Proper nutrition is as much about timing as it is about making the right meal choices.

We all know that carbs are essential to your macro nutrition. At one point all the most “seasoned” health experts were claiming that carbs were the main culprit behind all the extra layers of fat building up around your midsection. Dumb. Without carbs you won’t have the energy to lift one hundred pounds let alone two. But when exactly should you eat your carbs for the best possible results?
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Breakfast

Having carbs in the morning is a great time to start. For most of us who sleep 6-8 hours, our cortisol levels increase over night. Cortisol is a hormone that can kill your muscle gains by reducing protein synthesis and raising glucose levels. Carbohydrates are great for lowering and managing cortisol levels. So basically, if you boost your carbs in the morning, you can drop those cortisol levels that built up over night.

Preworkout

Another time that carbs are essential is for pre workout. Like we said before, the body needs energy to push through a tough workout and carbohydrates provides that in spades. By having slow digesting carbs about an hour to a half hour before your workout, your body will be firing on all cylinders and provide all the energy you need. Some dry, multi-grain cereal could help raise those energy levels.

Postworkout

Preworkout isn’t the only time carbs should be consumed. It’s also essential to your gains that you consume carbs after a tough training session. But the type of carbs you need will be different from the ones consumed before your workout. Instead of the slow burning carbs needed for preworkout, fast burning carbs should be consumed post workout. The carbohydrates will cause insulin levels to spike and will take the amino acids from the blood stream and driving them into the muscles.
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What carbs do you consume throughout the day? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.