Carb Cycling: The Extreme Cycle

The Extreme Cycle is the newest addition to our carb cycling family and is the result of our years of experience helping our peeps successfully transform their lives on Extreme Weight Loss. If you?re already a carb cycler, then a lot about this new cycle will seem familiar. If you’re new to carb cycling, check out the carb cycling basics first, and then get cycling!

Here’s what an Extreme Cycle week looks like:

  • Monday: High carb day
  • Tuesday: High carb day
  • Wednesday: High carb day
  • Thursday: High carb day
  • Friday: Low carb day
  • Saturday: Low carb day
  • Sunday: Reset Day (and weigh-in day)

Those four consecutive high carb days will give your body a sense of normalcy and let you get into a routine with meal planning. Switching to two low carb days flips your weight loss into turbo mode, allowing you to burn the maximum fat, which is what we want, right?! And your weekly Reset Day (known as your Reward Day in other cycles), lets you eat all those foods you crave, boosts your metabolic rate, and actually helps you lose weight!

Just like with the other cycles, you’ll eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking and every 3 hours thereafter for a total of 5 meals a day. When it comes to putting your meals together, this is what you’ll do:

  • Every breakfast—on both low and high carb days—contains a protein, a carb, and a fat.
  • On high carb days, for meals 2, 3, and 4, you’ll be eating a protein, a carb, and veggies. For meal 5, you’ll be eating a protein, a fat, and veggies.
  • On low carb days, all 4 meals after breakfast will contain a protein, a fat, and veggies.
  • And veggies—the non-root/non-starchy type—are totally “free” in the Extreme Cycle! You can enjoy them in limitless portions, and they are a huge key to helping you feel full throughout your day.

If you’re using our book, Extreme Transformation, where we talk about the Extreme Cycle and a lot of other amazing transformation-related things, all your meals are planned out for you for all 21 days of the cycle! We’ve created 21 days? worth of amazing meals for you, including Cheat Meals for your Reset Days. We’ve also included other options to make meal planning as simple and flexible as possible. And you can repeat the Extreme Cycle as many times as you want, or you can change to the Turbo Cycle if you need to shake things up a bit. And for all you macro counters (*hand raised*), calories and macros are figured out and listed for you with every single recipe. 🙂 If you’d like to put your own meals together, or are out and about and can’t meal prep ahead of time, follow this handy portion size guide:

  • Proteins: Palm-size portion
  • Carbs (grainy, starchy, and fruit): 1 clenched fist
  • Veggies: 2 clenched fists
  • Fats: 1 thumb
  • Sauces: 1 thumb

Are you ready to take your transformation to the extreme and lose those extra pounds in the fastest and safest way possible? Then grab a copy of Extreme Transformation, and let’s go!

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660 Responses

  1. I need help with breakfast. I have a strong intolerance to eggs, yogurt, whey and soy. All of them give me migraines when I eat them. I can have vegan shakes but other than that I’m at a loss. Please help!

    1. Hi Dora: You can choose from any of the foods on the list at the end of the book to put your meals together – whatever will work best for you!

  2. On extreme cycle on HC days and LC days is it always 1500 calories for women? Can you have coffee limitless(not fancy kinds but black?) Are squashes such as butternut etc still non root veggies? Thank you 🙂

    1. Hi Robin: Yes, that is the calorie recommendation for women. And yes, black coffee is okay, just make sure you’re also getting in your water each day. And squashes are considered veggies also. Hope that helps!

  3. I purchased the book yesterday and don’t see okra on the approved list of veggies, am I safe to assume okra is ok? I really enjoy roasted okra 🙂

  4. Hi!
    In yours carb cycling system should I eat 1500 kcal in low carb days and 2000 kcal in high carb days and 3000 kcal in reward day? Or should I count my own caloric needs?

    Great New Year!

    1. Hi Bartek: With the Extreme Cycle, men eat around 2000 calories a day and an extra 1000 calories on your reward day. In the other four cycles, men eat 1500 calories on low-carb days and 2000 calories on high-carb days. Hope that helps!

    2. Quick Question Here: If the Extreme Cycle is the fastest way to lose weight, how come the calories are on average higher (2000 a day for men)? The other four cycles have men eating only 1500 on low carb days bringing down the average.

      Thanks for helping me understand

    3. Hi Philip: On the other cycles, men eat 1500 calories on low carb days and 2000 calories on high carb days. Since those cycles were introduced, as with many things, Chris and Heidi have learned new ways to do things even better. All the cycles can certainly help you lose weight, but the new Extreme Cycle is the result of their years working with their peeps since the other cycles were introduced. There are some differences in this cycle, as outlined in this post, which help people achieve their transformation goals.

  5. Happy Holidays!

    I am super excited to do this bet and knowing you guys are helping this group makes it even better.
    I have a total of 60 lbs to loose and exercise is not my forte but I am transitioning to a better me and workouts are definitely helping me a lot (starting to enjoy).

    1. Hi Casey: Yes, the Extreme Cycle is the fastest weight loss cycle. However, you can change to any of the cycles at any time.

  6. I read Chris first book and I’m starting the second one with Heidi, I am a little confused and not sure how I could measure my carb intake. I understand that it should be one clenched fist, however, for example, if I want to eat oatmeal should I measure the amount once it’s cooked? Or how could I measure the oats before cooking and if I want to add some fruit like blueberries or banana, how can I measure all that and know it will be one clenched fist? eyeballing??

    1. Also if I want to have a shake for breakfast how can I count or measure the protein, fat, and carb intake if everything will be in a powder? Is there any way I could measure by grams instead?

      I am really excited to try carb cycling. I have tried many other things that have not worked for me 🙁 and it has been really frustrating and stressful. I have worked out so hard my body and muscles feel exhausted but I don’t see a big improvement. I really want to try this way and see results like Heidi 🙂 (looking amazing!)

    2. Hi Marisabel: For protein powders in general, Chris and Heidi recommend whey-based powders with between 15-20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of carbs. This could count as your protein portion for any meal. Hope that helps! 🙂

    3. Hi Marisabel: If you’re having oatmeal and fruit, for example, just do as best as you can to have your total carb portion for that meal equal a clenched fist. And with oatmeal, you’d want to measure it cooked. And don’t forget to add a protein to that meal also.

  7. Happy Holidays–Powell family! 🙂

    I have just as of recently went ahead and purchased your newest book and now I have all of them from this wonderful series and great health and fitness advice has been included but I am very confused about whether I can have a full ‘reward day like as with the others or do I need to make them now more of the clean variety with for having these strategically planned cheat meals. I usually only have about maybe two or three cheat meals at the most and that has most effective coupled with spreading throughout the day cause I found that great for myself, and so but yeah thanks in advance for your help with this.

    1. Hi Cassie: You can have a full reward day and include any foods you want, or use the cheat meals, or both! What you eat on that day is totally up to you. 🙂

    1. Hi Christina: You can move the schedule one way or the other, you just can’t change the order of the days. You need 4 high-carb days, followed by two low-carb days, then your Reset Day. Hope that helps!

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