/25; C/F/P High fiber Highish protein Adequate carbs Adequate fats (mostly from dairy, nuts, and peanut butter) MTA: Sorry for the threadjack. Carry on.

all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.

charismama

posted: 6/6/2008 at 5:47 PM

Thanks for all of the responses Smile

.. I guess there is no right or wrong on that one. I just dont think its something I could live by especially because I workout in the evenings, my stomach actually hurts if I just eat proteins. He is against me eating any kind of carbs at dinner. I would be happy with fruit or brown rice or potato with dinner.It gets frustrating living with a personal trainer! Especially when he thinks I dont respect or value his advice.

Sara

2009 Long Branch NJ half marathon

charismama

posted: 6/6/2008 at 5:47 PM

Quote from valleygirl on 6/6/2008 at 5:14 PM:

Apples do this to me!

me too!

Sara

2009 Long Branch NJ half marathon

Marcus L S

The Greatest of All Time

posted: 6/6/2008 at 5:58 PM

Quote from charismama on 6/6/2008 at 5:47 PM:

Thanks for all of the responses .. I guess there is no right or wrong on that one. I just dont think its something I could live by especially because I workout in the evenings, my stomach actually hurts if I just eat proteins. He is against me eating any kind of carbs at dinner. I would be happy with fruit or brown rice or potato with dinner.It gets frustrating living with a personal trainer! Especially when he thinks I dont respect or value his advice.

If you workout in the evenings you need carbs at dinner. Period. I wish all of this anti-carb propaganda would go away. Athletes or very active people need carbs, and lots of them. Carbs are your friend. Too much food is the enemy.

all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be

Obesity is a disease. Yes, a disease where nothing tastes bad...except salads.

JakeKnight

posted: 6/6/2008 at 6:13 PM

I'm hoping Trent pops in with some science on this one. I'm curious. Weird that he hasn't already. Or even a real doctor. That'd be good, too. ----------- If I had to offer an uneducated guess, based only on experiments on yours truly, I'd bet that it's actually a lot simpler than your hubby's theory. I think it's about as simple as: don't stuff your face close to going to bed. With carbs or anything else, but if you're going to do it, carbs are probably particularly bad. If I have a late night steak, I feel okay the next day (although not usually much good for running); if I eat half a pizza at midnight, I don't feel so great the next morning. With the obvious exception that Marcus notes - of working out later in the evening - you're probably fine just not being an oinker much after 6:00 p.m. I find it hard to believe there's some evil black magic about carbs as opposed to anything else. But Trent (or a real doctor) should be along shortly to correct that if I'm wrong.

E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
-----------------------------

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 6/6/2008 at 10:35 PM

Quote from charismama on 6/6/2008 at 4:04 PM:

Is there some scientific facts behind this?

Not that I know.

Quote from JakeKnight on 6/6/2008 at 6:13 PM:

But Trent (or a real doctor) should be along shortly to correct that if I'm wrong.

Something like that. Another fad type approach. Dude. It is simple: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." And if you like simple sayings that have powerful meaning when it comes to eating right, this one addresses the original question: "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

no Carbs at night debate (Read 4554 times)