Reasons to Eat More Carbs (& Calories) at Night

Rebecca Lewis May 22, 2015

When you are trying to lose weight, consuming more calories and eating carbs at night may sound counterintuitive. Many health enthusiasts agree that eating bigger meals earlier in the day and less in the afternoon is more advisable for weight loss. And the reason is obvious – by taking majority your calorie consumption earlier, you’d have plenty more time to burn them off.

But here’s a reality check that might change this norm: it makes more sense to eat carbs at night, between a dinner and a midnight snack. Here are the top reasons why:

It’s your body’s natural instinct.

Back in the days, men spent most of their day hunting, and their night feasting, resting and celebrating the product of their labour. So instead of going against your body’s natural responses, why not spend your day ‘hunting’ – in the form of work and training – and recharge your body and prepare it for another day’s battle by consuming a little more calories? Don’t worry. The added carb isn’t going to make you fat. That’s according to a 2011 study published in the journal Obesity. There, researchers found that participants who ate most of their calorie needs for dinner experienced greater weight loss and reductions in abdominal circumference, than those who followed the conventional eating pattern.

It could be good for your health too.

In the same study, participants who concentrated their carbs in the evening tend to be less hungry during the day, and showed better measures on several factors necessary to reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes. In particular, the carbs-at-night plan had a positive effect on the secretion of a few key hormones that regulate hunger, satiety, and glucose levels. According to the researchers, such diet was inspired by Ramadan, during which Muslims fast all day and eat a starchy, celebratory dinner at night.

Your body needs more calories at night.

Saving complex starches for dinner, such as sweet potatoes and brown rice, and eating lighter, fibre-rich fruits and vegetables during the day helps your body burn fats more efficiently. That is by maximising your fat-burning hormones while you are active during the day. Think about your car. After a day of driving, you need to fill up the tank for the next day’s adventure. Also, your glycogen stores are depleted after physical activities or at the end of the day, so you need carbohydrates to prevent your body from storing fats. The only challenge is to avoid overeating. You don’t want the fuel to overflow the tank.

It promotes quality sleep and rest.

Think skipping dinner is good for you? Think again. Take note that your body is going without food for the entire time you are sleeping. Fasting in the evening is the least you can do after a hard day at work. Furthermore, healthy carbs such as quinoa and brown rice trigger serotonin release, which promotes feelings of contentment and gladness, and prepares our body for a good night’s rest.

Whilst eating carbs at night may seem counterintuitive, there’s a scientific proof that it is actually a better approach. However, we need to make sure that the carbs we are taking are good carbs, not refined starches like those we get from breads, cookies, and processed foods. Also, we need not go beyond the daily recommended calorie intake, which is 2,500 calories for men and 2,000 for women.

Same with proper food choice, we must also give importance to when we should eat more. Following a healthy-friendly and achievable food distribution process is crucial to creating a dietary program that promotes long-term success, contrary to unsustainable, ‘quick-fix’ diets.