Since adopting a keto lifestyle, I eat less than 20 carbohydrates per day.
But maybe you’re not interested in keto.
Maybe you want to lose or maintain your weight without giving up carbohydrates.
Right?
Here’s why eating carbohydrates only at night will get you the results you want.
1) Relax & Unwind
Ever wonder why you love carbohydrates?
“Because they taste GREAT, Alex. Duh!”
True.
But why else?
Carbohydrates trigger the reward center in your brain.
They increase serotonin release which is known as a “happy chemical”.
Ever notice how you begin feeling happy and relaxed after eating carbohydrates?
These feelings are addicting.
The result?
You begin craving more and MORE carbohydrates!
Why do you think MILLIONS of people worldwide overeat and gain weight?
“OK, Alex – so I have to quit carbohydrates or risk becoming an addict?”
Not exactly, my friend.
You can eat carbohydrates daily and still lose or maintain your weight.
The trick is to eat them at night so you can relax, feel good and not crave more of them.
You’re likely to be tired and ready for bed a couple hours after dinner.
This minimizes your desire for more carbohydrates.
Are you following me?
Let’s continue.
2) Carbohydrates increase appetite
There’s a joke about how eating all the food in a Chinese restaurant will make you hungry within an hour.
How’s that possible?
Chinese food contains a TON of carbohydrates.
Begin your day eating carbohydrates and you’ll constantly be hungry.
Want proof?
Have a bagel or donuts tomorrow for breakfast.
Combine it with orange juice or coffee that contains cream and sugar.
I guarantee that you’ll be hungry way before lunch time comes around.
The time between breakfast and lunch are what make vending machines so profitable.
Think about it…
How likely are you to overeat if you’re hungry every couple of hours?
Exactly.
Don’t worry, I’ll explain what you should eat for breakfast shortly.
3) Burn more fat
Carbohydrates trigger insulin release in your body.
Like I teach you inside the Demon Diet, when insulin is present, your body switches from burning fat for energy to burning glucose instead.
By skipping carbohydrates all day, you give your body a LOT more time to burn body fat.
You’ll only spike your insulin during dinner time.
While you won’t burn as much fat as you would by eliminating carbohydrates completely, you’ll still make FANTASTIC progress.
Here’s the reality…
Succeeding with weight-loss isn’t what you eat, it’s when and how often you eat.
4) No lack of energy or mental fog
Carbohydrates spike your blood sugar.
Shortly after, you begin feeling tired with mental fog.
This is known as a “carb crash”.
The only thing you desire during this time is sleep.
With that said, wouldn’t you agree that it’s best to only eat carbohydrates at night?
Feeling tired and experiencing mental fog at work makes you unproductive.
This is the time you visit the vending machine or have another coffee filled with cream and sugar to get some energy.
Are you seeing the evil cycle?
5) Big dinner
If you skip carbohydrates during the day, you’ll be able to eat more calories for dinner.
It’s best to have a big dinner because that’s usually when you’re the most hungry.
Right?
So let’s say that you’re trying to lose weight and eat 1500 calories per day.
By skipping carbohydrates and only eating 700 calories between breakfast and lunch, you have 800 calories left over for dinner.
That’s a LOT of food!
To give you an idea, here’s what 800 calories of a high-carb dinner looks like:
- 6 oz. of chicken (180 calories)
- 2 cups of rice (300 calories)
- 1 cup of beans (150 calories)
- 1 ice cream sandwich (150 calories)
Total = 780 calories
How likely are you to sleep satisfied and avoid hunger a couple hours later after a meal like that?
I rest my case.
6) Save room for dessert
Did you notice that I included ice cream in the high-carb dinner above?
I’m sure you’ve heard of people who’ve lost weight by eating sweets every day.
How’s that possible?
Calories in vs. calories out, my friend.
As long as you stay within your caloric limits, you’ll either lose or maintain your weight.
For example, let’s say that out of 1500 calories per day, I eat 1100 calories worth of food and 400 calories worth of cookies.
Would I still lose weight?
Absolutely.
Telling someone on a diet that they can have dessert is like telling a kid that it’s going to be Christmas every day for the rest of their life.
By skipping carbohydrates all day, you’ll save room for a bowl of ice cream or a couple of cookies without hurting your progress.
Your choice of dessert doesn’t matter.
All that matters is that you don’t go over your calories.
Can you imagine being able to eat dessert every night and still lose weight?
Guess what?
It’s 100% possible.
7) No guilt feeling
Most people feel guilty after eating a lot of carbohydrates or dessert when trying to lose or maintain their weight.
By being strategic and leaving your carbohydrates for night time, you leave yourself no reason to feel guilty.
Why?
Because it won’t affect your progress.
Remember that this works for several reasons:
- You keep your insulin low all day which allows you to burn more fat.
- You leave room for plenty of calories for dinner
- You’re unlikely to cheat or quit your diet since you don’t have to restrict your favorite foods
There’s nothing better than eating a big dinner that includes dessert and still make progress with your fitness goals.
You just have to be smart and plan ahead.
8) Post workout recovery
Carbohydrates are essential for post workout recovery.
Your body is depleted of glycogen after an intense workout, especially if you haven’t had carbohydrates all day.
Carbohydrates refill your glycogen stores.
For this reason, you really only need to have them post workout.
If possible, it’s best to work out before dinner so you can empty your glycogen stores before eating carbohydrates.
Why?
Because instead of your body turning those carbohydrates into fat, it will simply refill glycogen and help with muscle growth.
Carbohydrates are only stored as fat when you spillover.
In other words, when you eat so many of them that there’s no room left to store them as glycogen.
9) No deprivation
What leads people to quitting their diets or overeating?
Deprivation.
We humans don’t do well with restriction.
I sure don’t.
The more we know we can’t or shouldn’t have something, the more we desire it.
…Especially foods we love and enjoy.
Well, my friend, there’s no reason to deprive yourself.
As long as you do things the smart way, you can have the foods you enjoy.
Trust me.
10) Don’t be dogmatic
I remember being the person who was dogmatic about his diet.
My thought process was: “Absolutely zero room for non-diet foods”.
Of course being dogmatic lead me to fail because as I mentioned above, we humans don’t like restriction.
It wasn’t until I educated myself and discovered the RIGHT way to diet.
These days, I stick to my style of eating, but if I attend a party or event, and there’s delicious food, I’ll eat it.
It’s what you do consistently that counts.
Don’t ever become dogmatic about anything, especially a diet.
Believe me that it’s not worth it or necessary.
Conclusion
So let’s recap why this strategy works so well.
First, you don’t have to quit eating carbohydrates.
If you’re someone who’s been eating carbohydrates your whole life, that’s music to your ears.
Next, you make FASTER progress by keeping your insulin low and allowing your body more time to burn stored fat.
Last is lack of deprivation which SKYROCKETS your chances of success.
By now you’re probably wondering:
“What should I eat to keep my insulin low?”
I’m glad you asked…
Foods that keep insulin low
So you want to keep insulin low so you can burn maximum fat before dinner?
Great.
Here are 10 foods that barely trigger:
- bacon
- eggs
- salmon
- ground beef
- macadamia nuts
- olive oil
- coconut oil
- grass-fed butter
- avocado
- leafy greens
You can also eat other foods you find that are very low-carb and contain more fat than protein.
Too much protein converts into glucose which triggers insulin and slows down your results.
The reason I follow the keto diet is because it keeps your insulin low 24 hours per day, you feel AMAZING (after the 1st week), and your appetite vanishes!
However, if you rather keep carbohydrates in your diet, simply follow the advice in this article and you’ll succeed.
Talk soon,
-Alexander Writer
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