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
I have been doing the carb cycling for about two weeks. I can’t seem to get enough protein on the low carb days without going crazy with the carbs. What are some good protein sources with little carbs?
Thank your
There’s an awesome list of approved foods (including proteins) in “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” You can eat any lean meats, egg whites, non-fat/low carb Greek yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, and others. Hope that helps!
Team Powell,
I’ve been on the turbo cycle for 6 weeks now. I have not cheated, I’ve drank my water, and I do my reward day and slingshot week. I also workout 5 or 6 days a week. Other than the week one and the week after slingshot week, I have only lost one pound or nothing a week. At this rate it’ll take forever to lose what I want to lose. I know the body has to adjust to new ways of eating but it’s been way over a month and I should see more results. I watch the show and they lose way more at this point. I’ve been eating about 1200 calories a day because I read that women should be between 1200-1500. Since I’m trying to lose weight, should I eat less calories? If so, how much less? Or am I doing something wrong? Help!
Hi Lisa: From what you’ve told me, you need to adjust your calories a bit. On high carb days you should be eating 1500 calories. You’re okay with your low carb days – they should be at 1200 calories. For your reward day, you can eat up to 1000 extra calories, so up to 2500 calories, and your slingshot week will be an entire week of 1500 calorie days. How long are you working out each day? And a 1-2 pound weight loss per week is actually not bad! Your rate of weekly weight loss depends a lot on your starting weight and how many calories you burn over what you consume during the week. I hope that helps! You can do this! If you have further questions, comment again, and I’ll do my best to help.
In response to your reply, I am about 5’5 and my starting weight was 215 and I am 45 years old. I workout 45 min a day 5 days a week. Am I working out enough? And if I up my calories on high carb days to 1500 calories, you’re saying I should probably see more of a loss? Thank you for the help! Yall are the best!
Chris and Heidi recommend their 9-Minute Missions (strength training) Monday-Friday first thing in the morning, and up to an hour of cardio those same days. You can even bump that up a bit if you want to. And yes, varying your calorie intake should help you lose weight. Our bodies get used to routines – they can get stuck – so variations help keep them from getting stuck. You got this!
I have some back, knee and hip issues that are preventing me from exercising right now. I’ve gained a considerable amount of weight because of it. Can I still lose weight by following the carb cycling plan without the exercise?
Yes, you can still lose weight if your exercise is limited, but it might be a bit of a slower process. But it can be done! Move as you can as directed by your healthcare team, make sure your nutrition is spot on, and you can do this!
Sandy I saw your post on the back and knee issues and wanted to tell you I ended up being very seditary with severe back problems back in Oct and ask Heidi that same question before starting. And yes you can lose. I lost 21 lbs with no exercise but you have to be serious with your eating process as to whatever cycle your doing. I had surgery and was off of it a bit in the spring but back full force and losing again. Love carb cycling. Best decision I’ve made in my way of life eating. Healthy. 🙂 good luck.
I recently started your carb cycling program as well as the exercise portion. I have a 5 vertebra spinal fusion and pain free sit-ups are and will be impossible for me to do. In the meantime I am doing crunches as a replacement. My question is… Does you and Chris have a modified exercise routine for people with bad lower backs?
Hi Sandy: Welcome to carb cycling! I’d suggest you discuss this with your healthcare team and have them help you figure out some modified exercises for your lower back issues. They are best equipped to help you since they know your exact issues and can work with you on a one-on-one basis. We wish you the best!
Hi, I have been carb cycling now for just over 4 weeks using the turbo cycle. I’m doing really well having lost 23lbs so far. My only issue is that every monday morning (after my sunday cheat day) I feel sick when I get up and this lasts for a few hours. Is there anything I can do to help this or is it something I’m doing wrong with the diet?
Thanks in advance
Team Powell,
I am 18 years old, 5’3, and 5 weeks ago I weighed 135. My original goal weight was 125 because I figured I had atleast 10 lbs to lose being this height/age. Ive been on the turbo cycle now for five weeks and at 3 weeks I was down to 129.6. I did my slingshot week and then last week was back to the normal turbo cycle again. I weighed myself this morning and I weigh exactly the same, even to the ounce as I did at 3 weeks (129.6). I haven’t cheated and I workout 6 days a week and I’m drinking my water. Is it possible that I have nothing else to lose and I’m just gaining muscle weight from here on? I thought I had more than 6 lbs to get off. My mom has followed the plan too and she lost 4 lbs after her slingshot week so I know the process works and I’m not discouraged 🙂 just curious! Thank u!
Hi Leah: It sounds like you’re doing great! Keep in mind that after the slingshot week it might appear like you’ve gained weight or your weight has stayed the same, but this can be normal. It’s all part of the process. And yes, you could be replacing fat with muscle, so that number on the scale isn’t the only way to gauge how you’re doing on reaching your goal. If you haven’t already done so, take your measurements (chest, upper arms, waist, abdomen, hips, thighs), and then re-measure again from time to time. You got this!
Hello!
How should carb cycling apply to a workout schedule? I typically do cardio every morning, weightliftingt M/W/F and yoga T/TH/Sa.
I’m assuming that the high carb days would be on the weight training days but would like to be sure.
Thank you!
Workout schedules are taken into account for each cycle, and in carb cycling, you do both strength training and cardio Monday-Friday. With your active schedule, you might want to start with the Fit Cycle (https://heidipowell.net/2719/carb-cycling-the-fit-cycle/), and you can change cycles at any time. Good luck!
Dear Team Powell,
I just started using the carb cycling solution (Turbo Cycle). My BMI is 38 and I am 22 years old.
Every day I am scared that I eat to much, but I can’t seem to reach my daily calorie intake of 1200 on LC days and 1500 on HC days.
This is an example of my high carb day:
Morning (6am) greek yoghurt (0%fat) and a small banana
Snack (9am) a slice of wholewheat bread with some chicken and slices of tomato and cucumber
Lunch (12am) a salad with chicken, tomato, cucumber and some croutons
Snack (3pm) a slice of wholewheat bread with chicken and slices of tomato and cucumber
Dinner (6pm) tilapia filet with tomato salad and 1 small potato
Am I on the right track? Because I have the feeling I’m doing something wrong.
Ciara
You are on the right track, but you do need to make sure you’re getting in your calories every day. Your body needs a certain number to simply function properly, and if you’re not getting enough, it can be harmful to your health and stall your weight loss. There’s an awesome graphic in this post (as well as some other helpful info) that can help you better understand how to put your meals together: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. Don’t be afraid – follow your cycle, make sure your portion sizes are right on, and you’ll be good to go! You can do this!
Great article! I have PCOS and just had a baby! Yay! Haha. Can you do carb cycling while breastfeeding to where won’t effect my milk supply? Thank you!
Congrats on your new baby – that’s so exciting! Here’s another post from this blog that outlines Heidi’s breastfeeding nutrition program: https://heidipowell.net/2275/q-a-carb-cycling-while-prego/. Hope it helps!
I just finished both books and am a little confused on portion sizes. For example, It says in one place that a portion of pasta (the size of my fist) would be 1 cup of pasta, but where the foods are broken down into servings by 100 calories, it says a serving is 1/2 cup of pasta. So when adding pasta to a meal for a carb serving, would I be adding 1 cup or 1/2 cup? Is a serving of an English muffin a whole muffin or a half muffin? If each category in a meal equals 100 calories then you are eating 200 calories a meal (whether it’s a protein + carb or protein + fat depending on high or low day) plus veggies? That would make your calorie totals the same for high and low carb days (5 meals at 200 calories a meal + veggies per meal) but high carb days are supposed to be more than low carb days the books say. I guess my question is are we supposed to eat 200 calories of carbs per meal on a high carb day if so then why is it broken down into 100 calorie servings in the books? Thanks for clarification.
So sorry for the confusion! The calorie breakdowns in the book are just for reference so you can be aware of how many calories you’re eating (kind of a double check), and to show you what 100 calories looks like (and it’s much easier to list things in 100 calorie portion sizes than to break down each food into calories). Follow the portion sizes in the book, keep an eye on the calories, and you’ll be good to go!