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
Hey Team Powell,
I just recently started the classic cycle but I’m having some trouble with making it work with my work schedule. In my current position I work in the community a lot and may not always have the ability to get in my food or know what foods to eat. For instance, yesterday I was out in the community meeting with my clients and I wasn’t able to eat my prepared lunch. What can I do in a situation like this? Unfortunately, with my current job this is the norm and I’m trying to figure out how can I schedule and prepare foods to fit into my hectic days. Please help!
Yolanda
Hi Yolanda: A busy schedule can be tricky! Make sure you have other options (that require no refrigeration) with you at all times just in case. Things like protein powder (you can add to a bottle of water), protein bars, nuts, veggies, fruits and/or whole grain products (for high carb days), and other things that are portable. It’s all about planning ahead, and keeping options with you. Hope that helps!
Hi Team Powell!
I’m looking in to starting the Turbo Cycle but I was wondering which book I should purchase? Should I purchase the Choose to Lose, 7 day carb cycling book or Choose More, Lose More? Or should I purchase both? Which would be more helpful as far as the Turbo Cycle and what each food is considered(carb or not carb)? Do they have meal plans/ideas to follow in the book that you suggest? Thank you!
Hi Jen: You’ll want to purchase “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” It’s an update from “Choose to Lose.” And there are general guidelines, an extensive foods list, and lots of awesome recipes!
Hey Team Powell!
First, I want to say of much of an impact you made in my life. You guys are so inspirational! I’ve been sick for the better part of my adolescence. I got my appendix out, part of a lung removed, my thyroid treated with radioactive iodine…lost most of my hair because of treatments and was never able to lose weight, even when my diet was pretty restrictive because of my condition (eating 1000-1200 calories a day and gaining a lot of weight!!) . I used to watch EWL from my hospital bed and dream of the moment I could go to the gym!
Finally, a year ago, my doctor gave me his blessing to start training. I started pretty slowly, but got hooked!! Now it’s boxing, strength training, cardio almost everyday! I lost almost 60 pounds (starting weight 200 pounds on my 26 year old 5” 6′ body!), and gained a loooot of muscle mass.
For the first time in forever I feel in control of my body and pretty damn strong! It is the best feeling in the world!! And part of that comes from you guys. Thanks for the motivational push!
Now, my question ^_^
I was just wondering if you think it is possible to do the carbs cycling on a mostly vegan diet? I’m allergic to bovine protein, seafood, fish and eggs (yeah, I know!) so my protein source is really limited (mostly nuts, poultry, legumes and some soy products…) I already eat really healthy and I’m not really trying to lose weight, but I really don’t want to go back to where I was!
Thanks!! Keep up the awesome work you guys do!
Hi Evelyn: So happy to hear you’re back to working out, and congratulations on those 60 pounds gone! That’s awesome! Carb cycling can work for vegans, and there are some options that could work for you. It would be best to discuss the program with your healthcare team first, and then follow any modifications they might recommend. We wish you the best!
Hi Heidi! I’m starting the Classic carb cycling tomorrow! I’m also going to do cardio mostly everyday and wanted to add weight lifting 3 times a week. Should I do weights on high carb days or low carb days? Thanks!!
Hi Nicole: Welcome to carb cycling! There’s an awesome exercise component along with the nutrition component in carb cycling, and in this part of the program you’ll do 9-Minute Missions (strength training) first thing every morning and Shredders (cardio) for an up to hour/day – and you’ll do both Monday-Friday. You can get links to the exercise part of the program here: https://heidipowell.net/9059/all-about-exercise-2/. If you’d like to do your own strength training program, that is totally okay, and it shouldn’t really matter which day you do it on. Good luck!
Hi Heidi,
I’m following a carb cycling since one month, and I lost a little fat from my abs, and i feel great, but my hair started to fall a little (on the past, it always was a problem with the stupid diets I followed) And now I was wondering if I can follow carb cycling as a lifestyle. I don’t want to lose weight, just gain some mass. Can I follow it with no limits? It will be a problem with my hormones and metabolism? (my hair falling)
Thank you very much!!!
Hi Mirmosa: You shouldn’t be losing hair on carb cycling since each of the 5 meals has protein as a foundation, and protein helps with hair growth (as well as many other things). And the carbs and other food recommendations in carb cycling should not only keep your body healthy, but your hair as well. Double check your portion sizes and make sure they’re right on, and if this continues, you might want to discuss this with your healthcare team. And yes, carb cycling is a program you can follow for life, even after you achieve your transformation goals. Learn how to do this here: https://heidipowell.net/5137/weight-loss-maintenance/. Hope this helps!
Hi, I’ve been doing Atkins for a little while, but am excited to switch to carb cycling as it makes so much more sense to me. I’m wondering if on your plan I should focus on net carbs, as is done in Atkins (i.e.: total carbs – fiber = net carbs). Or, should I just pay attention to my overall total carbs? Thanks.
Hi Susan: In carb cycling, we don’t count grams of anything, just portion sizes and calories (if you’d like to). There’s an awesome graphic in this post (as well as other helpful information) that shows you how to put all your carb cycling meals together: https://heidipowell.net/4514. Welcome to carb cycling – it’s an awesome program!
Hi Team Powell, great fan of your work right here. I’ve been meaning to try your fit carb cycle for a while now, but my exercise regimen. My question is can I modified the cycling to fit my exercise schedule to: Carb, Lowcarb, carb, Lowcarb, carb, Reward, Lowcarb. Will it be as effective as the design split you provided, and if is not as effective do you think this change will still be recommended. I train martial arts 5 days a week and lift at least three. Thank you very much and keep the good work. YOU GUYS ARE TRULY MAKING THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
Hi Cristian: It’s best not to change up the order of the high and low carb and reward days. You might be interested in the Classic Cycle, which follow more of an every other day outline as you suggested above: https://heidipowell.net/2722/carb-cycling-the-classic-cycle/. And you can move the weekly schedule one way or the other if you’d like, just be sure and keep the days in the same order as outlined. Good luck!
I just finished Chris’s book on Sunday and was understand things pretty well, until the eat. I’m lost on what I should eat. I don’t really understand how to determine if something considered a carb or protein. I need help. I’ve been faithfully following weight watchers since October 11, 2013 and have lost 111.6 lbs; however, I still have alot more to go. I’ve been plateaued for most of the summer. I’m so frustrated and discouraged. Please help. I will purchase more details. I just need help.
Hi Crystal: If you have “Choose More, Lose More for Life,” there’s an extensive list of foods – by category – you can choose from beginning on page 192. There’s also a list in “Choose to Lose” if you have that book. Here are a couple of posts that will help you know which foods fit into which categories for proteins and carbs:
https://heidipowell.net/7139/the-power-of-protein/
https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/
I hope these help, and congratulations on those 111.6 pounds you’ve already lost – that’s awesome! You can do this!
Hi,
I just purchased Choose to Lose yesterday and was wondering if I can do my own workout routine? I am trying to build muscle so do I need to do anything different when it comes to the eating? Please advise. I love EWL and I feel so inspired and motivated every time I watch it 🙂
Yes! As long as you follow the general guidelines, you should be good to go with your workouts and with building muscle. 🙂
Hi Team Powell!
Is there a way to do carb cycling as a vegetarian? I may have missed it in the above comments possibly. Is it even possible to carb cycle on a plant-based diet?
Thanks!!
Yes, there are some vegetarian options available for carb cycling. There’s an extensive list of approved foods in “Choose More, Lose More for Life,” so that would be a great resource for you. 🙂