Does Eating Carbs in the Evening Affect Body Composition?

Anyone who hasn’t been asleep in the last decade or two has seen assloads of people saying ‘Yo, eating carbs in the evening is about as horrible as it’s possible to imagine, you can be near damn sure you will gain weight.’

Others with knowledge gleaned solely from the KetoKetoYayYayYay website mention something about not eating bananas past 6 pm because they read something about slower metabolism and insulin shifting carbs straight to fat storage.

Should you really taper down carbohydrate intake as the day goes, or else you will gain fat or hinder fat loss? No need to google incredibly useless low-carb worshiping websites because a recent study investigated exactly that:

Not only did the researchers look at the effect of within-the-day carb timing on body composition but also their type – low vs. high glycemic index (GI). But wait, there’s more. Calories were similar in all three groups.

Three groups of healthy, physically active individuals who had been exercising for at least two years were included in the study:

All participants were given a standardized dietary plan with similar total daily calorie intake and macros (20% protein/60% carbs/20% fat macro breakdown):

On top of all that, the researchers were like ‘Mmmkay science people, you’re also going to lift weights 3x/week and do cardio 2x/week completing your workout ~4 hours before usual bedtime’ and the bunch clenched their sphincters tighter, and said, ‘Sure, research man.’ Not word for word, obviously.

And now it’s your time to clench your sphincter extra tight because I will tell you what they found at the end of this four-week study:

• Body fat decreased by an average of 1.4 kg (3 lbs) with no significant differences among groups, regardless of carb timing or type.
• Fat-free mass increased by an average of 0.9 kg (2 lbs) in all groups. Yay resistance training.

The researchers concluded:

“When both energy and nutrient intake are equated within the day, carbohydrate intake timing and pre-bed carbohydrate type do not hinder any beneficial adaptations of exercise training on body recomposition and physical fitness, in physically active individuals.”

Let’s add one more quote:

“The findings of the present study are in line with the theory of calories in/calories out, which describes the idea that weight management is mainly determined by the energy balance between energy consumption and energy expenditure.”

The feck are you supposed to do with this?

Eating carbs in the evening, even if they’re high-GI ones, won’t stop fat loss as long as your total daily calorie intake is controlled.

So this is yet another study showing that you’re free to design a diet plan that aligns with your personal choices. There’s no need to demonize and eliminate carbs from your diet unless you actually think it would increase long-term dietary adherence.

Keep in mind that research reports averages. While some people may find success with one dietary strategy, others may face significant challenges. This is my regular dinner…

…and based on the photo I recently took in the gym that would make every gym elsewhere in the world look better in comparison, I’m doing just fine:

So, based on the findings of this study and my personal experience, as well as the experiences of the people I’ve worked with, here’s how I’d approach setting up my carb intake if fat loss were the primary goal:

• Ensure your total calorie intake is in check. Calorie freakn’ deficit = fat loss.
  
• Ensure your total carb intake supports your training goals.
  
• Honor your personal preference and position carb intake to suit your lifestyle and food preferences: Spread carbs evenly throughout the day. Eat more carbs in the morning. Or more in the evening. It doesn’t matter much.
  
• Focus on dietary adherence/sustainability and total diet quality. Ignore minor details. Even if some low-carb lover on Reddit says carbs, insulin spikes, high-GI fruits, are fecking merde. Feck ‘em. More carbs for you and me.
  

Cheers, Egis.

Oh, also, I need to make money to make a living so if you want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, apply for my 1-on-1 Coaching. I tend to get cool results. Check my approach and results on Instagram. Or…

If you want something free, sign up for my Weight Loss Formula that’s designed to help you create the foundation of good habits & sustainable strategies that set you up for long-term weight loss success (it comes with “5 pillars of weight loss”).