This is a very important blog post, and it's going to be the opposite of what you have been told in the past. It's the goes against everything I've been told.
So I will just go right ahead and say it. I now think it's best to eat the majority of your calories at night. There I said it, I will wait for the WTF's!!
Here's why;
I will start with the myths.
Myth #1
When you eat too many carbohydrates at night they are stored as body-fat
Wrong, excess carbs are stored as glycogen in your liver and muscles, if your glycogen is full then the remaining will get stored as body-fat.When we diet our glycogen is never full, and if it is we are not dieting.
Myth #2
We need carbohydrates for energy and exercise
Our body needs glucose(blood sugar) for energy, our body prefers to use glycogen for workout energy.
Myth #3
If we eat lower carbs during the day our blood sugar drops.
Yes and no, it can drop but our liver will convert glycogen to glucose to regulate blood sugar.
Myth #4
We get an extra metabolism boost by eating 5-6 small equal meals daily.
This is wrong, we get a Thermic Effect from Food (TEF) for short, in
recent studies it has been proven that whether we eat 5-300 calories meals or one 1,500 calories meal the overall effect on metabolism is the same.The bonus of eating 5-6 meals has more to do with not feeling hungry and convenience. Personally I still eat 5-6 times a day but my early meals are mostly protein calories.
If you feel hungry drink 10-20 ounces of water and wait to see if the "hunger" goes away.
Now the positives of eating more at night.
Bonus #1
We usually prefer to eat more at night after work, when we can relax and enjoy it more.
Bonus #2
When we cheat, it's usually at night and if are already near our calorie goal it will hurt our weight loss, but if we reserve a higher amount of calories for night time, our chances of going over are less.
Bonus #3
It helps us preserve muscle and sleep better while we are about to be "fasting" for 7-8 hours while we sleep.
Some people wake up in the middle of the night because they are hungry and binge eat, typically it's because they stop eating too early and they are forced awake by their brain's need for calories.
Bonus # 4
By eating less during the day and forcing our body to burn up glycogen we actually can train our body to store more glycogen and be more efficient at using it. Much like athletes who routinely deplete and restore glycogen for training purposes. Trust me after a while your workouts will be significantly stronger.
Bonus #5
You create a larger
"fat burning window"
While at rest our body will happily burn body-fat for needed energy, but as soon as we eat energy calories like carbohydrates a switch goes off and we stop burning fat and instead burn what we ate.
By eating less during the day, and adding on the 7-8 hours of fasting from sleep we have a full day of fat-burning. Then at night we eat more to restore glycogen, satisfy our cravings, and get ready for the next day.
The real key to burning fat and keeping it off is learning how to maximize and work with our metabolism. If we limit calories we will lose weight, whether it's 5-6 equal meals, or 4 small ones and one large one. The point is you do not have to stick to the 5-6 meal deal, I prefer eating one large meal at night and my progress is proof that it works.
In this series, you could see how many calories you need daily, how much protein you should be getting, and a solution for us night-time eaters that thought we had to give it up to lose weight.
I have been eating the majority of my calories at night for the past 2 months, and I've dropped another 12 pounds. While I have lost weight my strength has increased and my progress pics show that what I've lost is body-fat.
My plan
I eat about 2,000 calories a day according to my BMR, my goal is to get less than 30 carbs before 4-5pm. So daily I snack on beef jerky, cheese sticks, protein shakes, low carb wraps, ect. Then after 4-5pm I eat about 1,500 calories more balanced with about 100-120 carbs. I never go to bed hungry, and everyday I am full of energy.
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| Start of my trial |
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| 2 Months and 12 pounds later. |
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