I always assumed it was best to eat high carb foods in the morning, that way your body has time to work them off a little. Now, I'm reading that you shouldn't eat them in the morning because your body will crave them more thru the day. can anyone steer me in the right direction?

I typically eat protein and fat in the morning, and save my carbs for mid day. This kind of works with my work out routine which I don't do until the evening. I'm not sure about why you wouldn't be able to eat carbs in the morning!

I've been experimenting, and haven't really found an answer yet.

I used to save carby foods until right before bed so that I would fall asleep before the carb-induced cravings would hit.

That worked great, for a while, but then I started overindulging in late snacks (and I'd wake up ravenous).

I can't do a high-carb breakfast, or I'm hungry and carb-craving all day - with the exception of oatmeal. I don't know what it is about oatmeal, but even instant oatmeal (assuming it's not really high in sugar, so there's only a few varieties that qualify) keeps me full and satisfied almost as long as a low-carb breakfast.

Incorporating the carbs into higher protein meals, seems to help (making sure the grams of protein in the meal are higher than the grams of carbohydrates).

I also really need to avoid the high carb foods that are high glycemic. To be honest, it's my biggest obstacle. If I don't carefully balance my meals, I get so hungry that it's way too easy to overeat, and even end up on a binge.

Even though I physically feel ill on high-carb eating, if I eat something like candy or chips, I'll just have terrible urges to eat more and more. I've learned that there is no appropriate amount or time for either. I still do indulge once in a while, but I usually regret it, especially since I usually do so during PMS/TOM when I have the least control.

For me, carbs have to come with a TON of fiber and need to be eaten with protein or they tend to trigger cravings and hunger. Even fruit on an empty stomach can trigger intense hunger and cravings.

I always feel like I'm walking a tightrope where carbs are concerned. I don't believe in extremely low-carb diets, but I'm so freaking hungry on even moderate carb diets. I'm really considering going "lower" than I've ever considered healthy, perhaps eliminating the two carb/bread/starch exchanges of my lower carb exchange plan (I don't want to cut back on fruit or non-starchy vegetables).

I don't really think there is a right answer to this. I know if I eat them in the morning I crave them all day, and I think if I eat them in the evening I wont burn them off. So I think it depends on your reaction to them personally. I do think its best to eat them in small amounts in combination with proteins and fat to keep craving to a minimum no matter what time of day you eat them.

I don't eat carbs after lunch. Dinner carbs would go right to my belly, lol. I figure that earlier in the day is when I do the most moving around and exercising. The last thing I want to do is eat a heavily-laden carb meal and go to bed a few hours later. That's what I do. But everyone's different.

I had success in the past eating carbs only before exercise and only on exercise days. So if I was going to go walking at 6PM I'd have some carbs at 5P with supper. It helped my hypo response to exercise. I don't have hypoglycemic episodes on low carb until I start to exercise.

Right now I'm not exercising, but when I start I'll up my carbs a little and eat them around an hour before exercise.

Thanks for the responses everyone!

One reason to eat your carbs later in the day is that your insulin response tends to be better later in the day - i.e. if you have any insulin resistance, eating carbs in the morning is likely to raise your blood glucose level higher than the same meal would later on.