Eating at Night?

dont know if this is supposed to be in nutrition. but it seems like a beginner question so ill put it here.

i read that its not advisable to eat in the evening? i.e after dinner, as you wont expend much calories in the evening and the food will be just stored as fat, espcially carbohydrates. can someone shed some light on this?

also, my workouts tend to be in the evening after dinner(7-9pm). (workouts = gym + basketball practice which just consists of me shooting/practicing postmoves/dribbling for about an hour) after my gym workout (WSFSB III) ill take a protein shake before proceeding for my basketball practice session.

usually after this ill feel hungry, so is it advisable that i eat? (cause i understand that sometimes when you feel hungry, its not because you need food, but your body just wants food? correct me if im wrong.) * i do eat a few almonds after the workout though, if im too hungry.

flame away if needed, im not too learned in the nutrition field but thats why im posting here. the questions may seem stupid, but im asking them cause i dont know the answer. so please help out a beginner here! many thanks. :smiley:

Feed your workouts, regardless of the time of day. And yes, it is generally advised that people avoid quick digesting carbs (sweet stuff) late at night.

I can’t really speak to the nutrition needed for basketball, but if I was lifting late at night I would probably eat a solid meal of oats or brown rice + protein like an hour before, sip a whey isolate shake during and eat meat and green veggies after.

Carbs before bed I wouldn’t avoid unless fat, or not wanting to get bigger etc. Lots of other things to consider though…

What are your training and physique goals?

IT all depends on your numbers for the day. On a ‘high’ carb day (when I’m actually dieting, I’ll be taking in carbs all the way up until I go to sleep (sometimes I really have to force 'em down too). You’re body is in a constant state of growth and repair. Sure, your metabolism may slow somewhat in the evening, but it’s an overly simplistic way to look at things. Still, if you are trying to get tighter, there are better places to target your carb intake than before bed.

S

well i heard that taking in carbs at night would equate to fats, which no one wants so i try to stay away from food at night.

atg410: i cant really eat that kinda food right now because im in the army. dinner’s at 5.30? and there’s definitely no brown rice or “clean foods” like oats, steak etc. also, after my workouts, all the canteens, mess, cookhouse are closed. so there’s no real way for me to get meat and veggies for a post workout meal. ): so the most i can do, is drink my shake, eat some almonds or some wheat crackers with peanut butter (the last i am quite hesistant to do as like i stated, i thought that carbs/sweet stuff at night is not beneficial)

plateau: i used to have many goals, be leaner, bigger, play good basketball, get stronger. but it was just too much. so im just focusing on getting stronger and playing better basketball now. but still id try to make sure i dont put on any unnecessary fat and take in less sugars and fat. (i dont drink the cordials they provide during meals, just water 24/7 and maybe some coke light on weekends. no sweets/chocolates/snacks like oreos too)

stu: what do you mean by numbers? and yea, i do try to eat more during the day before my workouts.

so just making sure, was i righ tto say that sometimes when youre feeling hungry, it doesnt mean that your body actually needs the food? and its just a mind thing?

p.s, i know this post isnt really about bodybuilding, but nutrition is for everyone right? for the athlete,bodybuilder and the normal guy :smiley:

[quote]LTKO wrote:
well i heard that taking in carbs at night would equate to fats, which no one wants so i try to stay away from food at night.

atg410: i cant really eat that kinda food right now because im in the army. dinner’s at 5.30? and there’s definitely no brown rice or “clean foods” like oats, steak etc. also, after my workouts, all the canteens, mess, cookhouse are closed. so there’s no real way for me to get meat and veggies for a post workout meal. ): so the most i can do, is drink my shake, eat some almonds or some wheat crackers with peanut butter (the last i am quite hesistant to do as like i stated, i thought that carbs/sweet stuff at night is not beneficial)

plateau: i used to have many goals, be leaner, bigger, play good basketball, get stronger. but it was just too much. so im just focusing on getting stronger and playing better basketball now. but still id try to make sure i dont put on any unnecessary fat and take in less sugars and fat. (i dont drink the cordials they provide during meals, just water 24/7 and maybe some coke light on weekends. no sweets/chocolates/snacks like oreos too)

stu: what do you mean by numbers? and yea, i do try to eat more during the day before my workouts.

so just making sure, was i righ tto say that sometimes when youre feeling hungry, it doesnt mean that your body actually needs the food? and its just a mind thing?

p.s, i know this post isnt really about bodybuilding, but nutrition is for everyone right? for the athlete,bodybuilder and the normal guy :D[/quote]

He means your daily macronutrient breakdown. How many calories and what proportion of fats/carbs/protein.

Basically, the primary rule of nutrition is that hitting your daily “numbers” is far more important than the timing of your meals. In the end, you’ll gain weight if you eat a caloric surplus, you’ll lose weight if you eat a deficit. Eating carbs at night is not ideal (though not as terrible as people make it out to be), but if skipping them means you don’t get in enough calories for the day then it would be better to eat them.

Figure out what you’re trying to do physique wise and read up on some of the nutrition articles on this site. They’ll help you figure out how many calories you need and a rough idea of how your macronutrient breakdown should look. Then you can tinker with it depending on how it works for you.

[quote]LTKO wrote:
stu: what do you mean by numbers? and yea, i do try to eat more during the day before my workouts.

[/quote]

The trick to making progress as far as your diet is concerned, is to have your nutrient needs for the day match your nutrient intake. Meaning,… that you must plan for whatever activities you will engage in on a given day. If you’re doing something that will require a decent duration of time, as well as a constant physical exertion, your carb intake would be substantially more than if it was an ‘off’ day (hence your ‘numbers’ for the day).

S

ok…thanks for the advice guys. so from what i see, basically i have to figure out how much calories i have to take in each day (depending on whether im planning on gaining weight/losing weight) by looking at what activities im gonna do? if im having a workout day, i should thus eat more than on off days? and it does not really matter what time im taking in the calories but whats important is that i TAKE in the calories.(better if i take them in during the day/afternoon) is that right?

I generally avoid eating within 3 hours of my bedtime. I usually go to bed around 1 to 2am (I don’t have to get up til 11ish), so my last meal is usually around 10. Somedays I can’t go to the gym til 9, so this works out fine for me.