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 Team Powell! I’ve just purchased the Extreme Transformation book and I’ve been cycling for a few weeks now. I need some direction as to what to look for. I’m a super clean eater and I usually CrossFit, but I’ve been fighting mono/mold illness since at least December 2016. I only started back weight training a couple of months ago and I’m not quite ready for CrossFit because I’m still having some weak/low energy days. I lost 10 or more pounds, and what seemed to be all of my muscle, while I was sick. So depressing! I’ve gained 5lbs back somehow, so I hope it’s all muscle. Anyway, my goal is to lose fat and build muscle, not lose weight, so I’m not sure if I want to see the number on the scale go up, go down or stay the same. At the moment, I’m 46, 5’7″, 140lbs. and 20% bf. I don’t have a weight goal, but I’d like to drop my bf to 18%. Any advice would be greatly appreciated since I’m trying to get strong, lean and mean so I can get back into CrossFit:)
Hi Sheri: Since your goal is to lose body fat and build muscle, it’s hard to say what will happen with the scale. It could go down, it could stay the same, it could go up a bit as you replace fat with muscle. Since you’re still trying to get back to full workouts, remember that 80% of any transformation goal is nutrition, so stick to the program in the book, work out as you can, and you should be good to go. One other option is Chris and Heidi’s new app, which offers you a totally customized nutrition and workout program based on you and your goals, and your specific goal is an option in all 3 programs. You can learn more about their app here: http://thetransformapp.com, and here’s a post about the 3 different program options: https://heidipowell.net/12104. You can change programs at any time, and your program will adjust as you progress towards your goals. Both options can work! 🙂
Might be a dumb question…. but what is bulletproof coffee? And what does it help do?
Hi Mimi: There’s never a dumb question! Many people feel bulletproof coffee give them energy,and you can find recipes for bulletproof coffee on the web also. Hope that helps!
A couple years ago, when the Extreme makeover: weightloss edition was on TV, Chris had a website that you paid a monthly fee and it gave you a meal plan. It provided you with a shopping list for the week and then had your entire meal plan week by week. All meals for the day including snacks. Is this still available? I NEED this. It was so beneficial to me. I can’t be given a list of foods and pick from it. I need to be told what to eat throughout the day and when.
Hi Celeste: Chris and Heidi have a new app which is tons better! You can learn about it here: http://thetransformapp.com. You’re going to love it! 🙂
I’ve been doing PIYO and am just starting carb cycling. I’m confused about a few things. The table shows calorie counts for protein, carbs, and fats but not veggies. It also shows to have veggies at every meal. Do veggies count towards the total calories? How many calories worth of veggies are you allowed to consume per meal? And do you have 5 meals per day or 3 meals and two snacks? Can I keep doing PIYO or do I have to do the plan’s workouts? Thanks!
Hi Denise: In the Extreme Cycle, you can have pretty much unlimited veggies (the non-root/non-starchy type) with every meal. You can count these into your calories or not – whichever works best for you. And the snacks and meals are put together the same way, we just call the meals in between breakfast, lunch, and dinner snacks. Follow the chart for the specific meal you’re eating, and you’ll be good to go!
Hello Heidi,
I am a 26 year old female, I myself have gone trough a transformation where I lost 65 lbs. I am still having trouble loosing an additional 20-30 lbs to reach my ideal weight. I eat healthy and I try and portion out my meals, but am having trouble losing weight still. Do you think I may portioning my meals incorrectly? Do you have any tips or tricks to help me reach my ideal weight?
Hi Akshada: You are doing amazing, and congratulations on losing 65 pounds! Here’s a post that outlines Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling program, and it can definitely help you achieve your goals: https://heidipowell.net/9060. And here’s a link to their new app, which offers you a totally customized nutrition and workout program based on you and your goals: http://thetransformapp.com. Your first week is free so you can check everything out! You can totally do this! 🙂
Hi-
I’m confused if we’re building our own meals and it says <30 for fat or <30 for carbs- what does this mean ? Thanks!
Hi Michelle: This should help: Every gram of protein or carb = 4 calories, and every gram of fat = 9 calories. So when the chart says <30 calories, you'll eat less than 8 grams of protein or carb and less than 4 grams of fat. Get as close to these calorie recommendations in the chart as you can, and you'll be good to go! 🙂
I have both the Choose to Loose books. I even have the Stax bag/containers. What is different about this book? I have tried so many lifestyle changes but can’t loose much weight. I need to loose weight as I feel miserable at times & it’s not good for my health. Some meds have made it harder to loose and I need to get past that block.
I don’t want to invest in another book but if this is better, I’m ok with it
Hi Susan: The Extreme Cycle in “Extreme Transformation” is a bit different than the carb cycles in “Choose to Lose.” You can learn more about the Extreme Cycle here: https://heidipowell.net/10503. This new cycle is the result of Chris and Heidi’s work with their clients since “Choose to Lose” and “Choose More, Lose More for Life” were published. Hope that helps – you can do this! 🙂
Thanks, Team Powell! So it would be beneficial to get the book or is the info on the link and blogs enough? I really need to do something that will work and reset my genetic heaviness
Hi Susan: The links and blogs can definitely help, and you can get the full program including 21 days’ worth of meals and other helpful info in the book. 🙂
Ok I downloaded the app and iBook. I planned to start a couple weeks ago but didn’t. So I restarted the program to begin this Sunday. This will allow me to shop and prep. Since Sunday is a reset day, should I use Monday as the starting date?
Regarding workouts, I cannot do jumps or squats due to knee issues (hope this will help get strong enough to do so) and will not be able to put pressure on my left elbow and wrist for now so push ups and the like are out 🙁
I would be glad to outline the issues with these joints if that would help with finding a doable system. need to modify the workouts to where I will benefit and challenge the muscles and areas I can. I would prefer to email the issues if possible
Hi Susan: Welcome to Transform! You can change your reset day if that works best for you. Go to Me, the Program, and scroll down to change your reset day. Or you can also leave it on Sunday. No matter which day is your reset day, the next day is day 1 of the new week. For workouts, most of the workout movements have an alternate or modified version, and these can be helpful if you have any issues. And with any issue, we recommend you discuss the program with your healthcare team and have them help you make any necessary modifications. And if any movement and it’s alternatives will aggravate your injuries, then please skip them until you’re recovered. We hope you love the app – you can totally do this! 🙂
I downloaded the app and think I have another month on the 3 month membership. I have not been able to start the program for a number of issues and reasons. Does this renew automatically? I see the discount codes ocassionally and wonder if I can use one to get another 3 months?
Hi Susan: Please contact our amazing customer support team, and they can help you figure this out! [email protected]. 🙂
Thanks!!! Will do!!!
Hi Heidi~ Im interested in starting a carb cycling lifestyle. Should i start with your app or the transformation book?
Hi Marisa: You can use whichever one you like best. Your nutrition and exercise program in the app will be totally customized to you and your goals. The books can definitely also work, but they offer more general recommendations as far as nutrition goes. Your first week of the app is free so you can check everything out also. We wish you the best with whichever option you choose – you can do this! 🙂
What app???
Hi Susan: You can learn more about Chris and Heidi’s new app here: http://thetransformapp.com. It offers a totally customized meal and workout program based on you and your goals! 🙂
Thanks for finally talking about >The Extreme Cycle | Meal Planning Tips
| Heidi Powell <Loved it!
Hello. Can we have bacon or turkey bacon anywhere on this plan. If so how do we count it?
Hi Debbie: Any type of bacon counts as a fat, so use the “Create Your Own Meals” chart in this post to help you figure out the portion size. Hope that helps! 🙂