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 came across this page while researching carb cycling. I?ve worked out with trainers 3-5 times a week for over 10 years, in addition to other exercise, and I?ve been eating clean for about 4 years. I went into menopause early, about five years ago, but other than a redistribution of weight, I didn?t have any unusual weight gain. A few months ago, I gained 10 lbs in 4 weeks, with no changes to my diet or exercise. My doctor ran tests, but advised that the weight gain was age-related. I have a goiter on my thyroid, but the results showed that function is in the normal range, although not considered optimal. I also saw a holistic doctor, who believes that my body is producing excess estrogen. I thought the weight gain had stabilized, but then, in February, I inexplicably gained another few pounds. The holistic doctor suggested certain herbs as well as trying the Whole 30. The herbs helped with energy and mental clarity. I completed the Whole 30, which did not involve significant changes to my diet. I did not lose weight and there were no other changes (in other words, I did not lose inches.) I?ve been sticking to a slightly modified Whole 30 since I completed reintroduction (yogurt, the occasional slice of Ezekiel bread), but I am at a loss as to what to do next. Thoughts/suggestions?
Hi Nancy: You’ve been dealing with a lot! You could definitely try carb cycling as outlined on this blog and in Chris and Heidi’s books, and you might also be interested in Chris and Heidi’s new app. It’s amazing, and it outlines everything for you as far as nutrition and exercise. You can learn more about it here: http://thetransformapp.com. You can totally do this! 🙂
Where do I start? NEED HELP
Hi Nadia: If you’d like to start your transformation journey, here’s a post that can help: https://heidipowell.net/9060. You can do this!
Hi again!
Do you eat back your exercise calories or completely leave them alone?
I exercise a lot and I’m worried that I will be in a calorie deficit.
Thanks!
Hi Saina: No, since you do want a calorie deficit to lose weight, you don’t eat back any calories burned through exercise. Calorie counsumption + calories burned = calorie deficit (lost weight). Hope that helps! 🙂
I’m wondering about the amount of protein recommended. If I follow the 1,500 cal per day, 40% of my calories being protein- that would come out to 150 grams of protein. I did the math for 8 days of recipes in the book- high carb and low carb. Most of the days only came up to 125 grams of protein per day for woman. One day only came to 110 g of protein.
I know it’s not going to be exact, and we can add more veggies, but I’m I correct in this? I just want to make sure I’m doing the right math. 25 grams of protein is a decent difference.
Hi Jenny: Your protein intake can vary from day to day, and it can depend on what type of meal you’re eating, but if you follow the plan, you will be fine. You’ll have days where you go over, and days where you’re under, but they do all even out in the long run. One thing that can help is to make sure that your protein powder is around 22-25g of protein with less than 3g of fat and less than 7g of carbs per serving. That way you’ll be able to get more protein without the extra other macros. Hope this helps!
I can’t find anywhere else to contact you. I paid for three months and after the free trial it kicked me off and won’t let me back on. Please contact me.
Hi Lisa: Please send an email to [email protected] and they’ll be happy to help you get this issue fixed!
I am suppose to be eating 100+ carbs at breakfast and at the other high carb meal times? I am struggling to hit that amount
Hi Pilar: That’s 100 calories of carbs at breakfast, which is 25 grams. That’s about how many grams of carbs are in a banana. Hope that helps!
I have 150 lbs to lose. I have a full-time job and 3 year old twins. I purchased your book on Amazon and want to get started, but feel very over-whelmed. I don’t know where to begin and looked into hiring someone to do the shopping and cooking for me. However, it was financially out of reach. My meal solutions are whatever is fastest and I’m so exhausted at the end of day, I can’t figure out how to get on track. Any guidance you can provide would be great, thank you!
Hi Katie: First of all, start with one new things at a time. We don’t want you to feel more overwhelmed! And you can use the “Create Your Own Meals” chart at the end of this post to help you put simple meals together, and the other tips in this post can be super helpful too. You can do this!
Katie- I decided to do something radical to getting started, and I don’t know if this is feasible for you or not. I took a week’s vacation and decided this was so important to me, this is the way I wanted to spend it. I devoted that week to submerging myself in this new culture.
When I started, I was at the store every 2-3 days, yes. Once my kitchen was purged of the stuff I didn’t want to eat, and stocked with what I needed to get going, I was over the learning curve. I committed to eating the plan the best I could, and exercise when I could. When I went back to work, it was a little rough the first couple of days, then it eased up. My initial investment of money in the food was a bit high, but my budget now has dropped below what it was originally. This lifestyle is so motivating for me, I feel like I am taking care of myself, and I’ve lost weight. The fam loves the food, they all want to help in the kitchen.
My hairstylist said my hair is growing at twice the rate!! My sleep is a-mazing!
I’m also on the App, and they have some great Grab-N-Go recipes.
The only other thing I do different than I ever did, is make a menu of dinners for the week. Each day, I take 5 min as I watch tv, and set my meal plan for the next day. It usually takes me 10 min to put together my snacks and lunch.
My best to you, I hope this helps, I have had a lifelong struggle with weight, and am so enthusiastic…can you tell? :))
Beverly: You are doing amazing, and thank you so much for your kind words and suggestions to help Katie. This is what a community of support (which we love!!!!) is all about! ?
Hi everyone! I have about 10-15 pounds of stubborn fat I’m trying to lose and have been following this plan for awhile. Although I am seeing some progress, I’m experiencing very very low energy!!! Is this normal at all? Please help!
Hi Justina: Your energy levels on your low carb days can be lower due to the lower grams of carbs, so just make sure you’re drinking all of your water, adding veggies into your meals (they have carbs which can help with your energy levels), and eating that carb with breakfast on low carb days also. Hope that helps!
I knew that about the low days, however, it is low on the high carb days as well 🙁
so as per this diet we are not allowed have any fruit in any meal?
Hi Sam: You can have a portion of fruit as the carb portion of any high carb meal. 🙂
Dear Team Powell,
I must say you are doing a great job transforming the lives of people. I get soo emotional when i watch the end of the 365days appearance. Feels soo good. Keep up the Good work!
I am Agnes. I am in Ghana, West Africa. I have been watching and following all your weight lose transformations series.
I am a woman of 35yrs, My current weight is 117kg. I need to lose 30kgs on 3 months and will need your help. My mum also wants to go through this weight lose too.
I will be grateful if you can help me know what is expected of me.
i look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Anges: You and your mum can begin your transformation journeys today with the tools in this post: https://heidipowell.net/9060. And be sure and follow all the links within the post too. And Chris and Heidi will launch their new app – TRANSFORM – on Monday! It’s a complete transformation app with meal plans, workouts, and life lessons, as well as many other awesome things that will help you both achieve your goals. You can learn more about the app here: http://thetransformapp.com. You both can do this! 🙂
I know I have a tricky one for you but I am so far beyond confused at this point I am just feeling stuck.
So to make a long story short my family and I do not eat gluten or grains and have struggles with finding the absolute best solution for losing weight.
We started this journey several years ago to support my mother in laws quest to find a solution to her issues. After many years and hours and hours of research we have collectively excluded gluten and grains from our diet.
This started with weight loss from all parties but we have all come to a plateu and have looked at different ways to adjust our diets further.
We have been on a high fat diet for over a year now (with a few inconsistencies here and there mostly during my wifes pregnancy)but have done our best to maintain a macro level of 75f20p5c.
I know this is very abnormal from what others have used but it worked for a while until another plateu and even a slight increase in weight.
I personally decided to change my macros to more protein and increase to 65f30p5c with a daily cal. Intake of 2000 per my TDEE.
I felt pretty good and started to lose again but got to a point to where I could not take in enough protein at 196g per day.
My brain is all kinds of scattered now and as I’m searching for a solution I see details about carb cycling and think it would be a great idea to try.
My concern is that I am use to counting macros and if I had a daily percentage of fat to carb to pro ratio It might help me to start my carb cycle journey.
I do apologize for the details of this but both my wife and I are also a family of 6 with our oldest at 5 and youngest at 2 months. It’s a hectic lifestyle and the less time we spend on calculating the more time we can spend on guarding our household from child demolishment.
We would love your feedback and advice and both want to get back on the weight loss track. Of course there is a ton more detail I could go into but I think my novel above is enough for now.
Thank you for any advice you provide.
Richard & Amanda Overby
Hi Richard & Amanda: Thank you for your comment! Chris and Heidi have figured out all of the macros in all of the carb cycles which makes it much simpler to follow their plans. You can use the “Create Your Own Meals” chart in this post if you’d like to figure out your daily macros. Here’s what it would look like for a man’s breakfast – keeping in mind that each gram of protein or carb = 4 calories, and each gram of fat = 9 calories: Protein: 200 cals = 50 g, Carbs: 150 cals = 38g, Fat: 150 cals = 17g. You can use this process for the other meals to figure out your macros for the day. Hope this helps – you can definitely achieve your goals with carb cycling! 🙂
Hi Heidi,
I just bought your book –> extreme transformation. I am 24 years old and gained around 10-12 pounds in the last couple of months. I am 1.66 meters and weigh 68 kg (150 pounds). I really dont get how I should be eating 1500 kcal a day, shouldnt it be more like 1200 kcal. And I dont really know how much carbs/fats/proteines I should eat on a high carb/low carb day. I would love to put it up in app like myfitnesspal so that I could track it better.Please help me out because im struggling!
Hi Romira: Welcome to carb cycling! The 1500 calorie/day recommendation for women has been proven to work for those who need to lose a lot of weight or a few pounds, so please trust in the process. As far as your macros, all of those have been figured out for you, you simply follow the plan. Chris and Heidi tried to make things as simple as possible, and there are calories and macros listed for each recipe in the book if you’d also like to track your info in MFP. You can totally do this – just take one baby step at a time! 🙂