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
I am getting ready to begin the Extreme Transformation, but have a question about protein powders. There are so many out there. Which are recommended or can you give requirements to look for (such as calories/fat/protein/etc. per serving)?
Thank you, in advance!
Hi Stacey: 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. Welcome to carb cycling!
Hi,
I am getting ready to stary the Extreme Cycle next week by planning out all of my meals. Since all squash are on the “unlimited” list, can I include butternut squash into my last meal even though it has 16g of carbs per serving? Or should i avoid it? Also, I know I should track the amount of calories I am eating in veggies, but does that take away from the amount of calories (300) I eat at each meal?
Thanks!
Hi Laura: Yes, any type of squash can be eaten in unlimited quantities, however, you do want to track any calories you put in your mouth. It helps keep you accountable and helps to make sure you’re staying on track. If the veggies you’re eating are in addition to your meals as outlined in the plan, be extra sure to track those calories too.
Hi, I completed a cycle but still find that I am eating the afternoon snack without feeling hungry and then feeling stuffed until and sometime at dinner. I know skipping would reduce the cal and that would put me way under what was recommended.. Any advise ?
Hi Caroline: If you’re full, you can skip the extra veggies that are recommended in the plan and only eat those recommended with each type of meal. Are you getting in the recommended amount of exercise? If not, I’d try to incorporate more exercise into your days, and that should help. It can also take a bit of time for your body to adjust to a new way of doing things, also, so please be patient, stick to your plan, and you should be good to go!
Hi, I have not been adding any veggie and have been doing 20 min Zumba in the AM and 30-35min on the treadmill in the evening with weights training twice a week. I have not been able to do some of the metabolic missions as they are to hard on my shoulders at the moment. I am losing weight and sticking to the plan as best I can. Thanks
I am nursing and don’t think the 1500 calories is enough. Just started extreme cycle. Would you recommend adding a snack snd when should I eat it? Should the snack be high carb or low carb?
Also, I am up late and tend to get hungry after dinner. I’ve been doing oatmeal until starting this as my after dinner snack to help milk supply and curb sweet tooth. I know Heidi recommends broccoli but that’s just not for me. Any other snack ideas? Maybe more of a sweet snack?
Hi Jen: Here’s a post that outlines Heidi’s nursing carb cycling program, and I hope it can help you figure out what will work for you: https://heidipowell.net/2275. As far as an “extra” meal, I’d follow the recommendations of your healthcare team so that you can keep your milk supply where it needs to be, and you can have any veggies at any time, not just broccoli. We wish you the best!
Oh And if anyone wants to join our fb support page (there arent too many on there so we formed one!) its called Carb Cycling-Chose its very helpful for questions and ideas!
Hi Team, we formed a fb support page for extremers and it had come up that those of us tracking macros arent sure if carbs should be counted total or net?
Hi Carol: We count total carbs just to make things easier. 🙂
Hey Team Powell 🙂 How do brussel sprouts and/or cabbage fit into this? I’m a huge fan of brussel sprouts and love to make cabbage rolls as well. Are they veggies that are allowed? Also, hubby works rotational shifts, I’m trying to figure out how to fit his meals in on his evening and especially night shifts. Does he have to eat a typical breakfast? Generally when he’s on night shift his first meal might be a bowl of cereal when he gets up but then it’s right into supper with me and meals throughout the night. It’s not easy on his poor body but I’d like to find something that can work for him as well.
Thanks again 🙂
Hi Susan: Both brussels sprouts and cabbage are considered veggies, so you can have them with every meal. And here’s a post that can help your husband figure out how to schedule his meals on carb cycling: https://heidipowell.net/10556/ask-the-powells-how-can-i-structure-my-meals-2/. We wish you both the best – you can do this!
Hi, this is my second time asking for advise, I have to admit I am very frustrated, my husband and I have been on this Extreme Transformation since Jan 4th, my husband has a lot more weight to lose than me and he’s lost 53lbs and I needed to lose 25, I started out great, lost 13lbs in 8 weeks but haven’t lost one lb since and I have been working out so hard, cardio and strength, I have always been in shape and worked out but I had shoulder and knee surgery last fall so I restricted for several months and I put on this extra weight, I have followed the program to a tee!!!. I have tried the turbo several times, nothing!! I actually gained a pound, can’t figure out how! My measurements are the same so I’m not smaller in size. So I finally tried this past week the slingshot, after reading several post I see that I should not had fat with my breakfast or dinner, which I did, I don’t think it is very clear in the book. I gained 2lbs on the slingshot!! I don’t know if I should go back to the Carb cycling or what…..
It is very discouraging when you work so hard and you see no results. I look forward to what your advice may be. I took had my annual bloodwork and everything is normal.
Hi Nina: I’m so sorry for your frustrations and it’s easy to see why you’re getting so discouraged! It is pretty common to show some weight gain after the Slingshot week since it is a week full of high-carb days and carbs (even the healthiest ones) do cause water retention. I wouldn’t worry so much about that weight gain as it should be temporary. And like I said before, weight loss with so few pounds to lose can get a bit tricky as there’s a fine line between too many and too few calories. Are you tracking your calories? Even with eating foods that have few calories (veggies, for example), calories can add up, and if you don’t have much wiggle room in your calories in vs. calories burned numbers, they can make a difference. Since you did just do a Slingshot Week, I’d go back to either the Turbo or Extreme Cycles, and give it another couple of weeks, and track every single calorie you put into your mouth. For the Turbo Cycle, aim for 1200 calories on low-carb days and 1500 calories on high-carb days. For the Exreme Cycle, aim for 1500 calories per day. The recommendation for your weekly Reset/Reward Day is 2500 calories. Please check back and let me know how you’re doing!
So I am switching from extreme to Turbo and after reading your link to that program, is breakfast a protein and carb only? And on hc days we have a carb at last meal of day?
Hi Carol: If you’re following the Turbo Cycle as outlined in “Extreme Transformation,” you’ll do all the meals the same on both low- and high-carb days like you’ve been doing. The only change is in the order/arrangement of the days. You’ll now do LC, LC, HC, LC, LC, HC, Reward/Reset Day. The Turbo Cycle that’s featured in a post on this blog is a bit different than the Turbo Cycle that’s in “Extreme Transformation.” Hope that helps!
Hi,
Just got thgot book and am going to start the extreme cycle next week. I have read a bunch of the comments/posts but still have a few questions. Hope you can help me…
1. Some of the recipes call for 1/2 scoop of protein powder. Can you give me an amount of protein we should be aiming for (10g, 15g) or how many grams a 1/2 scoop would be? My scoops are all a bit different.
2. If I have protein and it has, for example, 100 calories in total, do I calculate how many protein, fat and carb calories are in that 100? Or just count the 100 towards my protein requirement?
3. 1 cup of sweet potatoes equal to 16oz?
4. You had said that all squashes were unlimited…dies this count for butternut and acorn squash too?
5. I work out 6 days a week doing cardio, strength training and HIIT. Should I be doing the Metabolic Missions too?
Thanks so much!!!
Hi Laura: Let’s get you some answers to your questions! 1. A scoop of protein powder is between 1/4-1/3 cup, and the difference really isn’t enough to worry about. In general, 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. 2. Each gram of protein or carb has 4 calories, and each gram of fat has 9 calories, so that should help you figure out the calories for macros for any foods. 3. 1 cup of sweet potatoes equals 8 oz. 4. Yes, this counts for all types of squash. 5. If you have your own strength training program, then you can skip the Metabolic Missions. Hope that helps – you can do this!