Some would say that our love / hate relationship with carbohydrates has gotten a little out of control and has made eating much more complicated than it should be. It is easy to see where our confusion originates. After all, carbohydrates provide us with our body’s main source of energy after being broken down into glucose or blood sugar. On the other hand, carbohydrates increase insulin, causing our body to retain fat. The best way to control this carbohydrate puzzle may be to recognize and avoid the worst types of carbohydrates for your body (the highly processed, sugary and refined carbohydrates) and discover the best and worst times to eat carbohydrates for your health and lifestyle .
We ask for help from nutritionists and other experts. See how they identified the worst times to eat carbs and, for even healthier tips, check out our list of 15 underestimated weight loss tips that really work.
The worst times to eat carbohydrates vary from person to person, so you should assess your body and your lifestyle, says nutritionist Reda Elmardi, CEO of StrongChap.com. If you don’t exercise and also have a sedentary job, don’t eat high-carbohydrate meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; cut carbs from one or two of those meals, he says.
“If you are consistently very active throughout the day, then it’s good to eat carbs anytime – just don’t overdo the calories,” says Elmardi.
The physiotherapist and bodybuilder advise people who are mostly sedentary, but have a set training schedule during the day, to plan to consume most of the day’s carbs around that workout.
“But it is not essential,” he says. “The body can store glycogen for later use; as long as you use the energy at some point, you will be fine.”
Here are 8 side effects of eating lots of carbs.
Don’t crush carbs; we need them to fuel our workday, school day and exercise, says Natasha Funderburk, RN, BSN, certified National Academy of Sports Medicine nutrition trainer and consultant.
“When we can learn to see carbohydrates as our main source of energy, it becomes easier to understand when to eat or avoid them,” says Funderburk.
The worst time to eat carbs is when you no longer need energy. For most of us, this happens at night, when you’re sitting on the couch. “When we load carbohydrates to sit in front of the TV, our metabolism is already slowing down, and our body will end up storing those carbohydrates as fat, since it has no use for burning as fuel.”
For inspiration to get off that couch, read Ugly side effects of not working out, according to science.
Make it a habit to limit carbohydrates two to three hours before going to bed, advises Morgyn Clair, RD, a registered dietitian at SprintKitchen.com. “Keep your evening snacks to 15 grams of carbs or less,” she says.
“[Because] the main role of carbohydrates in the body is energy and the body will not use energy during rest, carbohydrates are usually stored as fat, “says Clair.
Certified nutrition expert Dr. Josh Ax, DC, founder of Ancient Nutrition extends this advice to include eating any food 2 to 3 hours before bed to support digestion, metabolic health and better sleep.
“When you avoid eating carbohydrates too close to bedtime, you’re giving your body a chance to digest and you’re also fasting at night, which can benefit your blood sugar and insulin sensitivity,” he says. “If possible, plan to spend 12 hours overnight (between dinner and breakfast the next morning) without eating anything, including carbs.”
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You may have heard of a counter-intuitive form of carbohydrate control, called “carbohydrate backloading” for weight loss. The idea behind this modern diet is to significantly reduce the carbohydrates you eat at the beginning of the day, for breakfast and lunch, and to consume most carbohydrates at the end of the day (for dinner), explains nutritionist Lisa Richards, author in The Candida Diet.
“It is believed that this optimizes the body’s natural sensitivity to insulin, making weight loss more efficient,” she says.
And by fueling carbohydrates in the hours after exercise later in the day, those carbohydrates will be better absorbed by your muscles.
In addition, accumulating carbohydrates at night and avoiding carbohydrates in the morning meal after a night of fasting while sleeping, in theory, you force your body to turn to stored fat as fuel during the hours of the day when it is active. It is a concept similar to intermittent fasting and the ketone diet.
No matter what type of carbohydrate control you follow, the key is to “focus on complex carbohydrates,” says Richards. “Reducing or eliminating refined carbohydrates from the diet is a wise decision for your overall health, not just for weight loss or performance. Refined carbohydrates are inflammatory and can cause intestinal health problems and candida overgrowth, among other problems.”
“If you are pre-diabetic or diabetic, you will probably need to be more careful with your carbohydrate intake,” says Ax. You may need to limit the number of grains and fruits you consume and you should avoid processed carbohydrates and added sugar, as well as sugary drinks. “Another circumstance to consider cutting carbs is if you’re looking to lose weight. You can choose to try a low-carb diet, like the keto diet (a high-fat, very low-carb diet), which can help promote fat loss, “he says.
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For many of us, our bodies never have a chance to burn the energy we already store, because we never let our fuel tanks run low and we are eating carbohydrates throughout the day and constantly shooting insulin spikes.
“A person rose again with their mid-morning snack, and then lunch and afternoon snack; essentially, a person is living a life where every waking moment is spent in a state of elevated insulin,” said the scientist metabolism researcher at Brigham Young University Benjamin Bikman, Ph.D., author of Why do we get sick.
When you are inactive, your body is in a state of low physical fitness or you have high levels of body fat, it is not a good time to consume carbohydrates.
“The body can handle carbohydrates better during and after physical activity, as well as when fitness levels are high and body fat levels are lower, that is, 15% or less for men and 20% or less for women, “says Ryan Andrews, RD, CSCS, lead nutritionist for Precision Nutrition.
In addition to the three-hour window after exercise, you should eat mostly protein and fat and less carbohydrate-rich foods. “If you plan to increase your carbohydrate intake at times when your body is better equipped to handle it, insulin will be under your control and your body will work better,” says Andrews.
Instead of worrying about when you should or shouldn’t consume carbohydrates, focus on choosing the right types of carbohydrates, stressful nutritionists. Any time can be the worst time to eat carbohydrates if they are sugary and highly processed. “Try to eat unprocessed carbohydrates that are high in fiber, no matter what time of day you are eating carbohydrates,” says Dr. Ax. Examples of healthy carbohydrates include vegetables, whole pieces of fruit (instead of juice), whole grains like oats or quinoa, sweet potatoes and other potatoes, as well as beans and vegetables. (Related: The amazing side effects of eating oats, according to science.) Dairy, nuts and seeds also provide some carbohydrates (choose sugar-free dairy products to avoid too much sugar).