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Published on Monday, 24 September 2012 21:03
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Written by Courtney Plush and Victor Tringali M.S
Are Carbs at Night the Fat Cells Delight?
Like many athletes you’ve probably been taught the man.JPG)
y ‘truths’ of dieting. Eating fat will make you fat, all-day grazing boosts your metabolism, and eating carbs at night will cause weight gain.While science has debunked many diet myths, some remain up in the air, causing both athletes and regular health-conscious people to squabble over their accuracy. In fact, that last one seems to be holding strong today, even amongst nutrition savvy bodybuilders and athletes who know their way around energy metabolism. The fear is that if carbs are eaten right before bed, the body doesn’t have a chance to burn them off, and the energy is stored as fat. Pantries and refrigerators across the country are put on lockdown after 8pm, the carbs inside them magically turning into little kamikaze soldiers determined to make your adipose tissue their final resting place.
The truth is, scientific research has found no solid proof that a difference exists between the storage of carbs eaten at lunch and carbs eaten at 10pm. Both meals may trigger an insulin spike and insulin works to promote glycogen and fat storage and inhibit fat breakdown.Most nutritional professionals adhere to the idea that a calorie is a calorie, no matter what time of day it’s consumed. The bigger picture when it comes to weight maintenance is energy balance. If we consume the same amount of calories we expend via our daily metabolic activity, we’ll maintain a steady weight. Since your body is in a constant state of energy storage and energy release, and as long as you aren’t overeating, the energy that’s stored tonight will be mobilized tomorrow. Most research out there today supports this position, including an animal study done in 2006 at Oregon Health and Science University which found that monkeys that ate most of their calories at night showed no difference in weight gain than those that rarely ate at night. Both groups ate the same amount of calories.
Furthermore, energy storage is extremely important for athletes, whether endurance or high intensity. If you train at night, it becomes especially important to consume carbohydrates late in the day. Rather than increasing.jpg)
fat stores, these nighttime carbs will be used to replenish the muscle glycogen depleted in your previous workout. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends a carbohydrate intake of approximately 1.0-1.5 g/kg body weight (0.5-0.7 g/lb) during the first 30 min after exercise and again every 2 h for 4-6 h to adequately replace glycogen stores. Skipping this refuel is counterproductive to achieving optimal athletic performance.
Additionally, for the individual who is dieting or in a negative energy balance, it simply is not possible to store ANY type of calories as fat. You are in a DEFICIT get it? Could you put money in a savings account if you’rewriting checks that exceed your account balance? Of course not instead you’d bounce checks due to overdrafts. And it wouldn’t matter what time of day you spent your money.
All of that being said, some interesting research is being done that suggests a carb-heavy dinner may actually AID in weight management.For example, a study published last year in the journal Obesity that analyzed the relationship between carb consumption and time of day found that participants that ate most of their carbohydrates at dinner (the experimental diet) had reduced abdominal circumference, body fat mass, and greater overall weight loss when compared to the participants whose diet consisted of carbs spread throughout the day (the control diet). The researchers are attributing this to greater levels of circulating leptin, a satiety-promoting hormone secreted by adipose tissue, in the experimental group due to increased carbohydrate intake before bed. Researchers do admit that furt
her research needs to be done to determine the exact mechanism behind leptin’s actions.
This study reveals an important aspect of this whole carbs-at-night argument. It’s OVERREATING carbs, or calories in general, that causes weight gain, not the time of day they’re consumed. And let’s face it, for most people, carbs consumed after 8pm aren’t just a postponed dinner, they’re extra carbs in the form of snacks, usually enjoyed in front of a TV or computer and aren’t necessarily the healthiest choices. What’s more, late night snackers are more likely to ignore portion control and eat straight out of the box or bag, which research has shown leads to eating more.The bottom line is, there is no solid proof that eating carbohydrates at night will cause increased fat storage when compared to avoiding them at night. Further, if you work out at night, eating carbs afterwards to replenish your depleted glycogen becomes increasingly important. If you’re active, and you feel hungry, your body is telling you it needs energy.If you’re making healthy, wholesome food choices throughout the entire day, and staying active, there’s no need to fear a carb-containing dinner after 8pm.
Train Smart, Eat smart, and Good Luck!
For evidence-based fitness and nutrition visit www.teamvic.com
EDITOR'S NOTE: While carbohydrate intake prior to bed may not result in additional fat storage, it can certainly blunt noctural growth hormone (GH) secretion.
References
Sullivan EL, Daniels AJ, Koegler FH, Cameron JL. “Evidence in female rhesus monkeys (Macacamulatta) that nighttime caloric intake is not associated with weight gain.” Obesity Research Dec 2005
Sofer S, Eliraz A, Kaplan S, Voet H, Fink G, Kima T, Madar Z “Greaterweightloss and hormonalchangesafter6monthsdiet with carbohydrateseaten mostly at dinner.”Obesity. 2011 Oct
American Dietetic Association; Dietitians of Canada; American College of Sports Medicine, Rodriguez NR, Di Marco NM, Langley S.“AmericanCollege of Sports Medicinepositionstand.Nutrition and athletic performance.”Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Mar
Barbara J Rolls, Liane S Roe, Tanja V.E Kral, Jennifer S Meengs, Denise E Wall. “Increasing the portion size of a packaged snack increases energy intake in men and women.”Appetite. Feb 2004.
