Eating Carbs Before Bed – Good or Bad?

If you’ve ever did even a brief research about taking care of your weight, you’ve certainly ended up with numerous horrifying myths about eating carbohydrates and all that has to do with it. Some recommend to reduce them to a minimum level, others claim you should include them more; different diet creators speak different tales about carbs. It seems each one of them has a different opinion about how much, what sort and when to have them or do you even need them at all. Many people just get completely misguided and lost in so different advices and suggestions. A great number of people that try to lose weight actually just jump from one type of restrictive diet to another and result with the same weight or even a few ponds more.

One of the most common popular myths about carbs and losing weight is that they should never ever be taken in the evening. Carbohydrates are generally recommended to be taken in the morning, for breakfast.

However, experiences speak they are not so satisfying option for breakfast. Eating carbohydrates for breakfast actually trigger later hunger cravings and such. Really, eating a bowl of cereals or a wholegrain bagel seems healthy, but you’ll most certainly get hungry shortly after. There are medical researches that prove carbs in the morning trigger a whole hormonal cycle that actually prevent fat loss.

Carbs in the evening overall benefits

According to newest researches eating carbs for dinner is actually good. If you do so, you won’t get high cortisol and high insulin level, which are both threatening for weight loss. If you exercise and train, carbs are also welcome after your workout; they would build up your muscle tissue and help your body recover from physical stress. Numerous positive experiences of the carbs at night practice have proved it is beneficial for overall body condition. It is important to have a well balanced diet plan, of course, to get active and carefully choose they source of carbohydrates you would eat at bedtime and throughout the day, as well.

Results of the eating carbohydrates at night practice show it improves overall mood and increases energy and vitality. Subjects also claim they have better attention and easier get focused or concentrated. They also say their memory got improved.

Moreover, eating carbs in the evening prevents intense food cravings throughout the day, helping people keep their desired body shape and weight. They also say they generally feel less hungry, which is good whether you want to lose some pounds or just keep your current weight. People who eat carbohydrates for dinner are generally more active, content, healthy and focused.

Carbs at night weight gain myth

However, some people wouldn’t get so easily convinced with the story of beneficial carbohydrates dinner or bedtime snack. Well, there is no straightforward verdict on the matter. The fate of carbs you eat in the evening varies depending on your general lifestyle and habits. Most of people believe your body would just turn all carbs you’ve eaten at night into fat, but that’s just partially true. Our body is a complex mechanism that has great abilities to recognize what is good for your health. You should listen to it and follow what your body tells you. So, eating carbs at night could be risky for your weight, but only if you don’t mind your overall daily consumption.

Just as other types of food, carbohydrates have calories. Gaining weight is caused by extra calories; it is a simple fact. So, eating more calories than your body isn’t able to burn would most certainly make you gain weight. Eat less, you lose it. Observed that way, carbohydrates are also fuel for our body, expressed in calorie numbers. Unprocessed carbohydrates would be stored in your body as fat. If you’re active enough and generally mind your daily food intake there is a little chance you’ll get extra pounds from them. It doesn’t really matter if you have them at night or any other part of day.

Moreover, people tend to forget their organism still works while they are sleeping. It requires energy for its vital functions; your brain and heart functions in the first place. So, your body would use carbs you’ve eaten for supporting those vital processes to keep you alive and healthy. Even if you’ve had them just before you went to bed. It is true your metabolic rate goes lower while you sleep, but it still runs. According to some studies, it varies depending on your weight. The sleeping metabolic rate is higher in people who are not overweight. So, the conclusion is that if you take care of your general daily calorie intake, carbohydrates based dinner won’t cause you gain weight.

The importance of the carbs type

It is very important to choose carbs you eat carefully. It applies to all carbs you generally eat, not just those you would have in the evening. You’ve certainly heard complex carbohydrates are always a better option. The truth is they need more time to get digested, compared to simple carbohydrates. They contain a lot of dietary fiber, which makes them satisfying and very good for digestion. They are found mostly in plant food. Great sources of complex carbohydrates are green veggies, starch vegetables, bean type vegetables and whole grain products, such as breads, pasta and oatmeal.

Complex carbs promote digestion, improve metabolism and give you sustaining energy. They don’t trigger rapid insulin increase, which would make you hungry shortly after. Moreover, speaking of bedtime and sleep, complex carbs could even be sleep inducing. Some complex carbs sources are particularly good to be eaten before bed (not in large amounts, of course). Oatmeal, bananas, brown rice and pumpkin, which are all source of complex carbs, contain a considerable amount of tryptophan. This substance plays an important role for the quality of our sleep. It helps our body get relaxed and this helps us fall asleep. Some types of food even help our body produce melatonin, which regulates our sleep cycle. Therefore, choosing complex carbs for dinner or bedtime snack could help you have great quality nighttime rest.

Good quality bedtime carb snack

Carbs food before bed is not a bogeyman, as you see. It is important we eat all sorts of food and ingest proper proportions of all needed nutrients. Whoever says you should exclude even one of essential nutrients type is completely wrong. A time to eat certain nutrients is also questionable. You’ll still find lots of opposite opinions over the matter of carbs.

However, newest researches proved they could be even more beneficial if you eat them at night, for dinner or before you go to bed.

People who are extremely active naturally need more energy. Complex carbs are the best source, by many experts opinion. Combined with other nutrients, they would make a perfect match. Excessive exercise in the evening, after you’ve finished regular daily meals may require you recharge your energy before bed. It will help your body get recover from serious physical strain and prevent our muscle tissue loss. If that so, it is completely ok to have some carbs before bed, without fear of gaining weight.

As for sleep concerns, if you choose wisely and mind the amount of carbs you eat before bed, there is no need for worry. You should have a small serving of food, in order to prevent possible digestive issues that might get you awake. Choose complex carbs, preferably ones that are also sleep inducing. Eating wisely, you’ll get good rest, keep your body in shape and stay healthy.

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