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,I started the turbo cycle 16 days ago. I have only weighed twice once at the end of week one before my reward day and again after week 2 same time, and same scale. I have gained just over 8lbs. I have the same workout routine as before I CrossFit 5 days per week and have post knee arthroscopy PT on 2 of those days. I know I’m following the plan to a T as I do all the cooking and my husband is on the plan too. I’m 32% body fat so I really need to continue to lean out. Im strong and lift heavy each week. My clothes are getting tighter in all the wrong places. Please help!
Hi Alicia: I’d really like to help you figure out what’s going on here, so please email me at [email protected], and we’ll work together. And please send me your current weight and height. Hope to hear from you soon!
Hi there, I’m trying my self to be healthy and I have quite a bit of wEight to lose, I’m trying to make this work for my whole family to make meals easier can these meal plans work for kids to just maintain a healthy diet? Or are they any special things I need to watch out for, my kids are a healthy weight, and just need better nutrition to keep the, that way
Thanks again!
Hi Missmasu: Here’s a post that talks about kids and carb cycling – I hope it will give you some good ideas: https://heidipowell.net/4373/ask-heidi-anything-can-my-kids-carb-cycle-with-me/. And welcome to carb cycling – you can do this!
Just wondering if you have any tips for carb cycling as a vegetarian. I do eat eggs and dairy but am looking for some alternate protein sources. Before I tried carb cycling I ate nuts and cheese for protein but am limiting them in the classic cycle. Any suggestions?
Hi Andrea: There’s an extensive list of approved foods in “Choose More Lose More for Life,” and some other protein options for you are TVP, tofu, and tempeh. You can do this!
Hello,
I’m starting the Turbo Cycle tomorrow. How many carbs should I have for a low-carb and a high-carb day?
Hi Sarah: There’s an awesome graphic in this post (as well as some other helpful info) that shows you how to put all your meals together: https://heidipowell.net/4514. Happy carb cycling!
Hello Heidi, would this type of routine need to be modified for someone like myself who has type-II diabetes? I’m currently trying to control my blood sugar through diet and exercise, while taking a low dosage of medication. My goal is to get off the meds entirely.
Hi Rich: You’d definitely want to discuss this program with your healthcare team, and then follow any modifications they recommend. Here’s another post that might help too: https://heidipowell.net/5078/ask-heidi-anything-im-diabetic-which-plan-should-i-follow/. Hope that helps!
Hi! I’m sorry if this was asked already. What constitutes a low carb day, compared to a high carb day? That is, how many carbs are in low carb day and what’s the Max for high carb? Do carbs from all veggies count, or can you eat tomatoes and carrots and corn like it’s going out of style for free? I’ve always been overweight, and in my early twenties I’ve ballooned to 275 pounds and can’t have babies because of PCOS. From all my yoyoing, I know that dieting and exercise regulate my period, which makes me hopeful that I can lose the weight and reverse the symptoms… Then gain it all back in the form of pregnancy, my ultimate goal ;). I want a baby so badly, and my husband does too. I’m trying to finally make this a reality, so I appreciate your answering! Thank you!
Hi Kelsey: There’s an awesome graphic in this post (as well as some other really helpful info) that shows you how to put all your carb cycling meals together: https://heidipowell.net/4514. And you can have two fist fulls of veggies (the non-root/non-starchy type, including carrots and tomatoes – but not corn) with every meal, on both low and high-carb days. And please discuss this program with your healthcare team first, and then follow any modifications they might recommend for you PCOS. We wish you the best – you can do this!
I am planning to start carb cycling next week, doing all my grocery and meal planning this week. I’m curious as to what ratio of carb/fat would be in a protein bar to be used for a high carb day vs. a low carb day? I frequently make my own protein snacks and was curious how I could alter the recipe for each day. For example the usual recipe I make has about 200 calories per serving. total fat is roughly 13g and total carbs 8g. I would think this would be a good option for low car due to the higher fat content but is the carb amount too high? Thanks!
Hi Heather: Great question! The key to knowing which bar is best for which type of meal is to look at both the carb and fat content. If more calories come from fat than net carbs (total grams of carbs – fiber grams), then that bar is a good option for a low carb meal. If the reverse is true, then that bar is a good option for a high carb meal. Chris and Heidi do recommend consuming only one protein bar a day, since it is best to eat whole foods whenever possible. Hope that helps!
I am mostly a runner who has just started lifting heavier and more.
I’m currently training for a half marathon. I do 1 long run, one speed workout and one tempo run. (3 days total on runs) and 3 separate days I focus on my strength training.
I’m not sure what my carb cycle should look like.
Thanks for any advice.
Hi Trish: With your training schedule, you might want to try the Fit Cycle first: https://heidipowell.net/2719/carb-cycling-the-fit-cycle/. And you can change cycles at any time too. Good luck!
My sister in law and I started carb cycling just over 4 weeks ago. We are on our 4th week which is high carb all week. I am not feeling good about this for some reason. I already feel “fat” again. Would it be against the plan to do a half half week or should we just stick through what the plan says?
Hi Krysten: You’ll want to do the complete high carb week. Carbs (even the healthiest ones) can retain water, so that’s probably what you’re feeling. Once you get back to your regular carb cycle next week, you should be good to go. Please trust in the plan – it works!
Thank you for the encouragment to stick with the plan, IT WORKED!!!! I still lost weight even though i felt like i was gaining that week. The following week i went back on the normal plan and lost more than I had in the previous 5 weeks, besides week one!!! This plan works, its easy and I never call it a diet. Everyone wants to know what we are doing and many have bought the book to start the plan. Thanks again. 🙂
Awesome! Thank you for the update – you got this! 🙂
Which carb cycling plan is recommended for someone with PCOS and lots of weight to lose?
Hi Sammy Jo: You can choose any of the cycles, but be sure and discuss carb cycling with your healthcare team first, and then follow any recommendations they may have. Good luck!