Carb cycling is the foundation of what I do every day and with every client. I know through years of experience with many different clients that carb cycling works, so I’m going to introduce you to the basics and the five different carb cycling plans—Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit, and Extreme. I’m stripping it down to the basics to get you started:
What is Carb Cycling + How Does it Work?
Carb cycling is an eating plan with alternating high carb and low carb days. It’s that simple. It also has built-in reward days or reward meals (depending on the plan you’re following), so you can still eat your favorite foods on a regular basis. Sounds pretty much perfect, right? You can eat healthy foods, enjoy foods you love, and still lose weight.
While each plan has a different mix of high carb and low carb days, each day works basically the same:
- Eat five meals—no more, no less.
- Eat breakfast within 60 minutes of waking or whenever your feeding window opens if you’re an intermittent faster.
- For breakfast, you’ll eat a portion of protein, carbs, and fat.
- For your next 3 meals (snack, lunch, snack), you’ll eat either a low or high carb meal depending on which day you’re on. So, if you’re on a low carb day, those three meals will be low carb. If you’re on a high carb day, those three meals will be high carb.
- Your last meal of the day will ALWAYS be a low carb meal. Always.
- Choose approved foods.
- Drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water every day. So, if you weigh 150 lbs, you’ll drink 75 ounces a day.
How Does Carb Cycling Work?
Carb cycling is based on the right combination of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats. In order to lose weight, our bodies need the right combination. Here’s why:
- Protein builds and maintains muscles and these muscles burn calories like an inferno. Protein also breaks down more slowly than carbs and fat, which burns even more calories and helps you feel fuller longer.
- Carbs are the preferred fuel source for your muscles and organs, and they come in healthy versions (vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes), and not-so-healthy versions (cakes, cookies, soda, doughnuts, candy, and many processed foods). Healthy carbs are also crucial for burning calories, and since they break down more slowly than those not-so-healthy carbs, they keep your blood sugar and energy levels steady, and they also keep your calorie-burning furnace hot so it burns more calories!
- Healthy fats (unsaturated fats) eaten in moderation help the development and function of your eyes and brain and help prevent heart disease, stroke, depression, and arthritis. Healthy fats also help keep your energy levels steady and keep you from feeling hungry.
Why do we alternate high carb + low carb days in carb cycling?
On high carb days you’re stocking your calorie-burning furnace so that on low carb days your furnace burns fat, and lots of it! This pattern tricks your metabolism into burning a lot of calories, even on those low carb days. It’s an amazing and well-proven process.
What are the Benefits of Carb Cycling?
Carb cycling has many benefits:
- It fits any lifestyle.
- You’ll learn how to shed weight and body fat and how to make smart lifestyle choices for the rest of your life. This puts YOU in control.
- You’ll feel better and have more energy.
- You’ll eat the foods you love.
- You’ll build lean, strong muscles.
- You’ll be empowered physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
I’ve only skimmed the surface of carb cycling, so learn more about our five carb cycling plans to find your ideal cycle, and let’s get cycling!
Get even more information on carb cycling in both or our books: Extreme Transformation (the newest edition to our carb cycline lineup featuring the Extreme Cycle) and Choose More, Lose More for Life (which features our other four cycles).
If you’d like some help creating your own meals, there’s a handy “Create Your Own Meals” chart in this post! To get a customized cycle for you and your goals + several workout programs (from gym-based to bodyweight to dance) + the all-important life lessons (the key to long-term transformation), check out The Transform App.
Note: If you’ve been carb cycling using our book, Choose Lose More, Lose More for Life, you’ll notice that we’ve changed a couple of things since that book was published: You now include a fat for breakfast, and every final meal of the day is a low carb meal. Like with a lot of things in life, the more you do them, the more you learn about how to do them even better!
xo,
1,381 Responses
Hello Heidi ( and Powell pack ! ),
My wife and I are currently in our 3rd week transformation, We’ve both been doing exactly what we should be… BUT I am losing weight more rapidly than my wife is.. I can see that it’s beginning to frustrate her.. She’s staying strict on her carb cycling plan, and putting in the work with exercise but her body is responding to the cycle slower.. Is there any advice or troubleshooting things we can do ?
Unfortunately, men lose weight more quickly than women do, which is great for you, but not so great for her. 😉 And sometimes it does take some bodies longer to adjust to a new way of doing things than others. Just tell her to keep doing what she’s doing, do the slingshot week during week 4 (both of you should do that), and be patient. She will see results!
Heidi,
I recently bought Choose More, Lose More & am on Day 3 of the Easy Cycle. Could you clarify if Fat Free half & half and Fat Free “creamy” dressings are allowed (EX: FF Ranch or any of the Walden Farms dressings), and, if so, what category do they fall into??
Thanks in advance,
Courtney S
Fat free dressings and fat free half & half are not listed on the approved foods list in the book. Even though they are fat free, they’re usually loaded with sugars. Happy carb cycling!
Hi Team Powell!
After purchasing your books a couple of weeks ago, my mother and I have started the turbo cycle! We are loving it so far and I can already feel my pants starting to loosen (its only been a week!). We just wanted to run some details by an expert so that we can make sure we are on the right track! We are currently using the hand method of measuring and have been loving the easiness of it. We have also decided to use the app “My Fittness Pal” to track our calories and grams of carbs consumed for at least the first couple weeks so we can get used to the system. We are currently eating about 80 – 90 grams of carbs on low carb days and about 180 – 190 grams of carbs on high carb days. We are also eating around 1,200 calories a day. Does this sound about right to you? We would absolutely appreciate any input that would help us make the most out of our journey!
Thank you so much for your wonderful system, we are so grateful to have found a plan that we can stick to, is user friendly, and gives great results!
Sarah
Just make sure you’re eating 1500 calories/day on high carb days, and up to 1000 extra calories on reward days. As far as the correct number of grams of carbs, that’s hard to say because it all depends on what you’re eating. As long as you’re following the portions sizes you should be okay. Happy Turbo Cycling! 🙂
I have a protein shake that has 25 grams of protein, 2 grams of sugar, and 4 carbs. Will this shake work for my protein serving?
Yes – it sounds like a good one! Here’s a post about protein powder that will give you some more great info: https://heidipowell.net/6274/protein-powder-its-not-just-for-shakes-anymore/.
Heidi & Chris, i had my aha moment with carb cycling a couple of weeks ago & cant believe i haven’t been doing this all my life. My clothes r looser and that feels amazing & makes me want to continue. You may not have gotten Christy to realize her full potential but you motivate so many people you will never meet. Thank you, i look forward to each week, hearing each inspirational story of how its possible to change.
I am so thankful I have found your keys to helping so many people change their lives. I am hoping I can be one of those! I am only 5′ tall and I weigh 167 pounds. I have been to within 10 pounds of my ideal body weight (110 pounds) in the recent past before falling off the wagon and gaining it ALL back. My question is – is it reasonable for me to lose 57 pounds in 5 months with the Turbo-cycling? If it is possible, I can and WILL do it. What kind of exercise program should I incorporate in order to reach a goal like this?
Sorry for the duplicate post. Didn’t think it went through the first time.
I’m so glad I found this website and they keys that you use to help so many people succeed. I am only 5′ tall and I weigh 167 pounds. My ideal weight (and I have been to within 10 pounds of this recently, only to fall off the wagon) is 110 pounds. Does it sound reasonable to lose 57 pounds in 5 months using the Turbo carb-cycling? If I know it is do-able, I can and will do it. How much exercise do you suggest for a goal such as this?
Everything you’ll need to do (nutrition and exercise) is outlined for you day by day in Chris and Heidi’s book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” As to whether or not you can lose 57 pounds in 5 months is kind of up to you! It will depend on how closely you follow the nutrition plan and how long and at what intensity you exercise. You should at least be able to lose 2 pounds a week, which will get you close to that 57 pound goal in 5 months. If it does end up taking you a bit longer, that’s okay! The important thing is to stick to the plan and develop some great lifelong habits so the weight loss will be permanent this time. Just remember, that weight can come off more slowly as you get closer to your goal. Good luck!
I’m about 10 days in now, and have lost 7 pounds on the Classic cycle. I’m trying to find food that I like and know I will stick with. I have a question about breakfast. If you are allow one carb and one protein, isn’t having a bowl of cold cereal two carbs (the milk and the cereal)? Are multi-grain Cheerios okay to eat?
Yes, that would count as two carbs as long as you’re using skim milk, and multi-grain Cheerios are okay. However, since you’re also trying to get as much benefit as you can from everything you eat, you might try finding a cereal with a bit more fiber (which will also help you feel fuller longer). Happy Classic Cycling!
Thanks for your quick response! It makes sense. I am doing the Turbo program. I was on the verge of trying 1200 cals a day with no carb or cheat day but was afraid it would cause me to hold on to the weight instead of losing…especially with all of the exercise.
I appreciate the help!!!
I have a couple of questions- The day after a high carb day, I gain weight. Also after my free day I gain weight. Is this normal? Do some people have issues metabolizing carbs? The first week I did really well and the second week was just ok. Week two I doubled my workouts and was burning 800 cals. doing cardio plus whatever I burned doing the nautilus weight machines. My body looks different but my hard work is not reflecting on the scales. After my weekend of Saturday high carb 1500 calorirs and my Sunday free day, I have almost gained back everything lost in week one…is my body rebelling?
Yes, this can be normal because carbs hold in water, and if you ate some foods with extra sodium on your free day, that would cause some water weight gain also. It’s best to only weigh yourself once a week. On all the cycles except the Fit Cycle you want to weigh yourself on the morning of day 6. In the Fit Cycle, you’ll weigh yourself on the morning of day 7. Hope that helps!