Taper Your
Daily Carbohydrate Intake

Tapering your daily carbohydrate intake makes sense because as the day progresses your body requires less fuel to sustain itself. Your recommended carbohydrate intake per day is determined by your metabolism and your daily activity. Obviously the more active you are the more carbohydrate per day is required by your body.

An ideal situation is to start the day with a reasonable carbohydrate intake (because you have the rest of the day to burn it off) and slowly taper your carbohydrate intake with each meal thereafter. Keep in mnd of course that it is not necessary to cut out your carbs in the evening altogether, simply reduce your intake!

Obviously, trying to follow this principle exactly by ensuring your intake of carbohydrate per day is tapered is difficult. It requires you to ensure that the amount of carbohydrates in food each meal contains is slightly less than the one before.

Since it is difficult, what I recommend is to 'bend' the principle to suit your own personal situation without breaking it.

With this particular principle most people I speak with find it easier to have roughly the same amount of carbohydrate in the first three meals of the day and try then to minimise their carbohydrate intake for the last two meals.

I understand it may not be possible to minimise your carbohydrate intake for the last two meals all the time, particularly if you must prepare meals for your family, but the more often you can do it the better.

Benefits of reducing your carbohydrate intake

Reducing your recommended carbohydrate intake during your evening meal also maximises your body's production of growth hormone(GH) when you are sleeping. GH is suppressed by a high blood glucose level. This another reason why tapering your carbohydrate intake is so important.

Since GH secretion is highest at night during sleep, a high intake of carbohydrate during dinner may suppress the release of GH. Growth hormone is the body's most powerful fat-burning (lipolytic) hormone and suppressing it will therefore slow fat burning in the body and therefore weight loss.

For the majority of people carbohydrate is by far the dominant macronutrient in each of their meals. Breakfast might consist of cereal and/ or toast, lunch might be a sandwich of some description and dinner might be pasta/ rice/ potatoes with vegetables and a portion of meat.

If you are particularly hungry during the day you might also have a low-fat muffin, some yoghurt or a piece of fruit for the mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals.

Most people would assume the above nutritional plan was pretty good. It is low in fat, balanced and provides some protein. In fact it isn't too bad if you want to have an average body. The problem is, an average body these days is overweight!

By making a few simple adjustments you can make this average daily food intake an outstanding daily food intake.

Having 5 or 6 small meals a day and a portion of protein with every meal rather than with only a few meals will make a difference.

Also, having a small portion of fat with each meal will improve this nutritional plan and assist weight loss as well.

Another strategy is to taper your daily carbohydrate intake as the day progresses.

How reducing your carbohydrate intake assists your fat-burning and weight-loss efforts

Having a high carbohydrate intake at dinner is probably the worst thing you can do, apart from having a high fat intake or an excess of calories if you are trying to lose weight.

By making this simple error in judgement and then repeating it a number of times after just a few short weeks, it is quite possible for an individual's weight and fat stores to increase significantly even if their overall fat intake from food has been kept to a minimum!

Here's the best way to incorporate a reduced evening carbohydrate intake into your life...

A small portion of 'starchy' carbohydrates like potato, bread, rice or pasta may also be consumed but ideally it is best to eat a minimal amount of high-density carbohydrates at this time.

To make the salad or vegetables more interesting add one of the many varieties of low-fat dressing and perhaps a dash of oil or a small handful of nuts and/or seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and almonds are ideal).

Eating plenty of fibrous vegetables for dinner means you should include the following foods: broccoli, cabbage, spinach, peas, carrots, beans, sprouts, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. They are high in nutrients, low in calories and low in carbohydrate.

As a result, the more of these foods you eat, the more nutrients your body will receive without significantly increasing your total calorie intake.

I know it sounds pretty bland and boring but try using a variety of different spices, herbs and flavourings as well as your imagination. There are plenty of excellent recipes available that can assist you in tapering your daily carbohydrate intake without taking away the enjoyment of food. Consider making stir-fries, casseroles or satay sticks. The options are endless!

What to do if you're having trouble taping your daily carbohydrate intake

Try increasing your recommended carbohydrate intake of earlier meals, particularly those meals up to and including lunch. You may also want to try increasing your portion of protein at dinner time because protein has been shown to have potent appetite suppressing effects.

If you are finding it particularly difficult to go without sweets after dinner, you may want to allow yourself half a punnet of strawberries to get rid of any hunger pangs you may have.

Even if you don't do any exercise and don't dramatically change your eating habits, tapering your daily carbohydrate intake will significantly lower your weight in a matter of a few weeks. It will also improve your health, energy levels and bodily functions.

By controlling your daily carbohydrate intake and by following the 'tapering' approach with regards to your recommended carbohydrate intake that is covered here, you are certain to achieve amazing results in record time!

If you would like to discover more highly effective weight-loss principles that will help you achieve results in record time, then I recommend getting a copy of my e-book, Look Good, Feel Great!