Chris and I have been so excited and touched by the positive feedback we’ve received on our new book, Extreme Transformation! We seriously poured our lives—and lots of blood, sweat, and tears—into this book with the hope that it would help you begin and achieve your transformation goals, whatever they may be. And…we included 21 days? worth of amazing meals in this book after so many of you asked for a daily meal plan. We aim to please! 😉
Many of you have loved the daily meal plans, but we’ve heard that some of you are a little overwhelmed with all of the shopping, prepping, and cooking involved with some of the amazing recipes in the Extreme Cycle. We know it is a lot to take in all at once, and we did not mean for this new way of doing things to be a “do it all now” type of experience. We recognize that it takes just small baby steps to begin to incorporate new healthy habits into your lifestyle, and that’s exactly how we expect it to be with this new carb cycle. That being said, here are five options we’ve laid out for you to help simplify your meal planning on the Extreme Cycle:
Option 1: Follow the 21 day’s worth of meal plans as outlined in Extreme Transformation.
We’ve outlined the shopping list, meal prep, and other tips for you to use to prepare and cook your meals for 21 days. We tried our best to include a variety of recipes each week, because variety is huge when you’re trying to incorporate new habits into your life.
Option 2: Follow the daily outline of low- or high-carb meals in Extreme Transformation with some substitutions.
If you find a day’s plan that works well for you, do it again! You can double up the same meals during the week to cut down on meal prep (eat the same dinner on Monday and Thursday, for example), or swap meals (high-carb for high carb, low-carb for low-carb, clean cheat for clean cheat, breakfast for breakfast) to make meal planning and prep easier. If you find that some recipes are easier to prepare than others, then go for those!
Option 3: Use other high-and low-carb recipes.
If you have our other books, Choose to Lose and/or Choose More, Lose More for Life, you can use any of the high-carb and low-carb meals from these books in the Extreme Cycle. And if you have your own low- and high carb recipes, you can use those too.
Option 4: Put your own meals together.
We know there are times when you’re out and about and need a quick, healthy meal. Or you need a fast ‘n easy meal made in 5 minutes or less, and simply don’t have time to put one of our recipes together. Be sure to scroll to the end of this post for some guides straight from Extreme Transformation that will help you design your own meals!
Option 5: A combination of the other 4 options.
We want this meal plan to be very user friendly, which is crucial to long-term carb cycling success, so do what works best for you and your schedule! If cooking is your thing, we’ve got you covered for 21 days! If meal prepping and cooking different meals doesn’t fit into your life, then bulk prep meals. You can even freeze many of our meals for a quick option later. If you like to put your own meals together, that works too. And it’s always a good idea to keep quick options with you wherever you go so that you don’t derail your eating plan because you don’t have healthy options available. And what about eating out? Our guides in option 4 will help you navigate any menu so you can make the best choices for your goals.
And no matter which option you choose, remember that this is a life-long journey! You’re not expected to do everything at once—perfectly. One of the best things about any transformation journey is all the things we learn along the way, so it’s 100% okay—and absolutely normal—to encounter some bumps on the path. With practice and patience, you will figure out what works best for you!
If you have any other questions about meal planning on the Extreme Cycle, please leave me a comment below. And please share what’s worked for you so we can all learn from each other!
Xoxo,
Heidi
Related reading:
Carb Confusion
The Power of Protein
Protein Powder: It’s Not Just for Shakes Anymore!
Ask the Powells: How Can I Structure My Meals?
Pre-Workout Problem: To Eat or Not To Eat?
Avoiding Road Trip Road Blocks!
Are you ready to begin your own Extreme Transformation? Grab a copy of our book today, and let’s go!
640 Responses
Hi Guys!
I have a question I have done several rounds of the 21 days and the turbo charge I have lost 63 lbs but am now at a stand still I have not lost any weight in 3 weeks. I have to do the sling shot I believe in order to restart my body but I’m confused it says double your carb portion does this mean double what’s already in the book ??? Or by doing this we ARE doubling it. If you could please help me I start Saturday. Thank you for being my inspiration. I tell everyone that I haven’t failed because I just act like you all are here and are watching so I’m not gonna put bad food in my mouth!
Hi Rhea: Congratulations on losing 63 pounds – that’s awesome!!! Yes, during your Slingshot Week, you’ll double the carb portion of every breakfast and high-carb meal. Here’s a post that might also help you get off this plateau: https://heidipowell.net/5889/avoiding-and-conquering-that-weight-loss-plateau/. You can do this!
Hello, Team Powell…
I am just getting into carb cycling, i am somewhat confused as to how many calories i should consume on high carb days vs low carb days, do i consume less/more calories then my metabolic base rate is?
I am a 5’11”, 230lb, man who’s goal is to get to 190lbs, i lift weights mon, wed, fri,…..I do HIIT/ cardio, 30 min on Tues, Thurs, Sat. Everything ive read so far while gathering intel on how to carb cycle, is to follow the High Carb on lift day’s, and follow low carb on non-lift days, but i see with your Extreme plan there are Back to back High Carb days, but i lift every other day to give my body a rest, is it beneficial to follow the back to back , or stay with High Carb on just my “Heavy days”?? I really want to do this correctly to achieve the highest benefit possible..Thank you
Hi Andrew: Men eat around 2000 calories a day on the Extreme Cycle, and you should be able to follow the plan as it’s outlined. If you do find that it’s not working, you can change things up a bit. You can do this!
I just bought this book. I am very excited to start but oooooh sooo nervous. I am not a huge meat fan (although not a vegetarian) I hate vegetables and am a huge carb and junk food lover. Any tips to survive? How long does it take taste buds to adjust? I literally want to throw up eating a salad and chicken. lol I plan on starting this sunday. I want my body back. After three kids, I live on sugar and have lost my hard body. I miss being fit and I need to relearn how to eat healthy.
Hi Shannon: Welcome to carb cycling! It can take your taste buds a bit of time to adjust, and you can also put your meals together (as outlined in this post) and that could help with your transition to carb cycling also. And don’t forget about the promises – they are a huge key to achieving your goals (https://heidipowell.net/8679). You can do this!
I was looking through my Kindle app library and ran across your Extreme Transformation book. I didn’t remember buying it! (I’m approaching 60, haha) I had seen things about it but kept thinking I just didn’t want to buy one more book that I won’t follow. So I opened it up, since I had it, and started reading. This was last Wednesday, April 13. I went shopping on Friday and got all the food for the first week and started on Saturday! I’m going to be a little smarter with future meal plans since I spent the entire weekend prepping all the meals, but that’s my mistake. I was so enthusiastic I didn’t consider how time consuming it would be to make so many meals! Anyway, I got it done, labeled all the containers with day and meal #s and I’m loving it! I’m not doing the metabolic missions or accelerators. I’ve been working out very consistently for 2 years now, weight lift about 40-60 min about 4 days a week and do approx. 1 hour of cardio 3 days per week, including about 30 min of intervals. But my diet was all over the place, eating WAY too many simple carbs. I need a structured meal plan to follow and this is IT! I lost about 26 lbs about 1 year ago but have gained about 8 lbs back. I know some of that is muscle but I also know some of it is fat! My goal is to lose at least 10 lbs and get leaner so my big ole muscles I’ve been building aren’t hidden under a protective layer of fat anymore, unless I flex and I can’t walk around flexing all the time, otherwise I’ll look like the high school boys that go to my gym, preening in front of all the mirrors…hahahaha! Sorry for the rambling, but I’m uber excited about this plan and I LOVE the recipes. I tried the carb cycling plan and recipes in Eat More, Lose More but it just didn’t work for me. THIS is excellent and I’ve been telling all my friends about it!
I meant Choose More, Lose more. :}
Please help! I’m 27 years old, a homeschool mom to 5 young children. I don’t have my license and depend on my husband for taking me places and he is on call 24/7 for his job. I have a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and narrowing in my carotid artery. I need your help to learn to eat right and what exercises works best without going to the gym. I am 4′ 9.5″ and weigh 207 lbs. Please help me.
Hi Ashley: Chris and Heidi would love to help you personally, but unfortunately, they are not taking on new clients at this time. But you can begin your own transformation journey today with the same program they use on their show, and you can learn about their carb cycling program in this post: https://heidipowell.net/9060. And it would be best to discuss their program, or any nutrition and exercise program, with your healthcare team first, and then follow any modifications they recommend. The exercise part of their program requires no equipment or gym membership, so that should be very helpful for you. You can do this!
can i just the hand portions alone without counting calories?
Hi Marija: It’s best to count calories if at all possible. If you’re out and about and calorie counts aren’t available, you can use hand portions.
what are protein shakes you recommended also what brands?
Hi Cham: Chris and Heidi recommend low-fat, whey-based powders with between 15-20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of carbs per serving.
I want to try carb cycling but I’m currently following a flexible dieting plan as well with macros . How do you suggest I calculate my macros for high carb and low carb days to be able to implement carb cycling and macros together?
Hi Victoria: There’s a chart at the bottom of this post that shows you how many calories of each macro to include in each meal. To figure out grams of each macro, divide the calories by 4 for proteins and carbs, and by 9 for fats. Hope that helps!
HELP!!!! I’m a 38 year old single overweight female airline pilot and I’ve had ENOUGH!! I’ve given up a lot for my career and now that I’m where I want to be, my body has taken the biggest hit from my job. I fly internationally, so I sit for extremely long periods of time, eat yummy airplane food (yes, I’m weird, I actually love the food on then plane!). When I land and get to my hotel, I’m exhausted, so the last thing I want to do is go work out. Normally, I’m gone for 3-4 days and with international laws, I have issues bringing food in and out of the country, so I eat out A LOT!! Plus, where would I store a total of 15 meals in a small suitcase along with all of my clothes and toiletries?? See, nothing but excuses :/ I feel helpless!! I know that there is a healthy girl somewhere deep down inside of me!! Can you please help!!!
5’11”
203 lbs: goal 150 lbs
Hi Kristin: There are some great tips in this post, as well as an extensive list of food options in the book you can choose from to put your meals together. And many restaurants are offering healthier versions and are willing to make their foods “healthy” upon request, so do the best you can. As far as exercise, you can get in a great workout in a few minutes at a time, and there are many exercises you can do in your hotel room (there’s a great exercise program in the book too). It’s really about taking those baby steps one after the other and keeping those promises you make to yourself (http://heidpowell.net/8679). You can do this!
I thank you so much for the wonderful articles. I am learning so much about organizing and prepping healthful meals ahead. Shopping is my evil stepmother! All I’ve ever wanted is someone to hand me a list and say, “buy these groceries, they’re yummy”, lol. You are such an inspiration! My 16 year old Autistic son is overweight also (a lot of autistic kids are very sedentary) and I want to work REALLY hard to change so I can help him, too. I hope you really read these. Cross your fingers for us. xox ?
Hi Sara: Thank you so much for your comment! You can do this!