No Carbs Before Bedtime and Peanut Butter Before a Run?

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liebling

39 posts since
Aug 26, 2007

Dec 26, 2007 4:54 AM

No Carbs Before Bedtime and Peanut Butter Before a Run?

Hi, all,
I've been reading some posts that propose eating your complex carbs only for breakfast and lunch but never for dinner as this practice helps a person lose (or maintain) weight because it helps your body not turn that dinner pasta into fat. I guess the theory is that you burn more carbs during your waking hours, so if you eat pasta, rice, etc. for dinner, then go to bed a few hours later, you are in a resting state and so, you will store many of those night time carbs as fat. Our brains run mostly on glycogen (a carb derivative), but I suppose that might decline during rest, even in a dream state.

The other item (and they seem to go together sometimes) is the eating of a tablespoon of peanut (or almond, perhaps?) butter right before a run. It has been said that this somehow promotes fat burning during the workout.

What is the science behind these theories and has anyone out there tried them? The main rules I have followed for years are no refined carbs and no four-legged creatures

, but I've never thought about no carbs for dinner or a tablespoon of fat before a run. However, I like to remain open to new ideas on nutrition as I explore them.

Any and all opinions, yeah or nay, are welcome! Thanks very much in advance.

Liebling (Paula)

http://This message has been edited by liebling (edited Sep-05-2007).

ljwoodw

550 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

1. Sep 5, 2007 12:32 PM

in response to: liebling

Don't over-theorize. It's very simple - eat fewer calories than you burn and you'll lose weight. There aren't many shortcuts that actually work, and many fewer that are sustainable.

Peanut Butter before a run?

Blech! Do whatever you need to do before a run to make yourself enjoy it more. That way you'll stick with it. For me, it's not eating for three hours.

CB8028

52 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

2. Sep 5, 2007 12:42 PM

in response to: liebling

liebling, I have seen posts also regarding eating peanut (or whatever nut) butter before a run. Seems like there are quite a few runners who do this with good results. Not sure what the science is behind it (don't have a clue actually). As far as no carbs for dinner, it kinda makes sense to me really (However, I'm not a nutritionist either), but, I do try to stay away from the simple sugars/carbs myself especially at dinner for the same reasons you had in your posts. Just makes sense to me.

chele519

363 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

3. Dec 26, 2007 4:54 AM

in response to: liebling

I've been following this for almost 3 weeks and it's been working for me. Before I was eating pretty well, only complex carbs, whole grains, etc. but still not seeing much of a change in weight/bf. Not eating carbs at night seems to work well for me. Not sure about the peanut butter but I've lost fat, almost 4%, so for me, it works.

http://This message has been edited by chele519 (edited Sep-05-2007).

teetime

459 posts since
Aug 17, 2002

4. Sep 5, 2007 12:48 PM

in response to: liebling

I don't know about carbs and dinner. If I ate no carbs for or after dinner I'm sure I'd shed (too much) weight. But I love dessert so there you go.

Re: peanut butter. I stumbled on this by accident actually. And, for what it's worth, I do not buy into it jump starting fat burning or having any magical properties. However, I moved a couple early morning runs to noon runs. By that time I found myself starting to get hungry but needing to use lunch hour for the workout itself. I tried a cup of hot choc (didn't do much), an apple (too "rough"), and then a T of PB (left over usually from another snack/meal). The pre run PB leaves me feeling not-hungry but not full, it doesn't upset my stomach, and because I have something in me I can push the pace a bit (usually). So I have that if I'm running during lunch time.

I'm not looking to lose weight so have no thoughts there but if you need some umph to power up your workouts give it a try. If you can push out 2 extra miles then you'll burn off the PB plus some extra.

Ariann092

681 posts since
Jan 4, 2005

5. Sep 5, 2007 12:56 PM

in response to: liebling

Eating no carbs for dinner usually means just eating fewer calories and that always = weight loss. Carbohydrates eaten later in the day do not magically turn into fat any better than carbs eaten earlier in the day, but calories from ALL sources (carb, protein, fat, and alcohol) turn into fat quite easily when eaten in excess of actual bodily need.

Eating peanut butter for breakfast or before a run is extremely unlikely to make you burn fat over carbohydrates. Even people who eat NO carbs burn carbs all day long (because fat is just a really complicated carbohydrate in essence and is broken down to provide the body with glucose). You're always burning both carbs and fat, all the time, but the percentages of each vary based on aerobic conditioning (i.e. training) and level of exertion (again, training). However, there have been actual studies on the so-called "peanut butter diet," in which a person eats a tablespoon of peanut butter as an afternoon snack and magically loses weight. It's not magic, it's just a satisfying snack. When you approach dinner less hungry (because you've had a snack with a bit of fat, protein, and carbs that tides you over), you'll be less likely to pig out, and you'll eat less overall, even with the additional 100 calories of p.b.

Guest

6. Sep 7, 2007 9:47 PM

in response to: liebling

Fewer calories leads to weight loss. Thats the easy bit. The hard bit is finding the types of foods that keep you going through the day thus helping you stay on track. Its been scientifically proven that a (slightly) reduced carb intake keeps people satisfied for longer. I think the 'no carbs for dinner' thing is a continuation of finding what keeps people on track. People like eating sandwiches for lunch so therefore, don't eat carbs for dinner.

As far as peanut butter goes, I assumed it was just a convenient and healthy way to have a snack before exercise. When on a diet, exercise is hard as it tends to make you hungry and there's nothing more distracting than a rumbling stomach throughout a run.

Plus you Americans are obsessed with PB. I personally prefer vegemite on crackers. Not that I am in any way obsessed with my vit b high

liebling

39 posts since
Aug 26, 2007

7. Sep 7, 2007 10:02 PM

in response to: liebling

We Americans are "obsessed" with peanut butter? Really?

Thanks for letting me know.

I'll run right out and trade my almond butter for some . . . .

reboot

398 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

8. Sep 7, 2007 10:39 PM

in response to: liebling

I don't think peanut butter is a particularly healthy food and it is just about the last thing I would eat before a run.

Most of the energy in PB is in the form of fats and not particularly healthy fats either. A significant portion is saturated fat. In any case, the fat is very slow to digest so your stomach will be attempting to process it for most all of your run and little of its energy will be available during your run.

Quite apart from the health question, ingesting difficult to digest fats that will offer nothing except a 'working' stomach during the run seems an unlikely thing to want to do.

------------------
gotta run...

liebling

39 posts since
Aug 26, 2007

9. Sep 7, 2007 10:49 PM

in response to: liebling

I believe that PB in its natural state is quite healthy as it is virtually no sodium and not an animal product, therefore it has no saturated fats. Peanut fats are quite good for you, as are all nut fats. Olive oil, salmon oil, grape seed oil, and a host of other good fats are necessary for health. In SMALL quantities, of course.

The tampered with PB, where hydrogenated fats, sugar, and salt have been added, is the bad stuff I think you mean.

Actually, peanuts have many of the same antioxidants that are carried in red grape skins. Like I said, I eat almond butter once in a while.

My only issue even with the natural PB is the smell--really strong to me.

Actually, eating a handful of almonds or walnuts would be a little lighter and probably just as good.

Anyway, I've been doing the almond butter and it doesn't seem to do anything either way. So, it's back to simply organic coffee and that's it. But the no or very low carbs at dinner is a good habit that forces me to eat lighter before sleep, which is always good.

Adios.
Liebling

Ariann092

681 posts since
Jan 4, 2005

10. Sep 7, 2007 11:51 PM

in response to: liebling

quote:<HR>Originally posted by liebling:
I believe that PB in its natural state is quite healthy as it is virtually no sodium and not an animal product, therefore it has no saturated fats. Peanut fats are quite good for you, as are all nut fats. Olive oil, salmon oil, grape seed oil, and a host of other good fats are necessary for health. In SMALL quantities, of course.

The tampered with PB, where hydrogenated fats, sugar, and salt have been added, is the bad stuff I think you mean.

Actually, peanuts have many of the same antioxidants that are carried in red grape skins. Like I said, I eat almond butter once in a while.

My only issue even with the natural PB is the smell--really strong to me.

Actually, eating a handful of almonds or walnuts would be a little lighter and probably just as good.

Anyway, I've been doing the almond butter and it doesn't seem to do anything either way. So, it's back to simply organic coffee and that's it. But the no or very low carbs at dinner is a good habit that forces me to eat lighter before sleep, which is always good.

Adios.
Liebling

<HR>

Animal products are not the only source of saturated fat, but you may be confusing saturated fat with cholesterol, which is only found in animal products. Some vegetable products, such as coconut and palm oils, are extremely high in saturated fat. That being said, a small amount of saturated fat is not the end of the world. It was my understanding that p.b. without other fats added has most of its fat in the form of polyunsaturated fats (can't run and check now since I accidentally bought p.b. with palm oil added!). Nuts have been shown to be greatly beneficial in a variety of long-term health studies, so I certainly wouldn't worry about adding them to my diet. In fact, if you're not allergic and you're not already eating at least an ounce of any kind of nut a day, you're probably very seriously missing out.

liebling

39 posts since
Aug 26, 2007

11. Sep 8, 2007 11:56 AM

in response to: liebling

Ariann: Yep, I plum forgot about coconut and palm oil as saturated fats. I don't eat them, so out of sight, out of stomach!

Thanks for correcting me.

Going to stay away from the "butters" in general?too heavy for me. Handful of nuts and seeds is my preference.

But when I was a kid, I used to LOVE to take a banana, peel it part way down and smear peanut butter on it and eat it just like that. Good memory.

Take care,

Lieb

reboot

398 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

12. Sep 8, 2007 1:46 PM

in response to: liebling

My comments regarding the healthiness of PB were not my principle concern in terms of a prerun food but, since you are making a point:

Two tbsp of PB contain about 188 kcal of which 145 come from fat. That by itself makes PB a less than healthy food but, on top of that, about 20% of the fat calories are in the form of saturated fat. All this is without even considering the common forms of PB which contain added sugars, salt and trans fats.

I really don't know about the micro-nutrient content of PB but I expect it is not likely great. The product is a processed food that is a legume (not any form of nut) and whatever advantages you might think nuts may have, cannot be automatically assumed to be in PB.

All that aside, in reasonable quantities, it will not likely do any major harm to a fit runner. I just can't imagine that a high fat food would sit well before a run and the health aspects of it certainly are not justification.

------------------
gotta run...

liebling

39 posts since
Aug 26, 2007

13. Sep 8, 2007 2:00 PM

in response to: liebling

Yes, pea "nuts" are legumes. We were just including them as "nuts" as they are another source of the "butter" products.

Reboot is right!!!!

To each his/her own, brothers and sisters.

Gotta run, too.

Dec 26, 2007 4:54 AM

No Carbs Before Bedtime and Peanut Butter Before a Run?

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