We are certain that this myth is derived from the concept that carbohydrates turn into fat, specially if our body isn’t using them. Well, the transformation of carbs into fat, called lipogenisis, isn’t that easy in human beings. It does, however, occur in rats. We aren’t THAT similar, come on! For this lipogenisis to occur, first we would have to fully replenish our glycogen stores. After that, we would have to ingest between 700-900g of carbs, for several days. Only this way would this process occur in any significant way, as numerous studies have concluded.

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The end to this myth came when a study compared a group of individuals who ate most of their carbs at night with a group that consumed most of their carbs during the day. Both groups were in an equivalent caloric deficit. The group that consumed most carbs at night actually lost more body fat and maintained more muscle mass than the carbs during the day group! The conclusion was that the group that consumed most carbs at night maintained higher leptin levels. Leptin is a hormone that is synthesized through adipose tissue. It plays a significant role in regulating hunger, food intake and energy expenditure. Low leptin levels equal big cravings. It is responsible for signaling the brain and reporting current energy levels, and by doing so it affects other important hormones for the study in question, like the thyroid hormone (responsible for metabolism) and testosterone (key hormone for muscle growth/maintenace).

Now, Leptin reacts very well to carbohydrate intake (meaning that levels rise significantly when a significant amount of carbs is ingested). So, when you ingest carbs, leptin levels rise! That means less hunger, less cravings… good stuff!

What really matters is the total amount of calories consumed!

To wrap this up, when our goal is to burn body fat, meal timing is largely irrelevant compared to the total amount of calories we eat. People erroneously believe that by reducing carbohydrate intake at night, they will lose body fat. However, instead of some physiological response that has never been proved by science, the reason for fat loss is probably due to the reduced amount of calories ingested, which tends to happen when people cut carbs at specific points in the day. In other words, as long as you don’t go above your daily carbohydrate limit – aim for around 2 grams per Kg of body weight – you don’t have much to worry about.

References:

1. Katayose Y, Tasaki M, Ogata H, Nakata Y, Tokuyama K, Satoh M. Metabolic rate and fuel utilization during sleep assessed by whole-body indirect calorimetry. Metabolism. 2009 Jul;58(7):920-6.
2. Sofer S, Eliraz A, Kaplan S, Voet H, Fink G, Kima T, Madar Z. Greater weight loss and hormonal changes after 6 months diet with carbohydrates eaten mostly at dinner. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Oct;19(10):2006-14.