fbpx

Can Eating Carbs Late At Night Lead To Weight Gain?

Can Eating Carbs Late At Night Lead To Weight Gain?

Whoever dreamt up the idea of a late night curfew on eating carbohydrates?

Many diets ban the eating of things like potatoes, rice, pasta and bread later in the day. These are the foods which are supposed to jeopardize our bodies and cover us in a thick layer of body fat as we sleep.

The "no late night carbs" weight loss advice has been part and parcel of many a healthy eating plan for quite a few years now.  Some experts recommend various times that you shouldn’t eat carbohydrates after.  These range from 5pm to 7pm, or even later for some theorists.

However the timing of your evening carbohydrate consumption is completely irrelevant as scientific evidence proves that the notion that you will store more carbs as body fat if eaten after any particular time is a complete myth.

The important factor in whether you lose weight or gain weight is simply the balance between calories consumed (eaten) and calories burned (movement) throughout the day. 

Or to simplify it even further - when you eat more than you burn off, you will gain weight. But, the type of food you eat and when you eat it makes no difference at all to weight loss.  It is the overall daily consumption of calories and how they are used or stored that is more important than what percentage of these calories is eaten in the evenings.

From my own point of view, I don’t think I have eaten an evening meal before 8.30pm in the last 10 years and I don’t have a weight problem.

Also another major consideration is that calories over consumed in any form such as  protein, fat or even alcohol will all have the same result – weight gain.

Some theories about eating most of your daily food intake in the evening contributing to weight gain came about because of the idea that we are generally less physically active at this time of the day. 

Again, research shows that the time of day the food is eaten is irrelevant - it still comes down to the total calories consumed during our waking hours.

Whilst the amount of calories contained in certain foods is an important consideration for anyone aiming to lose weight, the type of foods we eat that make up our daily calorific intake plays a much bigger role in our health and general well being. 

The moral of this tale is to eat a well balanced diet, made up of healthy nutritious foods, with the occasional treat, then you don’t have to concern yourself with what time or how often you eat, instead think about well you feel and how much energy you have.