Weight loss and eating carbs at night?

I have been going to the gym 6 days a week.  I am an attorney so I work until about 5 and then go straight to the gym.  I started this about a month and a half ago.  When I started I had 25% body fat and weighed 130.  Now I am 131 and have 28% body fat!  I do 40 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weights when I go.  The trainer said that because I am not getting home until 7:30 that I am eating way too late and the carbs are not burning off and turning straight into fat.

Does this make sense?  I am 5'3 30 years old, and weigh 131.  I work out, like I said 6 days a week and do weights. Should I really only eat salads as my dinner meal at night?

Fire your trainer.

That is really not helpful.  I LIKE my trainer.  Why fire her.  She pushes me really hard and my arms are looking great.  Is she wrong about the carbs?  If she is say so.

Sorry, I was too glib.

But really, she believes that the carbs know what time it is, and if you eat them after the clock reads 7:30, they'll turn straight into fat? As opposed to at 6:30, when they'll turn into something else? Carbs aren't Cinderella's pumpkin.

If you like her, don't fire her, but don't take her nutrition advice either.

How much are you eating vs burning?

How much food are you eating? and what's the breakdown % wise.

what she said was that if you eat carbs later at night your body isn't getting a chance to burn them off before you go to sleep.  I guess that made sense to me for some reason.  Maybe because I am totally frustrated.  I wanted to lose weight for a wedding that I am in two weeks from now, but instead I gained weight (just one pound but still) and 3% body fat!

I count calories.  I eat between 1400 and 1500 calories a day.  I work out 6 days a week for at least an hour.  Sendentary at work I burn about 1600 calories a day.  At the gym I burn about 500.  This is about a 500 to 600 calorie deficit.  I don't know what the deal is.  I know i just turned 30 but what the heck is the deal?!

First off, I don't know how seriously you can take the bf%, especially if this is just two measurements. If you've been getting it tested each week, and it's been steadily climbing, I'd be more believing, but I'm guessing that you got it done once when you started, and once just now? My understanding is that most methods have a large enough margin of error that you can't assume that much accuracy.

Are you doing weights each time you are at the gym? You should be taking a rest day between lifting sessions.

I lift weights 2-3 times a week.  I switch off upper and lower body each time. 

On the same token, I have been gaining weight.  I admit that for about a month I was not counting calories. I thought I had a good handle on what I was eating.  But I get so hungry after the gym, I really didn't.  I gained 2 pounds (and then had the wedding shower and didn't get on the scale till a week later)  So I started counting again 2 weeks ago and was back down to 131 on Saturday.  I wasn't doing bad before, just not as big a deficit as I wanted.  I am just super annoyed.  I should have lost more than a single pound in 2 weeks.

To me, it sounds like you are not gaining or losing, just maintaining a weight (although I can't imagine that the 14-1500 you are eating is maintenance level, since that would put your sedentary burn ridiculously low, if you follow me). You know that your weight can fluctuate a lot - over a month you went from 130 to 132 to 131... all within normal fluctuations.

But I know that doesn't really help when the goal is to lose...

When you are at the gym (not lifting), are you doing steady state cardio? What if you switched out some of that for shorter, more intense workouts - HIIT or something like this.

Also, did you post your macro %'s?

What is a macro %?

On cardio days I do 30 to 40 minutes on the elliptical, and 20 to 30 minutes on the stair stepper, the one with real stairs doing leg lifts...

I had knee surgery about 2 years ago... ACL, MCL replcement and Miniscus repair... so Running is kinda out of the question.  I can do it but only about a mile at a time and I pay for it later.

Sorry - macronutrient % - fat, protein carbs?

I'm not sure what you mean by "real stairs doing leg lifts" ? But the stair steppers I know of wouldn't be recommended for anyone with knee issues.

I don't run either. But check out the link I gave - it's all body weight movements, although you'd want to be careful the you were keeping your knees safe while doing the lunges and squats (I don't do the jump version of those - just do regular).

I can do squats, not lunges.  For some reason the stairs don't bother my knee.  What I mean by leg lifts is when you go up the step you lift the oppisite leg behind you as high as you can.  Just gives an additional burn and tightening.  the backs of my legs are a trouble area for me. 

Huh. Ok, just never heard of that.

Well, my main suggestion was maybe see if there is a shorter, more intense way to get your heart rate up, rather than doing an hour of cardio - you'll have to figure out what works for you, that doesn't aggravate your knees.

Just to weigh in on the carb question, ameythystgirl is correct, and your trainer is not right.  I've heard it said that trainers are frequently terrible at giving nutrition advice.  There are several responses to this.  First, carbs are not the enemy.  Sigh. I repeat CARBS ARE NOT THE ENEMY!  Man, carbs have a killer bad rap.  It makes me angry.  It also irritates me that people have the habit of saying carbs when they mean "complex carbs".  Lets not forget an apple is a carb.  Someone who is working out as much as you are needs carbs and protein.  Carbs should make up 50-55% of your daily pie.  protein should be 20-25%, fat should make up what is left.  Time of day is irrelevant.  If you find its 10:00 at night, and you have way undershot your calories for the day, the best thing to do is have a snack.  It is important not to undereat, and its important not to undernourish!  People get very caught up with thinking that low calories are the only consideration, but high nutrition is also!  Whole grains and protein are awesome.  The most important thing is calories in vs calories out.  I've lost 70 lbs in nine months, and more than quadrupled my endurance, and I eat some form of snack (often a carb!) every night.  Also, make sure you're getting adequate fibre (25-35g daily).  Also, make sure your daily caloric deficit is between 500-1000, not more.

Oh, one more reason why your trainer is wrong, your body burns calories (from carbs or WHEREVER) even when you sleep!  Your body doesn't stop functioning when you go to bed, so its silly to say that they're going to turn to fat overnight.  In fact, if I don't eat adequately in the day, I'll wake up hungry in the middle of the night.  Why? Cause my metabolism is still working.

On the weight loss side of things, when I started with weights, I gained weight.  most people do.  I find the best way to kick off weight really quickly, especially if you have physical limitations, is in the pool. Weights are fantastic for your health and crucial for your fitness, but they are not a quick weightloss fix.  They are a long term friend.

Finally, try not to focus too much on the number.  Focus on how you feel, how you look etc.  When we're trying to lose for a specific goal (like a wedding) its great motivation, but it doesn't often lead to lasting weight loss.  Good luck!

regardless of the fat% measurements (which are not always accurate, depending on how they're done) perhaps you should assess how much muscle you've gained. the 131 may be a healthier 131 if you've gained more muscle. Do you clothese fit better? Are you drinking enough water? Do you have a really stressful case coming up and therefore is your body responding by holding onto water weight and with fluctuating hormones? There could be many reasons, but if you're working out that much for the past 6 weeks, you're just that much healthier. Maybe increase your cardio (in the pool - like pool jogging) instead of going for the next weight increase when you lift. 

In either case, keep up that level of exercise, and eventually, it'll all come off!

V.

i eat most of my carbs (& my biggest meal of the day) after i workout, and that's usually at 10pm at night that i get home. after your workout is when your body will utilize those carbs the best.

Try this...

Whatever amount you usually eat for dinner, eat half of those calories in the form of a snack pre-workout, then go home and eat the remaining calories for dinner after you get home.

Also...

Are you eating a lot of processed foods or microwavable foods (or even take out food)? Switching to more fresh veggies, and cooking your own lean meats, might reduce your sodium intake (from the info above, we don't really know what types of foods you're eating) and the sodium intake alone might reduce your weight within a week, revealing your true weight.

Also...

Are you really sure you're eating 1500 calories a day? Do you use a food scale and prepare your own meals? Or do you eat out and rely on some form of estimation? Sometimes, we under estimate the calories of the foods we eat.

Also...

Do you sleep enough? Getting more sleep does wonders.

Lastly...

The original measurement could have been inaccurate. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Scales are known to be inaccurate as well as those caliper tests.

I hope some of these tips help. Try them out and best of luck to you.

dove2424,

Your Trainer is not an idiot. Out of the 1500 calories are most consumed at night? If you are working out 6 days a week your muscle mass gained will make it seem like you are actually gain when when in fact your body composition is just changing.

I would ask that you write down what you typically eat late night and see if we can make some healthy alternatives (i.e changing white rice for brown rice).

Yes, your body needs carbs how ever the goal is complex carbs not simple sugars.

Good luck

Thank you all.. This is the most response I have ever gotten from a question here, and I have been on calorie count for the last 6 years.  (wow.. I can't believe it has been that long, it sure was easier to lose weight when I was 24!)

I spoke to a nurse who also has a degree in nutrition.  She kinda said the oppisite of some of you, but I am gonna share anyway.  She said that as we get older, carbs at night are the enemy.  Complex carbs that is.  The reason is, Complex carbs turn to sugar to be burned off, but then you go to bed so instead of it all getting burned, a small amount gets burned, (you burn calories sleeping) and the rest goes from CC to sugar to fat.  That is why I have noticed an increase of fat around my midsection.

Her advice is NOT for me to cut out carbs, because I do work out so much I DO need them.  Her advice was to cut them down at night.  (good by fat free frozen yogurt.. I will miss you!)  She said that I need to eat the majority (2/3) of my carbs BEFORE I go to the gym.  She also said that people eat WAY more carbs than they think they do.  She says, at night I need to eat no more bread.  I need to stick with protein (for my muscles) and Simple carbs like veggies.  This way the small amount of carbs that I am eating (in the veggies) are being used (when I sleep) and there is not a bundle that is not being utilized. 

Most importantly, she said that EVERY BODY IS DIFFRENT.  Your body may utilize complex carbs diffrent than mine.  But lucky me, I log what I eat every day and she took a look at my account.  The only reason that she can see that I was gaining fat (as much as I work out) is the bread that I eat at night.  She told me to try this and check back in a month and a half.  She is confient that this is the ticket, but if I am still not losing weight, I may have to go see my doctor.  I have a deficit calorie wise, and if this isn't it, I may have a thyroid problem (I don't think that is likely since I get a blood test every year and that came back fine.) 

Thank you to everyone that posted.  I'll let you know if this works, eating most carbs during the day and fewer at night.  Be advised this is not a low carb diet.  This is me shuffling around my complex carbs to something that is better for my body.