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
Hey Team Powell 🙂 I have been a big fan (um.. literally.) Of your show and I just discovered your blogs. I’ve always been in the gym. Always working towards a goal that seems impossible! I’m going to be 33 years old October 1 and I’m at 290 lbs. I’m a Thanksgiving turkey away from 300 lbs. That is a sobering thought!! Anyway, I have PCOS very classic case.. infertility.. the swelling.. you name it. I don’t know much about it, but I know it makes losing weight really hard. It also doesn’t help that I was in a car accident last year (not my fault thankfully!) And I have “dashboard knees” they creak now. I’m still in the gym though!! It’s been a rough year, I got through the accident.. before the accident, I was 235 lbs. I fell in LOVE with running. I never thought I’d say that. It broke my heart when they said no more running because of my knees. I seriously have an Instagram video of me crying over it. I was really upset. I loved to run! I gained 55 lbs in a year. This year I’ve been up and down from not eating at all to getting upset about it and then not caring. People say I don’t look like 300lbs, but I have a models face. I hate that.. yanno? I want it to match the rest of me. I’m a singer in a band here in my town and I feel like everyones eyes are on me on stage and sometimes it’s difficult for me go out there.. I’m tired of being compared to Adele (she’s gorgeous and she can sing but I’m not her. I’m Sarah Jean!) Anyway this is getting way longer than I had planned. I’ve been quietly following you guys for years. I’ve never tried the carb cycling before and to me it seems overwhelming. How do you which foods would be considered either a fat or a protein or carb if they have all 3? I’ve been on a low carb diet (I say diet because it doesn’t really make me feel good if I’m feeling guilty over eating fruit. *Cough* Atkins Diet *Cough*) this is my 3rd week and I don’t feel as good as they say I should. I’ve lost 1.5 lbs…. I’ve been in the gym all 5 days last week. So I’m thinking of giving your carb cycling a try if I can figure it out. I’m more determined than ever to get this weight off. I just really want to find something that inspired me and pushed me like running did. So I can get my life back!
Hi Sara Jean: Thank you for sharing your story with us! There are some awesome charts in this post that show you how to put your basic meals together for the Extreme Cycle, and there are 21 days’ worth of awesome recipes in Chris and Heidi’s new book, “Extreme Transformation,” where all your calories and macros are figured out for you. And please discuss this program, or any nutrition and exercise program, with your healthcare team first and then follow any modifications they might recommend. 🙂
Hiya
I cheated today and had a packet of crisps and chocolate which was equivalent to about 1000 calories. Please advise me what do I do for my remainder meals bearing in mind i have 2 more meals to go on low carb day. Do I continue as normal and just exercise it off? Also i had an injured foot and had to stop exercising for a few days. Can i still lose weight when I miss a few days of exercise on the extreme carb cycle?
Thank you very much!
Hi Missy: One slip up won’t ruin your weight loss goal, so no worries there. Just try and stick to your plan and leave those cheat foods for you Reset/Reward Day. And it is still possible to lose weight with an injury since a huge part of weight loss is the nutrition component, so you should be good to go! Just stick to the nutrition part of your plan, and you’ll be fine. 🙂
Hi Heidi =) first of all, let me tell u how much I admire you and Chris for all the amazing things you do. I have subscribed for “Ameica’s fittes couple” but just for the programme not for the competition (I am from Italy I’ll do it with my twin and we are both thin 😉 ). I am waiting for the programme but before I’m collecting info on carb cycling and macro counting, in order to understand whether my current lifestyle is close to it or not and how much my meals will be upset 🙂 I am quite confuse about fruits and vegs because I made some calculation and my carb on low carb days should be around 83 grams. The point is that if I eat 50 gr of oat, a glass of rice milk, a banana and a peach I am already over O.o and the worst is that I cannot eat any fruit during the day, and I eat fruit as snacks =( Is that possible?
Thank you so much for any answer and again my compliment to you for your strenght, your beauty, your determination and kindness. You are an amazing woman and mother <3
Valentina
Hi Valentina: There’s a lot of awesome information about macro counting as well as a macro calculator in this post: https://heidipowell.net/10990. I hope it can help you figure out what will work best for you and your goals, and good luck on the program! 🙂
On the exteme cycle, do I have to count my macros for vegetables or do they not count towards daily calorie and macro amounts?
Hi Jennifer: It’s best to count everything you put in your mouth – it keeps us accountable! 🙂
Is peanut butter powder a fat or carb? It really doesn’t contain much fat so what would it be on the extreme cycle?
Hi Jennifer: 4.5 tablespoons of peanut butter powder equals one portion of fat. 🙂
Hiya
Two questions please!
Can i have brocolli on a low carb day for lunch? I read somewhere that brocolli is a carb
Can i choose my exercise bike for my cardio everyday or do I have to change cardio exercise to increase chsnces of weight loss?
Thank you!
Broccoli is considered a veggie in carb cycling, so you can have it with any meal. Stationary biking is great cardio, and it is good to mix up your routine a bit with different types of cardio if possible. 🙂
Hello! The Kindle Version does not outline the shopping list as you have pictured on the blog. It would be super helpful to have the lists presented as it is in blog rather than just listed. Is there anyway to post outlined version for weeks 2 and 3? Thanks!!
hi, what is the best plan of carb cycling to lose weight fast?
easy? classic? turbo? fit or extreme?
thank you…i just received the extreme transformation book this morning 😉
and i waiting to receive choose more loose more 😉
i’m 53 old, 5 feet 7 and weigh 140, would be love to lose 15 pounds thank you
Hi Manon: I’d go with the Extreme Cycle, and it’s all outlined in your book! You can do this!
hi, i would like to know if i can take my supplement omega 3 ? do i have to count like a fat??
Hi Manon: No, you don’t need to count your supplement as a fat. 🙂
Hello,
My weakness is cheese sandwiches. Can you offer an alternative to this on a low carb day please? Or any other advise when I can have a cheese sandwich.
Thank you
You can have a cheese sandwich for breakfast if you’d like (add some more protein to this), or as an option on your reward day.
Hi,
I enjoy your hulk shake. Can you tell me on your carb cycling plan does this count as a high carb or low carb
meal?
Hi Katrina: The Hulk Shake counts as a high carb meal. 🙂
I’m new to your extreme cycling and noticed that chia and hemp was not on the “approved” list. I use these in my oats, smoothies, yogurt, etc. Should I cut this out and if not, how should I work this in? Thanks.
Hi Christina: Any type of seeds are considered fats, so you’re good to go! 🙂