T or F: Carbs least important at breakfast and dinner? page

[secret agent girl]

I heard that for breakfast and dinner, carbs are best minimized, to promote fat-burning.

I'm just getting up to speed on this style of eating and wondered if member here have noticed a difference in various health measures/markers depending on when carbs are mostly eaten?

[jakey]

i don't think it makes that much of a difference. i'll eat carbs at both times, and sometimes i'll not eat carbs at either time.

the body will be most insulin sensitive at night, as part of a natural cycle. i wouldn't read to much into that though, as we can still burn glucose at any time.

[Knifegill]

Different strokes for different folks. I only eat one meal a day, so it's kind of moot...

[SixteenDollars]

Different strokes for different folks. I only eat one meal a day, so it's kind of moot...

Just wondering, Knifegill, what time of day do you eat your one meal? I was thinking about going to one a day and would like to know what the optimal time would be. Thanks!

[trekfan]

Depends on a lot of factors and what your goals are. I only eat one meal a day and I prefer to eat that meal when I wake up, so breakfast is a carb-fest for me and the rest of the day I IF till the next breakfast.

I've experimented with two meal a day before, where breakfast was low carb and dinner was high carb, IF and working out inbetween, but I found that I just don't sleep well with a full stomach. It makes me feel all ill and such so I cut dinner out and went to one meal a day.

Do some self experimentation, test things out-try a week on different eating plans/styles and see what works for you.

[Knifegill]

Depends on your life, to be honest. I was having it before work, but I work night shift so it made sense to eat it in the evening. But that meant less time with my wife - so I just switched it to morning (before bed) and it's working out WAY better. The body should adapt to either, as long as you are consistent. But on my weekend (six days off) I eat pretty randomly to keep my system on its toes.

[paleo-bunny]

Focusing my carb intake on my evening meal works best for me, and helps me sleep better. I certainly recommend that you experiment to find out what works best for you.

Some people are more sensitive than others to timing, and many find that they become less sensitive as their metabolism and body clock heal.

[sbhikes]

I think that many women find it works best to put the carbs at dinner or at least the 2nd half of the day. A high protein breakfast helps with leptin sensitivity and seems to make it easier not to snack and graze all day. Carbs later in the day help you sleep and help with insulin sensitivity. At least some women report these things.

This article I read today was pretty interesting.
Paleo For Women | Carbohydrates for Fertility and Health

[secret agent girl]

I'm mildly surprised to hear women saying they sleep better when having a good dose of carbs for dinner.

I sleep worse. I also sleep worse if I eat at all within a few hours of bedtime.

I've read other places, including on Nora G's site/book that carbs late in the day can cause sugar levels to (?drop) in the middle of the night, causing awakenings. Does that have any credibility with anyone here willing to speak up?

[ChocoTaco369]

Your body burns dietary fat before it burns stored body fat. If you are eating less carbs, you're filling the space with more fat so you just have more fat to burn through before you tap into stores. It doesn't matter if you eat fat or carbs in terms of weight loss, it comes down to the energy deficit. Eating 1,200 calories of carbs will take you out of "fat burning mode", but if that's all you eat all day you're going to burn more fat than if you ate 1,800 calories of butter and steak assuming similar protein intake.

Listen to your body and give it what it wants. If you're having a carb craving, your brain probably wants glucose. If you don't want carbs, don't eat them. I prefer to eat my carbier meal at my last meal of the day because carbs help you sleep. I'd rather have the bottom of the blood sugar curve fall around bedtime than while I'm working.