The primary rule in controlling body fat is to prevent the body from storing fat in the first place. You must avoid eating excessive calories yet eat within your daily caloric needs if you hope to have a cut physique. To lose body fat, though, you must eat fewer calories than your body needs in any given day. When the body perceives a caloric deficit, it will use stored body fat as fuel. While reducing calories is the first step to controlling body fat, other factors also play a role in initiating fat storage.
Skeletal muscle is one of the major storage units for glycogen, which is formed from glucose.
Although glycogen can be readily accessed to provide energy, the body's cells can become over-saturated and any excess is channeled toward fat stores. Essentially, the amount of glycogen already stored is the main factor that decides the fate of those additional carbohydrates. One way to control glucose levels and the associated probability of fat storage is to avoid a high-carb intake later in the evening. While total calories are most important in the fate of body fat levels, lowering glucose levels by avoiding late-night meals may also play a role. Foods consumed later at night have a greater tendency to be stored as fat for two reasons.