El, if you're not looking to change plans to CAD then the best time to have your carbs is spread throughout the day - not in one big serving at one time. What is bad about insulin is not that first rise that happens when you have carbs, but the consequent ones that come after, if you over induldge. That's what got many of us in trouble in the first place. Lots of carbs = lots of insulin, blood surgar spikes and is then brought back down, plummeting in many cases, by excessive insulin, which leaves us hungry very shortly afterward - so then more carbs are ingested because of how hungry we are. It's the cycle that causes all the problems. With CAD you're having higher carbs at one meal and that's it - no cycle. Also CAD encourages you to eat 3 meals a day - not 5 or 6.

With Atkins Maintenance you gradually increase your carbs with 'good' carbs - unprocessed ones. You spread them out throughout - you don't have huge amounts with anyone meal and you're not dealing with large amounts of insulin being released. Also, having gone through Induction and OWL you've helped repair insulin resistance and your sensitivity improves, meaning less insulin is necessary to do the job.

If there should happen to be one meal where you know you're going to have higher carbs then I would suggest you have it as early in the day as possible - insulin sensitivity is best then and you have the opportunity to burn those carbs off and there is less likelihood of them being stored as fat.

Nat