Top 3 Times to Consume Carbs So You Don’t Store Body Fat

There are a bunch of diets out there that tell you that you should avoid carbs or at least limit them to a small amount. I’m sure we have all heard of at least one of them, or at least know someone who has tried a low carb, or no carb diet.

But are carbs really that bad?

Sure carbs are the only nonessential macronutrient, but I believe after years of trail and errors on myself as well as thousands of clients, and of course all of the research that I have seen into the subject, that it isn’t all that simple.

The truth is, it all depends on what type of carb you consume and even when you consume them.

Eat them at the right times, and they’ll accelerate your fat loss and get you leaner.

Get the timing wrong and over-consume, and you may sabotage your goals.

Here are the top 3 times that you should be consuming your carbs in order to maximize your fat loss and use them to your advantage!

1. Morning

One of the best times to consume carbs is in the morning, right after you wake up.

Overnight, while you sleep, your body fasts and goes through carbohydrates that it stores away, also known as glycogen. When you eat carbs first thing in the morning, your body uses these carbs to replenish what you lost over night, rather than storying them as fat.

One of the best things that you can do is to reach for some steel cut oats, granola, or even a little bit of fruit.

Remember to also consume protein in the morning a long with your carbs.

2. Pre-workout

Because carbs are so critical to providing energy, consuming carbs before your workout is a must, as the more energy you have, the harder you train.

Consume your carbs about an hour before you workout.

You could easily opt for the same carb sources you had at breakfast, or, alternatively, switch things up a little. Quinoa, white rice and sweet potatoes are all nutrient-dense, minimally processed carbohydrates that will work just great for fueling your workout, whether you’re hitting the weights or getting in some high-intensity cardio.

I talk more about the best carb sources in the video below:

3. Post-workout

The reason why you need carbs after your workout is similar to the reason you’re taking them in first thing in the A.M.

Those glycogen stores are used up when you train hard, and in order for you to replenish and allow your body to shuttle nutrients, you need carbs in your post-workout meal[1].

Additionally, carbs help shuttle insulin to the muscle cells, and this accelerates the delivery of nutrients such as protein to the broken down muscle tissue.

This is absolutely critical, and something many people usually don’t take into consideration.

Neglect your post-workout carbs, and your muscles simply won’t recover like they should. You’ll likewise feel more sore, and over time you may even lose some lean muscle tissue. When you don’t feed your muscles, your metabolism drops, and you’ll likely be training at sub-optimal levels until you get this under control [2, 3].

I like a lot of the same choices here too.

However, it’s important to switch up your carb sources, so if you had oats before training, have some potatoes afterwards, or vice-versa.

Bonus Tip – Always Have Protein with Your Carbs

I can’t stress how important this is.

Adding protein to your carbs slows down the digestion process, and ensures that you’re getting more protein delivered to your muscle cells. Protein also helps you feel fuller longer, so you don’t get those terrible hunger pangs and cravings that so many dieters suffer from.

The Wrap Up – Why Carb Timing is the Key to Your Fat Loss Success

There’s no getting around the fact that the low-carb people are on to something.

To torch body fat and lose stubborn weight, you do need to cut your carbs. But going too far will lead to losses in muscle mass and drops in performance, hence why carb timing is so critical.

Although cutting carbs may be helpful, you CANNOT cut carbs too low for extended periods of time without doing more harm than good to your metabolism. This is one reason why a carb cycle can be helpful, as you don’t cut out carbs long enough to do harm, and it keeps your metabolism guessing, rather than letting it adapt to a new diet.

By eating carbs at these times, you guarantee that when you do eat them, they’re utilized optimally, and not shuttled straight to your cells and stored as body fat.

For the rest of your meals, stick to proteins such as chicken, lean red meat and fish (grass-fed and wild caught if possible), green vegetables and healthy fats like nuts and avocado.

Time your carbs right, and you’ll see some positive change in both your body as well as your performance.

Prime Your Body for Perfect Carb Control

Follow the guidelines in this article, and you can’t go wrong.

These rules surrounding carb timing work well.

And remember, timing only works if you are eating the right carbs. Click here to discover the difference between bad and good carbs.

But, like anything with training, diet and fat loss, to get things absolutely perfect, and make fat loss as efficient as possible, your meals should be personalized.

Everybody has different genetics and a different metabolism, so what works great for your best friend or brother/sister likely won’t be ideal for you.

Today you can put your success first, and ensure that you really are getting your nutrition and your carbs just right at all times, by putting it in the hands of an expert, with Custom Meal Plans. Through this program we customize a meal plan according to your individual stats and needs, telling you what to eat and when. We take out all of the guess work. Never again will you have to try and figure out when to consume carbs, or even how much. We give you the good carbs to consume, how much of them and when to eat them to work towards your advantage so you burn more fat, faster!

Attempting to figure out what works for your specific goals can be very frustrating, especially with all of the conflicting information on the web. So let our experts do it for you. We have completed over 40,000 custom meal plans to date for people all over the world (all 4 continents!) — these plans are designed unique to your body type, around your wants, needs, and goals. We also take into consideration your activity level to make sure you know exactly what to, and when, ever day of the week removing 100% of the guesswork.

Here’s an example of just one of our clients, Susie Nokes, and the power our custom meal plans can have in just 30 short days. Pretty impressive, heh? Click here to unlock the power of custom nutrition and instantly begin stripping body fat — fast!