Best Time to Eat those Carbs

Chandi Schwab

When is the best time to eat carbs? The absolute best times to consume carbs is first thing in the morning when your body is calorie deprived from a nights sleep, and before and after your workouts to help fuel and recover your muscles. I feel like it is best to eat 4 to 6 small to moderate size meals a day with a majority of the meals containing slow absorbing complex carbs such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole grains. Fast absorbing carbs like most fruits, fruit juices and forms of food and drinks containing simple sugars are great within 1 hour after your workout to replenish the carbs you depleted during your workout session.

The amount of carbs you consume after exercise depends on how much you exerted yourself during training. If you are only doing a cardio workout first thing in the morning then it may be best to consume carbs after your cardio session and not before, so your body can target more fat burning without many carbs present to burn as energy at this time. 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates is great after your workout.


If you want to burn more body fat, taper your carbs as the day gets later, and you may want to cut off a lot of your carb intake like starches or pasta around 5 to 7 pm unless you workout around those times or you are going for a long morning run the next morning. Save the starchy foods for breakfast or lunch time. It is best to have mostly protein and healthy fats for dinner. A great example would be 5 ounces of salmon with asparagus.

To sum it up, save the starchy kinds of foods like oatmeal and whole wheat toast for earlier in the day like for breakfast or lunch. That way you give your body energy to take on the day. Avoid sweets especially at night time when you are the least active. Fruits are an excellent way to kick that sweet craving. Also try having more carbs before and after a workout. This actually boosts your metabolism. Remember, the more active you are the more carbs you can eat, so try to keep that in mind:) I actually eat a lot of healthy complex carbs especially when I am training hard. My body really needs the energy. Some people don't need as much, so be in tune with your body and your needs. Good Luck!