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 loved the book. I still just have a question though. What are the calories you are supposed to be eating at each meal. The Hand guide is cool, but I am looking to make dishes that combine the ingredients, so if I knew the calories I would know the proportions to add of each.
I saw the post that gave the caloric breakdown for breakfast! Thank you! Because that helped me know how to make my protein oatmeal with chia seeds. I want to make a tofu, sweet potato mash for high carb meals. So knowing what proportion of tofu to sweet potato would be great.
High Carb Breakfast: X calories from protein food, x calories from carb food
High Carb other meals: X calories from protein food, x calories from carb food
Low Carb Breakfast: X calories from protein food, x calories from carb food
Low Carb other meals: X calories from protein food, x calories from fat food
Hi David: For the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles, we really don’t have a calorie breakdown for each meal, but for men, aim for 5 ounces of protein, 1.5 cups of carbs, 3 cups of veggies, and 2 tablespoons of fat. You can also use the food list in both books for examples of 70-100 calories portions. If you have “Extreme Transformation,” there’s a per meal calorie breakdown on page 72. Hope this helps!
Hey there team Powell. I just finished Kickstarter with you guys, and won, losing 6.4 lbs with diet change. I always work out! I currently weigh 142. I really want to tone up and be totally fit my 40th bday this August. How does one determine the carbs for high/low carbs days? I’ve tried every calculator out there. Lol. When I did kickstarted, I ate roughly 132g a day kicking it up to 160 on high intensity work outs (orange theory fitness) to prevent lethargy. This seems too high for carb cycling? BTW I have looked for your book at Walmart and Targrt abd can’t find it. Strange considering we both live in the Phoenix area. You are an inspiration Heidi. And I have also have the crazy blended family thing going on, it’s all about the kids at this point.
Hi Katrina: Congratulations! In Chris and Heidi’s new book (which you can order here: http://amzn.to/1RKDIgo), all your macros are figured out for you, which makes it so easy. There is an amazing meal plan, or you can put your own meals together (there are guidelines for this), or a combo of the two. It’s awesome! ?
Hey!
Thanks so much for all of this! I do mix heavy weight with Metcon training 6 days a week but have always felt at a loss with which nutrition plan to follow. Question…I workout at 530am each morning. When is a good time for breakfast??
Hi Beth: Get some great info on eating and working out here: https://heidipowell.net/9194/qa-with-the-powells-to-eat-or-not-to-eat/. ?
Good Day ,
I have been doing the extreme cycling for about 3 weeks , my question is my fourth week is approaching but I am confused.. I would like to try the turbo cycle next ,should I do a sling shot week before I start (4 th week) or get into the turbo cycle for my next step . Does sling shot week breakfast include any fat?
Lina
Hi Lina: You can do whichever one you’d like. For the Slingshot Week, you do not include fats with breakfasts – all your meals during that week are high-carb meals. And congratulations on completing a whole Extreme Cycle cycle! ?
Thank you for your quick reply.. okay one more question I have a wedding on Saturday being Italian the feast never ends.. so I am on day 4 of extreme high carb day was wondering if I can switch my this around meaning day 4 and 5 low carb and reward day on Saturday and start turbo on sunday??
thanks for all the help
Hi Lina: Yes, it is okay to switch your reward day occasionally, but you really don’t want to do it very often. Have a fun time! ?
Hi Team Powell,
I have a couple questions I need clarification on. I just read 3 of your books and I have a few questions.:
Question 1)
Trader Joes sells a Natural 100% whey based protein that has 18G protein and is 100 calories per serving and has Total Carbohydrate is 6g with Dietary Fiber 3g and sugars 2g. Is this an okay protein to use or do I need to find another Whey protein with 5 or less total Carbohydrates? The brand I purchased is called Designer Whey gourmet chocolate and also purchase a vanilla one?
Can you recommend some brands?
Question 2)
Drinking a lot of water is super hard in the cold winters can I put a lemon or lime wedge in my water?
Question 3) Is it okay to use Crystal light artificial flavors in my water they do have 5 calories with 0 carbs and 0 g of sugar if no can you recommend a brand that I could use?
Thank you so much!
Hi Anka: Let’s get you some answers! 1) This powder should be okay since it does have some fiber in it. 2) Yes! You can put a lemon or lime in your water – that’s an awesome option! 2) I’d try and find a brand sweetened with stevia or xylitol. There are some available on the market. You can totally do this!
Team Powell thank you for the quick answers. Should I or do I need to count the Lemon or Lime in my gallon of water as anything for additional calories or carbs?
Also do you know of any brand for flavoring of the water that you would recommend similar to a crystal light?
Hi Anka: You don’t need to count the lemons or limes if you’re using them simply for flavoring. And I’m so sorry, but I don’t have any water flavoring brands to recommend.
Hi.
I’ve just started the turbo cycle and I have a couple of questions. I don’t see cream of wheat on the list of carbs and was wondering if it would be acceptable to have cream of wheat instead of oatmeal. Also I noticed hummus listed under condiments. Does it have to be low fat or can we have regular hummus and also how much of it and on which days and which meals. I usually use it to dip my veggies in it but not sure if it’s acceptable and if it would count as a fat or protein or only a condiment. Thank you so much. I’m loving this program.
Hi Mary: Cream of wheat is an acceptable carb. For hummus, you can have 2 tablespoons, which count as a carb. You can do this! 🙂
I am an avid runner and lift/run around 6 day a week with some two-a-days. I was looking for a way to lean up and lose fat without compromising my muscles. I ran competitively for 8 years, but never achieved the lean mass I wanted despite high mileage weeks. Ive been reading your books, and thought it might be the one to try. However, I am worried about the calorie defects….1200-1500 calories is really low and how do you decide the best carb cycle?
Hi Lindsay: You might want to start with the new Extreme Cycle (https://heidipowell.net/10503/carb-cycling-the-extreme-cycle/). The daily calorie recommendations for women on this cycle are 1500 a day. And the best calorie range for you if you have very little to lose and simply want to lean up could be different depending on your current height and weight. You might find some helpful information here: https://heidipowell.net/5366/all-about-calories/. I hope this helps!
First – read the book and LOVED it. Things finally make sense, and I am getting more comfortable eating carbs again (yessssssss!). But I am confused.
I get that low carb days = 1200 calories and high carb = 1500 calories… but if, for example, I burn 600 calories at the gym on low carb day… am I supposed to eat back any of those carbs?
(I get that I am not “eating them back” per se, but I don’t know how else to phrase the question.)
In my head, that equates to me basically consuming 600 calories that day… which seems to be in bad form. So, at the end of the day, do I eat 1800, burn 600 and arrive at 1200 for the day? Do i eat 1600, burn 600 and arrive at 1000 for the day to work towards my defecit?
Help. 😐
Hi Becky: Great question! No, you don’t eat back any calories you burn through activity. Those calories go towards your daily calorie deficit, which leads to lost pounds. It works like this: calories consumed – calories burned = calorie deficit (lose weight) -or- calorie surplus (gain weight). I hope that helps – you can do this! ?
Hi Team Powell – quick question here. I just bought and devoured “Choose More, Lose More for Life” and am working on making my meal plan for next week. I love omelettes but hate plain egg whites. Is it possible to use whole eggs? Why do you have just egg whites listed? My cholesterol is fine (I do have low HDL which I’m trying to work on with exercise). Also, any tips for staying motivated and disciplined? I wish you had a “Moderate Weight Loss” show, haha. I’d apply in a heart beat! Here’s hoping I lose the weight before my goal day (I’m in a wedding!) Any additional tips/words of encouragement are greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Emily
Hi Emily: We’re so excited you love “Choose More, Lose More for Life”! In the carb cycles in “Choose More, Lose More for Life,” egg yolks are considered fats and egg whites are proteins, so that’s why egg yolks are separated from egg whites. And here’s Chris and Heidi’s #1 transformation tool, and it’s awesome at helping you stay motivated and disciplined: https://heidipowell.net/8679. Give it a try – it works! We wish you the best – you can totally do this! ?
Hi!
I am a college student, which kind of goes with staying up for a long period of time. Since I will be eating my first meal around 7:30am and not going to bed until about midnight, would 3 1/2 hours between meals be okay? Or would this be an obstacle to my weight loss?
Also, do you have any ideas for on the go meal options that contain all three elements (protein, carb and veggie or protein fat and veggie)?
Thank you!
Hi Madeline: Get some great info on how to structure your meal schedule here: https://heidipowell.net/10556/ask-the-powells-how-can-i-structure-my-meals-2/. As for on-the-go meals, try protein powder, low-sodium deli meats, whole-grain crackers, pre-cut fruits and veggies, protein bars, reduced fat cheeses, and nuts. Good luck – you can do this!