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
Hello,
Can i just ask is it ok to eat 2 scoops (33.3g)of whey protein powder (24,5g protein; 2.5gcarbs; 2.5gfat) mixed with 2dl milk (8.3gprotein; 11.8g carbs; 3.5g fat) as a low carb dinner?
Thank you
Hi Nikka: We recommend using unsweetened almond milk or water instead of milk, and this shake alone will count as the protein part of your dinner. You’ll still need to add a fat and veggies for a complete low-carb meal.
Hi I just start today .. I have a question about bars.. protein and carb bars for a replacement of one of my meals I see that only one bar a day is recommended.. so for Carb meals I can have the Cliff bars but do we add a portion of protein ? or just veggies. Same question about the protein bars.. should I have a fruit and a fat? I so excited .
Hi Angela: Welcome to the Extreme Cycle! The key to knowing which bar is best for which type of meal is to look at both the carb and fat content. If more calories come from fat than carbs, then that bar is a good option for a low-carb meal, and would count as both the protein and fat portions of that meal (you’d just need to add veggies). If the reverse is true, then that bar is a good option for a high-carb meal, and would count as both the protein and carb part of that meal (you’d just need to add veggies). Hope that helps!
Can you recommend a cookbook or a carb count for recipes? We are using your new book we’ve both lost 10 so far but I don’t want him to get bored with the food. And suggestions would help!
Hi Laura: There are other carb cycling recipes in both of Chris and Heidi’s other books: “Choose to Lose” (http://amzn.to/1KbvTwp) and “Choose More, Lose More for Life” (http://amzn.to/1rhkPaQ). And you can also put your own meals together using the guide in Day 4 of the book. As far as carb counts, there are macros listed in the Extreme Transformation recipes, but as a general guide, go for 40% protein, 40% carb, and 20% fat on high-carb days, and 40% protein, 40% fat, and 20% carb on low-carb days. Hope that helps – you both can do this!
Please clarify eggs! Are egg yolks a protein or fat on the new extreme cycle? States 2 yolks are protein in book on food list. But they refer to it as a fat throughout book!!! Also is it 5 whites a protein as listed or 4 as before? Thank you so much. Lost 4.6 first wk and today 3.4 wk 2. Love it.
Great question: Generally, yolks are considered fats. However, in this program, they can serve a dual purpose. Two can count as a protein now. I’d follow what’s in the approved foods list, and congratulations on all those pounds you’ve lost!
Thank you for answering my question about type 2 diabetes. Is all the information I need to start carb cycling in your new book? Or do I just get pick up info on this site? Thank you!
You can get a lot of basic info on this site, but the book has everything you’ll need, including workout programs and nutrition plans and recipes.
Hi. Which cycle should I choose if I have never carb cycled before and if I want to maintain (or gain a little) weight and build muscle?
Thanks!
Hi Nicole: Carb cycling, as outlined on this blog, is more for weight loss. However, you can use the same principles to help you build muscle or gain a little weight. Get more info here: https://heidipowell.net/10540/ask-the-powells-gaining-healthy-weight/. And which cycle will work best for you and your goals depends on your workout schedule. I’d start with the Extreme Cycle, and you can ghange cycles at any time! Get links to all of the cycles here: https://heidipowell.net/2713. 🙂
Hi Chris and Heidi! Can someone with type 2 diabetes do the extreme carb cycle??
Yes! You’ll want to discuss the program with your healthcare team first, and then follow any modifications they recommend. You can do this! ?
Hello! Is it possible to have the daily intake in grams of carbs, fat and protein for both high and low carb days? This way it would be easier to log every meal in my fitness pal.
Thanks in advance
Hi Frederica: All the macros for each recipe are listed underneath the recipe, so you should be ale to input each meal into MyFitnessPal. 🙂
Are canned or frozen chicken breast okay to eat on this plan? I need something that is a little more convenient at times.
Hello,
Can I just ask on which day can I eat homemade beef soup without nudels or anything?
Hi Nikka: As long as it only has non-root/non-starchy veggies (no potatoes, corn, etc), you could eat it for any meal! If it has those starchy/root veggies, it would be best for a high-carb meal. Sounds yummy!