I am brand new to this forum, and the first thing I would like to point out is that I am in no shape, way, or form a fitness/training expert. I am a beginner, and I am just here to try to learn what I can and make the best of my training and minimize my mistakes.
I was reading many of the articles, and one that caught my eye that I found very interesting was this one on insulin manipulation: The Insulin Advantage
Everything seemed to sound great in this article, so I researched a little more and scoured the internet on the topic of insulin until I came across this article Carbs At Night: Fat Loss Killer Or Imaginary Boogeyman? Written by Layne Norton | SimplyShredded.com
I noticed some confliction between the knowledge of these two articles, and was wondering if someone with more expertise on the subjects could give some more insight or thought on the topic?
Congrats on making the decision to take control and improve your health and physique!
What exactly are you asking? There’s a lot of info in both articles. Ultimately, if you read enough, you will find a LOT of conflicting advice, but that doesn’t mean one is “right” and one is “wrong.” The first and most important thing to realize is everyone’s body works differently. Some people are more insulin sensitive than others. Some people can handle lots of carbs, some can’t. Some people can eat any form of carb before bed, some should be lower GI and some should avoid carbs before bed.
Ultimately, what matters FAR MORE than when you eat your carbs/macros is getting in the desired macros and cals by the end of the day, regardless of when you eat them. Worrying about timing and such minute details shouldn’t be priority right now for you.
IN GENERAL, the safest way to play it with carb timing is to have carbs with breakfast, before and after your workout. Any carbs left after that can be disbursed as you like. There is most definitely nothing wrong with carbs before bed. I’m a smaller guy compared to most on these forums, 5’4" and 161lbs, but I eat a 600 cal shake before bed which includes 40g carbs from fruit and granola, and am not gaining excess fat.
Again, far more important is making sure you’re training hard and heavy, consistently, and sticking to your nutrition plan every day. Use the articles you’ve found to make a good nutrition plan, take data on your results and modify as needed. But, be sure to stick with the current plan for 3-4 weeks before evaluation and adjustments. As a beginner you’ll make progress on pretty much anything you do. Don’t get caught in “analysis paralysis”, just make a plan and get going.
For a good nutrition article, try this: How Bodybuilders Should Eat. It’s very informative and provides a good template for making gains and staying lean. Again, you will find conflicting information out there, because it’s all worked for someone. The only way to know what is best for you is train and eat well all the time, see what happens and go from there.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. In all honesty, I am just a
fairly new newbie trying to make the most out of my time and effort. I
realize that I am not an advanced lifter and am barely an intermediate
lifter, but I try to study form as much as possible and make the best out
of what I do. As far as what I was asking… (lol) I spend a lot of time
reading up on as many articles as possible and it seems that so many
different things conflict in the fitness industry that it makes it super
hard to keep up. I used to wrestle all through middle/highschool
successfully and never had problems making weight cuts and I was always
naturally strong and strength trained as my coaches instructed as well…
but it seems my metabolism has decreased much more than expected in the 6
years afterward. All I’m really shooting for is the most optimal way to
diet and the proper timing in which to consumer the right nutrients… but I
am sure that I am probably just overthinking everything alot. As far as my
current workout plan, one of my highschool buddies is currently doing the
“Arnold Blueprint To Mass” which involves an insane amount of volume, which
he recommended to me. This workout leaves me insanely sore and half of the
reviews recommend using steroids for that amount of volume. I’m also pretty
sure my friend has some pretty damn good genetics. I’m sure I seem like I
am just rambling, but I used to be pretty fit just from practicing
wrestling technique and conditioning, and I;m just trying to make the best
use of what little time I have in the gym and when eating
That’s great, knowledge is power! I would highly recommend referencing the Clay Hyght article I posted earlier and use that to figure out carb timings and cals/macros.
Regarding training, I’m not familiar with your program, but highly recommend these articles and program:
Read those articles, then check out this program:
I can’t recommend this program highly enough. It’s the basic fundamentals of bodybuilding training, it’s an excellent program for newbies or vets alike. The more you train and learn, the more you can modify for your goals and abilities. Sure there are fancy shmancy programs out there with all sorts of intensity techniques, but honestly in the long run, a basic program executed with consistency can’t be beat.
