Losing weight is a struggle for many, even those who go on a low-calorie diet. Shedding those extra pounds of body fat is more complex than cutting back on calories and moving more. The nutrient content of what you eat has an impact, and there’s evidence that when you eat plays a role.
It’s important to choose nutrient-dense foods. Ultra-processed carbohydrates and sugary foods that cause a rapid rise in blood glucose and insulin don’t fall into that category. The insulin from that sugar spike hangs around in your system and makes it easier to store body fat. So, choose more whole, fiber-rich foods, including fruits and vegetables.
Does When You Eat Carbohydrates Matter?
What about when you eat? There’s some thought that eating an early dinner and avoiding carbohydrates after dinner helps with weight loss and weight control. Avoiding excess carbohydrates at a time when your body is less inactive helps control insulin levels.
Such an approach is also consistent with your body’s internal biological clock and circadian rhythms. Based on your internal biological clock, your body isn’t primed to burn calories in the evening, when your body is winding down. The idea is that avoiding carbohydrates at night helps you lose weight because your body burns fat for energy since there’s less availability of carbs.
The type of carbohydrates you consume in the evening is likely a factor too. Eating a plate of fiber-rich vegetables in the evening will have a different effect on your metabolic health, insulin levels, and ability to burn calories than a few cookies or brownies. The latter has little nutritional value, and they don’t satisfy hunger in the same way that protein and fiber-rich foods do.
What Science Says about Consuming Carbohydrates in the Evening
You might wonder what science says about eating carbohydrates in the evening. From a physiological standpoint, it makes sense not consuming refined carbohydrates at night would be favorable for weight control. During the day while you’re active and your insulin sensitivity is higher, you can process those carbohydrates better than in the evening when you’re less active, and maybe even sitting in front of the television set.
But it’s not so simple, since your activity level matters too. If you do an evening workout, you can handle those carbohydrates and may need them to perform your best. So, your carbohydrate tolerance depends on how active you are in the evening. If you usually plop down on the couch after work, your body doesn’t need the extra energy those carbohydrates provide, and they’re more likely to end up as fat on your waistline or elsewhere.
A randomized-controlled study found that police officers who ate a low-calorie diet but consumed most of their carbohydrates at dinner lost more weight and tummy fat than those who ate their carbohydrates earlier in the day. The officers who ate more carbohydrates at dinner also felt less hunger and showed improvements in markers of glucose control and insulin resistance. They also experienced improvements in blood lipids and inflammatory markers.
When you look at the scientific literature, there’s no strong evidence that consuming carbohydrates at night leads to greater weight gain than eating them at other times of the day. However, avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugar and choosing nutrient-dense foods that are higher in fiber can help with weight control, based on research.
It’s refined carbohydrates, sugar, and junk food that set your body up for storing more body fat, regardless of when you eat them. However, there is evidence that eating carbohydrates at night negatively affects insulin levels, making it easier for your body to store fat. If you eat carbohydrates in the evening, choose healthy ones, like non-starchy vegetables.
Most People Make Dinner Their Biggest Meal
For most folks, the biggest meal of the day is dinner. When people who eat a big dinner eliminate refined carbohydrates in the evening, they lose weight because they’re eating less total food and fewer carbohydrates that increase insulin. Fiber-rich carbohydrates and lean protein are naturally more satiating, and this reduces the tendency to snack too.
You get extra points if you replace refined carbohydrates with non-starchy vegetables since the latter are blood-glucose friendly and naturally low in calories. That means pushing aside white rice, white potatoes, white bread, sugar, and pasta, and eating more colorful veggies instead. Refined carbohydrates aren’t healthy or slimming regardless of when you eat them. So far, there’s no strong evidence that when you get your carbohydrates, it makes a significant difference in body weight.
Weight Loss is About Making Smarter Food Choices
Many people search for a gimmick to help them lose weight faster with minimal lifestyle changes, but there are no shortcuts. Weight loss is hard work because it means making smarter food choices and replacing junky snacks with healthy ones. If you have always been a fast-food junkie, or love soda or any other unhealthy processed foods, consider making some changes. That will impact your body weight more than the timing of carbohydrates.
Eat mindfully too. Learn to identify your hunger cues and know when you’re only eating because you’re stressed or bored. Tune into the taste, texture, and aroma of what you’re eating, so you’ll get more out of a meal or snack. Just as you learn to identify hunger cues, be aware of satiety cues that tell you that you’re full. It takes time and patience to develop the ability to do this, but it will happen if you tune in and listen to your body.
The Bottom Line
Focus more on the composition of what you eat and choose more nutrient-dense whole foods and fewer ultra-processed junk food. It’s unclear whether eating most of your carbohydrates at night makes it easier or harder to lose weight, and it may depend on your activity level later in the day. Make smarter food choices and consume those foods mindfully.
References:
- “Greater weight loss and hormonal changes after 6 months ….” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21475137/.
- “Influence of night-time protein and carbohydrate intake on ….” .cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/influence-of-nighttime-protein-and-carbohydrate-intake-on-appetite-and-cardiometabolic-risk-in-sedentary-overweight-and-obese-women/5D66F9CB928136E64B73D848514F0C7C.
- “Later circadian timing of food intake is associated with ….” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28877894/.
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