Can I eat carbs at night?

But I heard carbs at night store as fat? Believe it or not, carbs at night can help improve your body composition.

Carbs can help lower our cortisol (stress hormone), which can help to inhibit sleep.

Our bodies follow a circadian rhythm in which hormone levels change over the course of the day. For example, cortisol is typically elevated in the morning and is responsible for waking us up. Over the course of the day cortisol should drop. But, if you train/work late or deal with life stressors later in the day, cortisol can flood your system, keeping you anxious and awake.

This is why we typically reach for comfort foods and cravings in the evening—our bodies are looking for ways to combat the physiological stress response to lower cortisol.

Consuming carbs in the evening also means triggering a release of the hormone insulin, which is an antagonist to cortisol.

When cortisol/blood sugar is elevated, it can result in increases of estrogen in men, increase insulin sensitivity, and promote fat storage.

Aim for complex carbs/whole foods along with prioritizing protein.

Lastly, keep in mind that consistently monitoring your intake will have a greater impact on attaining your goals vs worrying about if carbs at night store as fat (because they do not).