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No carbs after 6 pm - does the clock really matter?

No carbs after 6 pm - does the clock really matter?

Carbs after 6 pm don't magically become fat - they hold the same calories at night as at noon. The real reason people gain is the extra TV snacks piled on top of dinner, not the dinner clock.

12 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy
carbs dinner weight-loss-myths timing

Eating carbs after 6 pm turns them straight into fat.

mostly false

Mostly false. A roti, a bowl of rice, or a katori of dal holds the same calories at 9 pm as at 1 pm - the wall clock does not change a single calorie. Your body stores carbs as glycogen first, and only turns the surplus into fat once you eat more than you burn over the whole day. The clock gets blamed because night eating is usually extra eating on top of the day, not because carbs behave differently after dark.

Sources: Wikipedia - Glycogen · Wishnofsky 1960 - Caloric Equivalents of Gained or Lost Weight (JAMA)
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