I just did 1 month of 6wbmo, lost 20lbs but I dont think its for me. I have a fair grip on the calorie counting (I think), Im just wondering if there is a "best time" to eat carbs and proteins during the day. Most of the reading I have done leads me to believe carbs are best eating in the morning into the late afternoon so your body can burn them off during the day...does that sound right? I just want to make sure I do this right, so if anyone else has any tips of pearls of knowledge to share Im all ears. I just signed up yesterday for a fitday account so I am very excited about logging everything.
I've read all sorts of things on when you should eat. I personally subscribe to the notion that it doesn't truly matter, if you're burning more calories than you've consumed you're going to lose weight. Although I try to not go too long between meals to help keep my metabolism up and the cravings down, I read if you skip meals your metabolic rate will go down a bit.
I agree. Beyond trying to ensure I eat a little protein with any carbs (helps me to feel full longer, and also helps to prevent a spike in blood sugar), I don't worry about it. Provided my calories come in where they should, and I got in all my healthy stuff, I'm happy....and more importantly, it's working just fine
This is just my opinion, but eating healthy is already takes a lot of mental power (planning! shopping! cooking! packing lunches! becoming informed about nutrition! making good choices!) that adding more complexity seems like a bad idea.
I counted calories and concentrated on eating nutritionally powerful foods while avoiding foods with limited nutritional benefits. I didn't pay a bit of attention to food combining or time of day when I ate what, I found healthy foods I liked and looked forward to eating!
I adore carbs and they are typically included in nearly all my dinners - brown rice for stir fry, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, spinach quesadillas with whole wheat tortillas, polenta and grilled vegetables, veggie burger on a whole grain bun. I am careful to pick complex carbohydrates and whole grains instead of nutritionally vacant carbs. I probably eat over 200 grams of carbs a day, didn't stop me from losing weight or keeping it off, and dinner is typically my biggest meal!
For me, I needed foods I *LIKED* to eat and a way of eating that I would be happy to follow for the rest of my life - that definitely included carbs with dinner.
Thanks so much for the replies! Glory at the moment I am in that same frame of mind, I need to eat the foods I like to be happy, even if theyre slightly modified and smaller portions, if I "ban" myself from eating one food type it just makes me want it more, and Ill just set myself up for failure.
"They" also used to say that eating ANYTHING at night was a bad idea because you wouldn't burn the calories while you slept--we know now that that's a bunch of phooey. Eat whatever whenever (well, within reason, of course)--WHEN you consume your calories does not matter since you don't immediately burn the calories you just ate, anyway (you burn stored calories, and you store the calories you eat--it's more of a "first in, first out" accounting system than a "last in, first out" system in regards to calories).
I do agree, though, that the only stipulation I would add regarding the timing of eating is that you should consume your calories in many sessions throughout the day rather than just a couple of big meals, but it sounds like you know that well enough already.
Yeah, I don't think when matters so much in terms of weightloss. In terms of feeling less hungry on the same calories, though, it can matter a lot! I usually have to eat something every few hours, but others are happy eating just a few times a day.
It really doesn't matter when you eat, but make sure you're ready to eat. I have the problem with schedules. We always eat dinner at 7 PM, but there are times when I'm not hungry at 7 PM and I eat anyway because I've just fixed this great meal and we're sitting down as a family to eat. To top it off, I'll eat the whole designated portion, too. I really should stop doing this--if I'm not hungry I should put at least half of it away for another meal.
CC Newbie needs advice on when to eat what
