This is not another Carb Timing question

[SEAviator]

I know the rule is that carbs should be first placed post workout, then breakfast then pre workout in order of importance

my question is this.....

Lets say that after doing all your calculations you need 350g of carbs per day... you need more or less 100g post workout and 50g pre workout and 50 breakfast..

thats 200g of carbs that go in those three crucial times.. the other 150g of carbs, do you space them up throughout the day except the last 2 meals?

What confuses me is that Im seeing a lot of diets in here that

a) Doesnt have carbs in lets say the 2nd meal, why? Ive been told that you do need carbs in the morning, even though you are not necessarily working you, you are burning calories, and if you dont eat carbs then you will burn the protein you just ate that couldve been used to build muscle..

b) too many people taking carbs post post workout.. if you already take 100g of carbs post workout, why would you need another 50g of carbs post post workout when you're like 3 hours away of sleeping? all your carb needs are already covered in your post workout meal

ex: -------- what I think it should be

1: carb/protein ------ 1. carb/protein

2: protein/fat --- 2. carb/protein

3: protein/carb ------- 3. carb/protein

4: protein/fat ----- 4. carb/protein

workout ----- workout

5: protein/carb shake ------- 5. protein/carb shake

6: protein/carb ------- 6. protein fat

7: protein fat ------- 7. protein fat

of course all of this meeting daily macros, clean foods etc.. and the meals that arent breakfast, pre post workout would of course have much less carbs

this is kinda of a vague example, but I hope you can understand my question

So how do you space your carbs? If you need 350g I find it kinda silly dividing entirely all of that in breakfast, pre and post workout.... kinda useless having a lot more carbs than what you need at that time..

so how do you space them throughout the day? example?

[gbrice75]

I feel your concern, and it can be daunting. It all comes down to the time of day you workout, IMO. In my case i'm lucky because I workout first thing in the morning, so I have my bulk of carbs pre/post workout, and the 2 following meals. After that is all protein/fat meals. For people that workout later in the day, the carb timing issue gets tougher.

I would still reccommend carbs PWO no matter what. PPWO is another story unless it's early in the day IMO. As far as meeting your carb goals is concerned, if you have an extra 150g of carbs to play with, I wouldn't add them into other meals later in the day. Either up your carbs in the meals that already have carbs, or add an extra carb meal early in the day if you can fit one.

[Damienm05]

People are too afraid of carbs. I say this as someone who most would consider "carb-sensitive" as well. Ultimately, how clean you eat and whether or not your cals are in check are 100% more important than timing of carb meals. That said, timing of carb meals is a big factor but we shouldn't lose sleep over it. As long as you're active, complex carbs can be eaten whenever really. I'd advise against more than 30g of carbs in any meal eaten during a sedentary period and I'd probably advise against any right before sleeping.

Also, ignore the 2:1 ratio of carbs/protein everyone claims in necessary PWO and just listen to your body. We should be eating for activities to come (energy purposes) and not exponentially more for activities already done. 10g of healthy fat or 1/2 cup of oats will have the same effect on protein synthesis.