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 just finished my second weeks of carb cycling and found it much easier than the first (I was really low energy on the two low carb days)
I normally do quite a bit of cardio (7 km run and at least an hour dog walk after work) and was making excuses for not doing the missions, but I finally made that promise this week and did them – and the cardio.
The first week I was very successful and lost 4 pounds – the most I’ve lost in almost two years. I don’t have much to lose – those last 10 (15) pounds, but this second week, wth following everything exactly I as I the week before as well as adding in the missions, I didn’t lose anything. (0.2
Lbs). I’m just curious is this because my body is already used to the amount of food I’m eating? Should I try a slingshot week? Or turbo cycle? Or is this normal and I should just be patient lol ?
Thank you so much! You have given me hope and most importantly – to find belief, faith and integrity again.
Hi Jennifer: When you have fewer pounds to lose, your weight loss can fluctuate and be more effected by even the smallest things. Just be patient, stick to your meal plan and workout schedule, and you should be good to go! And even an average of 1 pound of weight loss a week is awesome when you’re so close to your goal!
I’m on day 6 of my first week. I think I’ve done pretty well with prep and planning. Just noticed the graphic on this post says veggies with breakfast. What if I didn’t or don’t eat a veggie with breakfast? I’m assuming it’s more of a filler and for fiber. I’ve been definitely eating the carb, protein and fat for breakfast all week. And the rest of my meals follow the guidelines and fill the calories I need. I love how I feel!!! I’ve not had one craving for sweets or bad food!! I’ve been eating clean for a while but still got those cravings. Trying to fill them left me offer over indulging. We will see how my cheat day goes tomorrow.
Hi Laura: Veggies are recommended for breakfast if you can fit them in. Just be sure and eat them when recommended for the other meals. Excited you’re loving carb cycling – it’s an awesome program!
Hi again!
how do we measure meats, before or after its cooked??
Hi Carol: That depends on the recipe or what you’re doing with it. There’s a chart at the bottom of this post that outlines how many calories for each macro for each meal, so you can use that to determine how much of any meat, raw or cooked to include in a meal. Hope that helps!
Hello!
Heidi, I’m very excited to be starting this cycle soon. I’ve had done the turbo cycle in the past and it has worked for me before. I’ve lost 40 lbs by diet and exercise. I just need to loose 25 more pounds to reach my goal weight but it’s taking me forever to loose them. I’ve been doing carb cycling and exercising but nothing seems to be working. So, I decided to try this cycle. My question is I do an hour of cardio everyday M-F do I keep doing it with this cycle or just stick to the accelerators as mentioned in the book? I’m also a coffee addict 🙁 is it okay for me to drink coffee when doing this cycle?
Thank you!
Hi Rabia: Congratulations on losing 40 pounds! That’s awesome! Since Accelerators are technically cardio exercises, your one hour of cardio M-F counts as your Accelerator for that day. And black coffee is fine, just stay away from calorie-laden creamers and sweeteners, and make sure you’re drinking all your water every day (1/2 your body weight in ounces). You can do this!
Hi Team Powell,
I hAve question regarding carb cycling and being vegan. How can I have low carb days when I do not consume meat? I considered beans and legumes but they are high in complex carbs as well. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Hi Carm: There are some vegan protein options in carb cycling you can use: Soy protein sources such as tofu and tempeh, and other vegetarian protein options such as hemp, bean, and pea protein. Hope that helps!
Hi Heidi!! im starting on Mon so have ???… can we bave coffee and how much?….i have a limited budget so instead of buying so many items can i repeat days in the week as long as i follow the high carb/low carb day?
can i swap meals in the week if they are in same category?
Is there an official facebook support page that we can go to for questions?
On the above list of quick and easy meal idea sheets, under drinks its says bullet coffee, are we allowed that daily? if so how much butter? please say yes cuz i luv bullet coffee haha!!!
Hi Carol: Since bulletproof coffee has at least 1 tablespoon of butter in it, you’d only want to consume this as part of a low-carb meal, and the butter would count as the fat for that meal. Keep in mind that it’s a good idea to eat other healthy fat sources also, so you would want to consider this when planning your low-carb meals. Hope that helps!
Hi Carol: You can have black coffee on this plan, just try and stay away from creamers and sweeteners, and remember to also drink all your water every day (1/2 your body weight in ounces). And yes, you can repeat and/or swap recipes, just make sure they’re in the same category. We don’t have an “official” carb cycling Facebook page, but Heidi has an awesome community of support on her Facebook page.
Do all types of squash fall in the unlimited veggie category, specifically spaghetti and butternut?
Yes, all squash fall into the unlimited category.
Hello, Team Powell!
Chris and Heidi, you’re both awesome examples and truly inspiring. Thank you both for all you do to help others!
Can you suggest a good, alternate protein other than eggs?
Unfortunately, I simply cannot eat eggs as they make me seriously ill.
What would you substitute?
Thanks again!
Hi Felix: One option is to substitute another recipe (low-carb for low-carb, high-carb for high-carb, etc.) for any recipe containing eggs. There are some other foods you can substitute for eggs (applesauce, etc.), but these don’t work for all recipes and can change the nutritional information. You can also use any of the other options in this post. Hope this helps – this is a bit of a tough one!
Thanks for the quick response! I’ll figure something out for dem damn eggs! LOL
Hi Team Powell! I messed up on a low carb day! Did good all day but had to go out to dinner for a function with work and ended up with lots of higher carb choices and cocktails! It was my first low carb day. Do I just buckle down and get back to low carb today and then have my cheat still tomorrow? Or do I use that as my cheat day and start my days over today? Or do I just do a high carb day instead of cheat day tomorrow? Thank you!!
Hi Nannette: No need to worry, just keep on the schedule as it’s outlined. You can do this!
hi Heidi! I just got your book and I’m so excited to start! I have a ?….every morning I drink warm lemon water and it has helped me with energy and “movement” can I still drink this? Also is it OK to add flax or chia seeds to the shakes or would that alter my results in any way! I’ve been in a plateau for months so don’t want to screw this up lol
Thanks for your help?
Hi Carol: Your lemon water is totally fine! As for adding flax or chia seeds, these are considered fats, so you’d only want to include them in a low-carb meal as the fat portion of that meal. Good luck – you can do this!