No, Eating Carbs at Night Won’t Make You Fat

The other day, two of my fellow coaches and I were talking about our various meal plans and how (at least) one of them suggests that carbs not be eaten at night. I don’t agree with this, and made it known. One of the great things about my team is that we can have these conversations without hurt feelings or judgment. I don’t have to agree with 100% of the things my company does, and that’s totally okay.

One of the other coaches said that the person who created the plan had a Masters in Nutrition Sciences, so she obviously had a reason for leaving carbs out of the evening meal.

I have an Associates degree in Foreign Languages and am a semester away from a Bachelors degree in Web Development. None of my formal education is based around nutrition or fitness.

I do, however, have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a borderline-narcissistic need to be right, so I do my research. Constantly.

Before I post anything or solidify an opinion, I make sure I’ve looked over case studies and information released by experts, including Registered Dietitians who have MS degrees who aren’t partnered with my company. In the age of the e-expert, though, saying that isn’t enough. You have to prove it. So here are some stellar resources about eating carbs late and night and why, no, it won’t make you get fat and why you don’t have to cut them out of your dinner.

Leanne Ward, The Fitness Dietitian

Leanne Ward is a sports dietitian known as @the_fitness_dietitian on Instagram. She has a certificate in public health, a bachelor of health science with a focus on nutrition, a masters of dietetics, and has a degree in sports dietetics.

PopSugar reported Leanne’s findings about eating carbs late at night in February 2018. She originally published the information in October 2017.

Any macronutrients (carbs, fat & protein) will make you gain weight if you’re eating in a surplus…As long as the calories you’re consuming at night are within your body’s required amounts, you will not gain weight.

McKel Hill, MS, RDN, LDN

McKel Hill is much more blunt about it.

Any ‘guru’ who tells you not to eat carbs past a certain hour, let’s say 3 or 4 pm for example, has no idea what they’re talking about.

She gives a detailed rundown of carbohydrates here, and she linked to a medical study about the glucose and insulin responses to meals at night here.

Have I mentioned how much I love her website?

You can learn about how high cortisol levels and high insulin levels stalls weight loss, and how cortisol dips throughout the day, allowing you to tap into weight loss later in the day.

So much excellent information. Visit the websites. Learn the goods. Be confident that, no, eating carbs at night will not make you gain weight, and if you are gaining weight after eating late at night, you need to re-evaluate what you’re eating throughout the entire day.