Hi Guys

For the last 4 months i've been working on reducing my bodyfat % and have generally been sticking to the rule of No Carbs after 6pm.

I am now about to start the mass building phase, should i continue to stick to the No Carbs after 6 pm rule, or is that out the window as soon as you want to build mass.

i find that for me being an (endo mesmorph) meaning i put muscle and fat on easy, i dnt eat carbs after 6 but have a wieght gainer shake befoe bed! it seemsto work but test it out for a month n see, every 1;s diff geeza trial n error!

Loui - you dont eat carbs after six, but have a weight gainer shake before bed??? Weight gainers contain high amounts of carbs.

In general dont worry one bit about eating carbs with EVERY meal in sensible amounts. This will help keep your body anabolic. Remeber it calories that make you gain or lose weight not just carbohydrates.

PJ

yea i no thats y i dnt eat carbs after 6 so i dnt ova do it!

Loui,

Sorry to butt in but your missing the point what PJ is trying to say.

You said you gain body fat easy so have no carbs after 6pm but you have a weight gainer before bed???  As PJ has already explained weight gainers are LOADED with carbs.

You may not be eating carbs but you are still consuming carbs in liquid form!  What you say doesnt make sense?
Do you mean weightgainer OR protein drink

Just trying to help you and correct the issue  

If you want to gain muscle and are not getting ready for a comp then some carbs before bed won't hurt . Just be SENSIBLE, like don't eat a whole tub of ice cream ! Some porridge with either eggs or protein powder is good and clean. I like red meat before bed and I will have some rice or potato with it, but just enough. You know what I mean ? Use your common sense.

If dieting to cut for a show or just get leaner then the no complex carbs after 6 is generally the rule of thumb. But you can still eat some veg or salad !

Reaper.  

Consuming carbs after 6pm makes you fat is a myth!  Your metabolism is at its peak upon waking and starts to slow down at around 4pm onwards.

It takes at least 48hrs for any unused carbs to be converted to fat. As long as you are active on a daily basis and train regularly without excessive calorie consumption you wont get fat, wether you are dieting or not  

i know its a dumb question, but what difference does having carbs after 6 make?? if you are allowed say 200g per day for example why does it matter what time you have them?? its something i have ofetn wondered

Not a dumb question Kez at all.

Majority of people think eating carbs at night is bad becouse its energy based nutrients wont get used and will be stored as fat, its as simple as that really.

In past pre contest diets i have consumed carbs with every meal and that includes before bed.

When carbs are eaten your body releases the anabolic hormone insulin which acts as a carrier hormone so a small amount of carbs with protein will allow for greater uptake of all nutrients.

so it would be good to have a small amount of carbs before bed then to aid recovery, especially if you are hard training in nthe evening, i have always eaten carbs in the evening, i did try and cut them out in the evening a couple of years ago and it just made me feel crap and made no difference to fat loss at all...............

Yes yes and yes. As i was trying to explain to loui earlier its the daily calories consumed that will determine if u lose or gain weight! For example if ur maintainence cals is 3000 per day and u cut back to 2500 u can eat carbs EVERY meal and still lose weight.

PJ

^^^^ Totally agree here. On my precontest diet this year I am having around 380g of carbs per day equally distributed between 6 meals. I go to bed on around 80-100g of oats. Carbs are protein sparing so free up those proteins to do the job of reparing your lean tissue while you rest and sleep. If cals in are slightly less than cals out then you will lose BF.

Remember the body doesn't work on a 12 or 24 hour cycle, its working all the time. If sleep wasn't a priority you would eat every 3 hours regardless of day or night. We as humans just tend to work in 12/18/24 hour cycles because it fits in with our daily schedule.

J

fat to burn in carbs fire. i eate carbs with protein all day.