"Carbs before bed turns to fat"... true? or another myth...

[Bobby]

Discuss

You burn more calories when you are sleeping than when watching tv + wouldn't the carbs increase your metabolism during the night?

Is there something magic that just turns carbs to fat when you are sleeping?!

[candidate2025]

if they are slow digesting carbs....like whole oats...then you could eat soemthing like 30 grams of carbs before bed and it wont be stored as fat. any more than that and you body wont burn it off; and any carbs that arent burned WILL be stored as fat.

[Faust]

I'm no expert. This is how i think about it

Carbs create a bigger insulin release than fat/protein. This insulin will stimulate the fat cells  to take up the glucose and convert it to fat.

Slow protein (casein) is better because it will help build muscle and will not peak insulin, even though the calorie amount might be the same.

A little bit of carbs won't hurt, but while resting you aren't using much glycogen so there's no real need for carbs. Your liver glycogen is enough for brain functions etc...

[MidniteRambo]

Carbohydrates at any time may turn into fat, depending upon the type of carbohydrate and the amount.  IMO- Moderate ingestion of "slow burning"
carbohydrates is perfectly acceptable as part of a night time nutritional strategy.

[candidate2025]

exactly.

carbs can always be turned into fat.

lean protein can NEVER be turned into fat.


so eat the protein...unless you KNOW that there will be an increase in calorie expenditure to cover the carbs your eatin...(if its slow digesting carbs, you inrease in calorie expenditure will be moderate, but sustained; if its simple carbs your increase in calorie expenditure will be great, but short.)

[loco]

It depends on many things.

If you are eating exactly the number of calories and the number of carbs that you are supposed to eat each day(no more and no less),

and you are dividing your meals equally, or gradually decreasing your carbs in each meal throughout the day,

and if you are working hard in the gym,

and if your carbs are not from junk food,

then you can eat your carbs with your protein at night before bedtime.  Your body will build muscle and burn fat in your sleep, and to do so it will need those proteins and those carbs.

I have gotten lean for competition while eating oats or strawberries with my protein shake right before bedtime.  Other good carb sources will work too.

[Bobby]

It's oatmeal 40g carbs i'm eating before bed. I have always been eating carbs before bed when bulking, but i want to do it now when i'm dieting so i have a constant flow of carbs coming into my body. I want to have them evenly distributed throughout the day, rather than getting them all in before 8 or 9 pm. That is if it's possible to do so without any negative effects.

About carbs creating a big insulin release... why would that be a bad thing when sleeping, wouldn't it have the same effect when you're awake?

[loco]

It's oatmeal 40g carbs i'm eating before bed. I have always been eating carbs before bed when bulking, but i want to do it now when i'm dieting so i have a constant flow of carbs coming into my body. I want to have them evenly distributed throughout the day, rather than getting them all in before 8 or 9 pm. That is if it's possible to do so without any negative effects.

About carbs creating a big insulin release... why would that be a bad thing when sleeping, wouldn't it have the same effect when you're awake?

40g carbs or 40g oatmeal?  40g oatmeal has 27g carbs. 

That would be way too much for me at bedtime, but everybody is different.  I add only 6g oatmeal to my protein shake before bedtime, but I eat 40g oatmeal for breakfast.

Some people divide their total daily carbs equally for every meal, while others eat more of their daily carbs first thing in the morning and first thing after a workout.  Yet, some people prefer to have only protein with zero carbs before bedtime.  As I said, it all depends.  Everybody is different, with different life styles and different goals.

About creating a "big insulin release", not everybody does that.  I big insulin release will make you fat unless you have a fast metabolism and unless you do that right after a hard workout.  Any other time, a big insulin release will store more fat in your fat cells than it will store glycogen in your muscle cells.

[Bobby]

40g carbs from oatmeal that's what i meant.

Oatmeal would not create a bigger spike than any other low-GI meal, so it's nowhere near a dextrose full PWO shake spike. It does raise it abit however, but why is that a bad thing when you sleep and not when you're awake...

[loco]

40g carbs from oatmeal that's what i meant.

Oatmeal would not create a bigger spike than any other low-GI meal, so it's nowhere near a dextrose full PWO shake spike. It does raise it abit however, but why is that a bad thing when you sleep and not when you're awake...

Insulin release or not, you want to consume carbs, in the right amount when they are needed most, first thing in the morning and first thing right after a hard workout.  Though some carbs are needed while you sleep if you workout hard, you still need less while you sleep than you need during the day.  A person who does not workout, and does very little during the day needs no food at bedtime because there is no need for it.  Your body stores what it doesn't need, even protein as fat if you consume more than you need.

About the insulin release, I would leave that for experienced bodybuilders or for hard gainers.  Otherwise, I would stay away from anything that produces an insulin release or spike, especially if you are trying to lose fat and doing so doesn't come easy.  I gain muscle mass easily without the need of an insulin release, but I do gain fat easily too and losing fat is not easy for me.

[Princess L]

About carbs creating a big insulin release...

Depends on type of oatmeal or other carb and what is eaten with it...

[candidate2025]

  Your body stores what it doesn't need, even protein as fat if you consume more than you need.

i do believe you are incorrect on this one...     the human body has no process for converting protein molecules into fat molecules. any amount of protein you eat that isnt put to use as a tisssue rebuilder will be excreted.

[jakeflips]

i do believe you are incorrect on this one...     the human body has no process for converting protein molecules into fat molecules. any amount of protein you eat that isnt put to use as a tisssue rebuilder will be excreted.

Protein actually can be stored as fat.  Everyone thinks it can't be, so they eat tons of it, and they say it will be excreted if it's not used.  Unfortunately, any excess protein the body cannot process is not simply excreted, it is sent to the kindeys where it is first denatured.  After this process, the remainder is stored as fat.  The denaturing process is where the whole debate stems from that a high protein diet is hard on the kidneys.  Protein molecules are much larger than the typical molecules that flow through the kidneys.  This is basically like pushing large items through a filter/strainer with small holes.  This stretches out the holes and in turn lets larger items through.  The same thing happens in the kidney, so instead of everything being filtered properly and the kidneys catching certain items, they pass through the system, due to the denaturing of proteins.  Of course, kidneys being severly damaged by a high protein intake would take many, many years.

-Jake

[Alex23]

I eat Captain' Crunch before bedtime and enjoy life very much.

[loco]

i do believe you are incorrect on this one...     the human body has no process for converting protein molecules into fat molecules. any amount of protein you eat that isnt put to use as a tisssue rebuilder will be excreted.

candidate2025,
Are you saying that the human body cannot break down excess dietary protein into peptides, which can be further broken down into amino acids, which can be converted to glucose, which can be converted to fat, which can be stored in fat cells?

[loco]

Depends on type of oatmeal or other carb and what is eaten with it...

Yes, and it depends on the amount too.  Consuming very large quantities of carbs in a single meal can make your pancreas release a lot of insulin, no matter the carb source.

[candidate2025]

candidate2025,
Are you saying that the human body cannot break down excess dietary protein into peptides, which can be further broken down into amino acids, which can be converted to glucose, which can be converted to fat, which can be stored in fat cells?

i dont know dude.

thats why i said "i do believe" before my post.


what i do know is that while doing the whole "zero carb" diet last year there was one day where i consumed about 5000 calories of protein during the day and i still looked slightly leaner the next morning.

maybe its just my body that cant convert protein into fat.

for me when i diet...i try to eat as much LEAN protein as i can thorugh out the day. i dont monitor my protein intake at all. what i DO  monitor is my carb and fast intake, carbs because they CAN be turned into fat IF you dont use them,and fats because they already are fats, and they contain 9 calories per gram as opposed to only 4 calories that protein and carbs  contain.


as of late...my diet has been zero carbs with protein every two hours untill one hour before training(which would be very late in the day), then i eat 30 grams complex carbs, and 30 grams simple carbs. drink a whey shake during my workout, and after, then i eat a meal with anywhere between 100 grams protein to 200 grams protein, maybe 10-20 grams healthy fats, and some vegetable carbohydrates..maybe 40 grams ; but veggies dont really count because of the fiber.. i just fill up..i dont eat after thi meal.


the idea here is that my body will be in ketosis, burning fat, all day. right up untill i want to workout, when those simple carbs will digest and give me enough energy along with the complex carbs to get through my workout.  the whey shake has a few grams of sugar as to create the insulin release. it has always been my theory that post workout carbs were not needed; just a few grams of sugar with the whey. carbs do nothing to build muscle, they only give energy, and inhibit fat loss. so i can be burning fat all day and night, while rebuilding muscle tissue because of my high protein intake.

goign zero carbs does not effect the fact tha when protein is digested, your body uses it to rebuild muscle tissue. with carbs in your system, or withcarbs out of your system, protein performs the same function. so if i am losing weight fro KETOSIS, as opposed to a caloric deficit, i can ineed be building muscle as i lose weight.  of course every couple of days i will cycle in a higher carb day to keep my metabolism up and running; bt nothing extreme like 300 grams as i see someof you do. max maybe 150.


starting the day with cardio on an empty stomach kicks starts the ketosis and keeps it revvign thorugh body fat all day long...

heres my pre-morningcardio super fat loss enhancer!!(lol!) its of my own creation..= shake some cinnamon into a cup, pour some lemon juice into the cup, fill the cup up with water. put one 25 mg ephedrine pill, two rippedfuelextreme pills in your mouth, put two green tea extract ills in you mouth, put one 81 mg doesage asprin in your mouth...drink the drink concoction and swallow the pills.

eca stack+green tea...lemon juice puts your body into a alkaline ph, and the cinnamon reduces blodd sugar levels while raising levels of insulin.

[Faust]

i dont know dude.

thats why i said "i do believe" before my post.


what i do know is that while doing the whole "zero carb" diet last year there was one day where i consumed about 5000 calories of protein during the day and i still looked slightly leaner the next morning.

maybe its just my body that cant convert protein into fat.

for me when i diet...i try to eat as much LEAN protein as i can thorugh out the day. i dont monitor my protein intake at all. what i DO  monitor is my carb and fast intake, carbs because they CAN be turned into fat IF you dont use them,and fats because they already are fats, and they contain 9 calories per gram as opposed to only 4 calories that protein and carbs  contain.


as of late...my diet has been zero carbs with protein every two hours untill one hour before training(which would be very late in the day), then i eat 30 grams complex carbs, and 30 grams simple carbs. drink a whey shake during my workout, and after, then i eat a meal with anywhere between 100 grams protein to 200 grams protein, maybe 10-20 grams healthy fats, and some vegetable carbohydrates..maybe 40 grams ; but veggies dont really count because of the fiber.. i just fill up..i dont eat after thi meal.


the idea here is that my body will be in ketosis, burning fat, all day. right up untill i want to workout, when those simple carbs will digest and give me enough energy along with the complex carbs to get through my workout.  the whey shake has a few grams of sugar as to create the insulin release. it has always been my theory that post workout carbs were not needed; just a few grams of sugar with the whey. carbs do nothing to build muscle, they only give energy, and inhibit fat loss. so i can be burning fat all day and night, while rebuilding muscle tissue because of my high protein intake.

goign zero carbs does not effect the fact tha when protein is digested, your body uses it to rebuild muscle tissue. with carbs in your system, or withcarbs out of your system, protein performs the same function. so if i am losing weight fro KETOSIS, as opposed to a caloric deficit, i can ineed be building muscle as i lose weight.  of course every couple of days i will cycle in a higher carb day to keep my metabolism up and running; bt nothing extreme like 300 grams as i see someof you do. max maybe 150.


starting the day with cardio on an empty stomach kicks starts the ketosis and keeps it revvign thorugh body fat all day long...

heres my pre-morningcardio super fat loss enhancer!!(lol!) its of my own creation..= shake some cinnamon into a cup, pour some lemon juice into the cup, fill the cup up with water. put one 25 mg ephedrine pill, two rippedfuelextreme pills in your mouth, put two green tea extract ills in you mouth, put one 81 mg doesage asprin in your mouth...drink the drink concoction and swallow the pills.

eca stack+green tea...lemon juice puts your body into a alkaline ph, and the cinnamon reduces blodd sugar levels while raising levels of insulin.

5000 cals of protein ...

Depends.

[Bobby]

I was gonna say the same thing...

If you eat 10.000 kcal all from lean protein, basically no carbs or fat. You will gain weight. 10.000 kcal is 10.000 kcal no matter what.

And carbs not being used turns to fat... if your calories are too high then yes, but otherwise do they really turn to fat?

[slaveboy1980]

Discuss

You burn more calories when you are sleeping than when watching tv + wouldn't the carbs increase your metabolism during the night?

Is there something magic that just turns carbs to fat when you are sleeping?!

inorder to gain fat your caloric consumtion has to be over your caloric needs, also carb calories dont turn into fat as easily as fat calories (simplified). you have to look at the big picture.

carbs eaten before bed dont magically turn into fat.

[loco]

what i do know is that while doing the whole "zero carb" diet last year there was one day where i consumed about 5000 calories of protein during the day and i still looked slightly leaner the next morning.

candidate2025,
What do you do to make sure that you have consumed exactly 5,000 calories from protein alone in a day?  What process do you follow and what tools do you use?

5,000 calories from protein is 1,250g of protein, in one day?

1,250g of protein is about 62 chicken breasts, or about 60 protein shakes packing about 40g Whey protein powder each, or about 208 large eggs.

[candidate2025]

candidate2025,
What do you do to make sure that you have consumed exactly 5,000 calories from protein alone in a day?  What process do you follow and what tools do you use?

5,000 calories from protein is 1,250g of protein, in one day?

1,250g of protein is about 62 chicken breasts, or about 60 protein shakes packing about 40g Whey protein powder each, or about 208 large eggs.

yeah it is a shit load of food. but as an ex-fat kid...i can eat a whole lot more than 5 thousand calories in one day. that is me on a diet.

[loco]

yeah it is a shit load of food. but as an ex-fat kid...i can eat a whole lot more than 5 thousand calories in one day. that is me on a diet.

It's hard to believe you, but I guess if this guy can do it, so can you.

Takeru Kobayashi, hot dog eating champ:

"He consumes 6,000 calories a day to feed his 5'7" 165 lb frame with less than 10% body fat."

[peroni]

exactly.

carbs can always be turned into fat.

lean protein can NEVER be turned into fat.


so eat the protein...unless you KNOW that there will be an increase in calorie expenditure to cover the carbs your eatin...(if its slow digesting carbs, you inrease in calorie expenditure will be moderate, but sustained; if its simple carbs your increase in calorie expenditure will be great, but short.)

Protein can be stored as fat if you overdo it. What your body can't use is mostly excreted and the rest is stored as fat