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!
661 Responses
Hi, Does it matter if I do my low carb days on Monday & Tuesday or are there two other days during the week that would work better than doing it on Friday & Saturday?
Thanks
Eileen
Hi Eileen: As long as you keep the days in the order as outlined, you’re good to go!
Hi,
I recently started using transform app and as I don’t have much to loose but want to loose it fast I’ve chosen Turbo cycle.
The app itself sets it to FIT cycle.
Is it okay for me to switch to that turbo one or that one is to do at the end of transformation.
Hi Anchie: You can choose whichever cycle you’d like to choose! No matter what you choose, please give it several weeks for your body to adjust before changing cycles or adjusting your program in any way. We hope you love the app! 🙂
Hey i have started with the extreme cycle in the app. I am 53 5ft and weigh 200pounds. I want to know the average calorie required if i am not working out.
And Average calorie required if i am working out intensely( HIIT ), Cardio and Endurance.
Hi Sumi: Your calories are figured out for you in the app, and they include working out. If you’re not working out, subtract 50 calories from each of the 5 meals during the day. Hope that helps! 🙂
Heidi, I just got your book and am ready to get started, but am just wondering how many grams of carbs we should be eating on high carb days vs low carb days? Btw love your blog and am loving your book. <3
Hi Jennifer: There’s a “Create Your Own Meals” chart in this post, and you can use that to put together your meals: https://heidipowell.net/10617 Remember that 1 gram of protein or carb = 4 calories, and 1 gram of fat = 9 calories. Hope that helps! 🙂
For Vegans, what are the proteins we need to burn fat and build muscle?
Hi Connie: Here’s a post that can help: https://heidipowell.net/12054 🙂
Because of my schedule I workout at different times each day. MORNINGS: Tuesday, Friday (weight train) and Saturday (bootcamp type). EVENINGS: Monday (bootcamp type) and Thursday (weight train). Wednesday in the morning (weight train) and then again in the evening (bootcamp type) . If I eat 30 minutes within waking (up at 6am) and have 5 total meals 3 hours apart that would make my last meal 6pm. My evening workouts are from 6-7. Do I just have 6 meals on those days and make one of them a very small snack?
Hi Taryn: You can fit in your meals in the best way for you during the day, and you can also split a meal before and after your workouts. That’s what Heidi often does! 🙂
Hi, can you tell me how does reset day helps lose the weight.
Also can we switch over to 4 days of low carb and 2 days of high carb, what kind of effect will it have if done so. What kind of workout should be done on such days. Also changing the 6 days rule of exercise also implies on 6 days of diet if so which one. That can help me out to understand it better and progress. Thanks
Hi Sumi: Great questions! The reset day allows you to 1) reset your metabolism from carb cycling during the week, and 2) allow you to have those treats you love that don’t fit into your plan the other days of the week. As for working out on reset days, that’s an individual thing. Some people work out on those days, some have a rest day on their reset day. Do what works best for you. Lastly, we don’t recommend doing 4 low carb days in a row because your body needs carbs to function properly AND lose weight. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hey, yes i understand that. How about switching it on alternative days the high carb and then a low carb on the following day. 2) on high carb days which type of workout should be done . Strength and endurance / Circuit
Or Aerobic HIIT
3) workout on low carb days.
I am 52 and a female so weight loss would be slower and i understand it. Can you tell me switching the workouts on high carb and low carb days according to my weight 200 pounds and other details which i have written above.
Hi Sumi: You can do any workouts on the day that works best for you and your body. Some people prefer to do higher intensity workouts on high carb days, others on low carb days. It really is an individual decision, and it can take some trial and error to figure it out. And you can totally alternate low carb and high carb days. That’s the Classic Cycle in our carb cycling program: https://heidipowell.net/2722 Hope this helps! 🙂
I have been doing intermittent fasting for over a year now, and I am wondering if I can do the extreme carb cycling while intermittent fasting? I guess basically I would combine a meal and a snack throughout the day. Have you known anyone to do this?
Hi Tiffany: You can get some great info on intermittent fasting in this post: https://heidipowell.net/13082 I hope it helps! 🙂
Hi Heidi,
I have been doing the extreme cycle for about 8 weeks. I previously had done this to lose 40 lbs in 2016. I have kept the weight off but now am serious anout losing about 40 more. It is a slow go about 1-1.5 lbs a week. My question is, is it normal to drop weight on the high carb days and gain on the low carb days? If I do a reset meal I lose all the weeks work. I am 38, 6?1? currently 220lbs. I would ideally like to be around 175 for my bulid. Am I missing something with the low carb days? Thank you for all you and Chris do!
Hi Jamie: Great questions! 1-1.5 lbs of weight loss a week is totally normal and actually optimal for long-term success, so you’re doing great there! How often are you weighing? We recommend only weighing yourself on the morning of your reset day since your weight will naturally fluctuate from day to day. You might also need to up your calories if you’re following the 1500 HC and 1200 LC days formula. It does work for a lot of people, but others find it more difficult to lose with these general calorie recommendations. Our app ? The Transform App ? offers you a customized macro plan (that adjusts as you progress towards your goal) as well as several workout programs and life lessons, so you might want to check out that option: http://thetransformapp.com
Hi – I recently bought your transform app and will be starting on Sunday. What is the best option for weightloss – Turbo or Extreme?
Hi Anj: We recommend that people start with the Extreme Cycle, and if you ever plateau for a few weeks, then change to Turbo. We hope you love the app!
Hi. I had the Gastric Sleeve Surgery. I cant eat a lot. But I find myself eating the wrong foods. Would you have a plan for people that have had these type of Surgeries?
Hi Katy: With gastric sleeve surgery, we always recommend you work with your healthcare team on any modifications to any nutrition plan due to your surgery since what works for one person could be the wrong thing for another. We do have people who have had gastric sleeve surgery using our app (http://thetransformapp.com) with great success, so that might be an option for you too. They’ve worked with their healthcare teams to tweak the nutrition program in the app to fit their needs. Hope that helps!
Hello!
I am looking to start the extreme cycle, but have a question about calorie amounts. Should I find an online calculator to calculate my specific calorie needs and cycle from there, or do I stick to 1500/day? Thank you!
Hi Shanai: There’s a link to an awesome calculator in this post: https://heidipowell.net/10990. This calculator won’t break down your calories into low and high carb days, but there’s a “Create a Meal” chart in this post that can help you figure out low and high carb days: https://heidipowell.net/4514. Just remember that each gram of protein and carbs = 4 calories, and each gram of fat = 9 calories. We also offer a customized nutrition program in our app, The Transform App (http://thetransformapp.com), which adjusts as you progress towards your goals. The app has several amazing workout programs too! Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi, I just reached my goal using the Transform App. I figured out how to customize my macros and use the maintenance choice on the App. I was wondering if this is all I need to know about maintenance? I set my macros to be the same 7 days a week. Should I do any low carb days during maintenance? I wouldn’t think so because I wouldn’t be eating the correct macros to maintain all three groups.
Hi Christal: Congratulations!!! When you do a custom macros plan, which is an awesome addition to app 2.0, you can follow whatever plan you’d like! That’s the beauty of custom macros!
So in the Extreme Transformation book, it says that if you make your own meals a man needs 250 calories from carbs per meal on a high carb day. I looked and saw that 1.5 cups of berries is 100 calories. With this math I should be eating 3.75 cups of berries per meal, if no other carbs eaten. This seems like too much sugar/fruit to be eating at once. Am I wrong? Should I not eat all carbs for a meal with fruit, but split it with granola or something?
Hi Wesley: You can eat that amount of berries, or you can split that total carbs number between different carbs. Berries have natural sugar (vs. added sugar), so that’s totally okay. If you have any health issues where even natural sugar is an issue, then you’ll want to be mindful of that too. But basically, a carb is a carb, so fill those carb calories however you’d like to. Of course, we recommend eating 80% whole, nutritious foods, so that’s something to think about too. 🙂