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! After hearing a lot of hype about carb cycling (and after reading Chris’ book) I decided to give carb cycling a try. I am on day 5 and so far so good! I have more energy, I have been in a better mood, and I am already seeing a difference in my belly bloat! : )
My questions is about my upcoming “Cheat” day on Sunday. Do I still follow the 5 structured meal times and just add a few extra calories here or there or is the day also less structured? I feel like I have done a lot of great work so far, so I am really nervous about cheating. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Alex
Hi Alex: On your cheat day you can eat anything you’d like to up to an extra 1000 calories over the calorie recommendation for a high carb day. Enjoy!
Hi,
I purchased your husbands books and I just started turbo this week and I’m finding that on my low day after a high day I’m very tired. I get the same amount of sleep every night (which isn’t enough) but for some reason today more than most I’m very tired.
Hi Julie: This can be common as your body is getting used to a new way of doing things, and it should get better. Getting more sleep can definitely help, and be sure you’re eating those two fist fulls of veggies with every meal and your carb for breakfast on your low carb days. Welcome to carb cycling!
Hello! I am not sure if anyone already posted this question, but I was planning on doing the turbo cycling. This will be my first cycle that I actually understand lol. However one question I do have is, I know my macro count on a normal basis. But when I cycle… How do I meet my macro count on low and high days? And how do I calculate the total amount for low and high days? Right now I am on a lower carb higher far due to breast feeding. And trying to lose my “baby” weight. Lol I have 3 little boys and two of them are 14 months apart. Just unsure how to calculate ?
Hi Jessica: Here are some general macro percentage recommendations for the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles: High Carb Meal:
Protein: 40%, Carbs: 40%, Fats: 20%. Low Carb Meal: Protein: 40%, Carbs: 20%, Fats: 40%. And remember that a gram of carb or protein = 4 calories and a gram of fat = 9 calories. And here’s a post that outlines Heidi’s breastfeeding carb cycling program: https://heidipowell.net/2275. Hope this helps!
Hi! I’ve been doing carb cycling for a week and I have lost 9.2 pounds! Now, I know that is a skewed number as much of it is water weight and all, but I am so stoked and excited to keep going. I am having a little trouble figuring out how to build recipes in this different way, but while I work it all out, I’m keeping it super simple, filling my meals with the approved foods, and its been not-so-bad.. I’m really quite enjoying it. (Except carrots. We’re still working on building a friendship) I had been eating so bad for so long, I had a tough time the first couple of days, like, super flu like symptoms but I didn’t give up! And that’s something I would have done DAY ONE in the past! I’ve counted points in the past and had major success but I gained all the weight back and then some.. I’ve been feeling bad about myself for a long time- partly anger and even more embarrassment that I allowed myself to go back to that. I’ve been hiding from my life. I’ve been skipping vacations and outing with friends because I have been uncomfortable in my own skin But reading the book and making a plan and after some scale movement I feel good about my new start. It’s a complete 180? for me, from how I’ve tried it in the past and I’m actually excited about that. I’m a strong girl and have always been proud of that… In the past trying to lose weight, I’ve never focused on my strength, it’s always been about that smaller size (which is part of it, no lie), but I feel different about it this time, to explore and learn and push my body to see how I can transform. I haven’t admitted that to anyone in my close proximity, but i feel comfortable proclaiming here for some reason. So, looooong story short, thanks for all the inspirational posts and tips and support for people you don’t even know. I’ve been in a rut for a long, long time and I have a long way to go, but I really think, no, I know, I’m going to be able to do it. Oh, and seriously, has anyone else had trouble on “cheat day”? This is my first one and none of my previous go-to foods sound good. ?
Hi Nicole: Love your comment! You’re going to crush your goals! 🙂
You’re an inspiration! Go you! I am just reading this all and thinking about starting.
Thank you so much for your reply to my earlier question. I have another area of concern you could assist me with! How do you determine the percentage of calories of the protein vs. the carbohydrates when deciding which protein shake or snack bar to select. When I read the labels I find the number of calories from fat specified along with then total number of calories. I assume there is a way to calculate calories per gram for the protein and carbohydrates, but am at a loss as to how to do that. Also, when dietary fiber is included in the carbs, is there yet another adjustment that needs to be calculated?
Hi Lin: For protein shakes, Chris and Heidi recommend low-fat, low-carb shakes with around 20 grams of protein per serving. In general, each gram of protein or carb = 4 calories, and each gram of fat = 9 calories. And we go by the total carb count of a food, which makes things much easier. Hope that helps!
Hello – I think I posed this question about a week ago but cannot seem to find the question or potential response… I am following the turbo cycle per the book chose more, lose more and being a numbers person, I tend to follow the 1200/1500 calorie intake and the 40/40/20, 40/20/40 much more so than the portion sizes. My question is whether I need to add the 2 servings of vegetables in to my counts if I am using the calories/macros or if they truly are “free”. If I add in the veggies to the macros, it is near impossible to achieve the 20% carbs on LC days.
Thanks for your help!
Hi Laurie: Hi Laurie: It?s best to count everything you put in your mouth, but if your veggies are throwing your counts over a tiny bit, you should be fine.:)
Hi guys! Im finding low carb days extremely hard! Could I add a protein portion or a fat to help me? Thanks
Hi Jessica: It’s best to stick to the program as outlined if at all possible. Sometimes it just takes your body a bit of time to adjust to a new way of doing things, and remember, you can have veggies with every meal, which can really help. You can do this!
Hello!
Will there be a Carb Cycling recipe book in the (hopefully near) future? I am on board with the carb-cycling, just getting started actually (I’ve got 70 lbs to lose, hubby has about 20), and I love getting ideas for meals when I sometimes can’t figure it out on my own – or I’m just too tired from work. My awesome hubby and I are also new to meal-prepping, I think it would be awesome if you could put a recipe book out to accompany your books 🙂 Love the show, love your books. Keep up the awesomeness!!
Hello Heidi! I’m thinking about doing the Turbo plan. I’m currently training for a marathon (about 40-50miles/wk), but am 7 months post baby (nursing) and trying to lose the last baby pounds. Trying to find a good balance in caloric intake to fuel my running and nursing but low enough to lose weight. I’m hoping carb cycling can help! I’m 5’6, 30y/o, 130 lbs. Do you have a recommended caloric intake and low/high carb # to hit? Thanks in advance and sorry for the information overload… Happy Independence Day 🙂
Hi Heather: Here’s a post that talks about carb cycling and nursing, and I hope it can help you figure out what will work best for you: https://heidipowell.net/2275. And good luck on your marathon! 🙂
Hi team Powell! I have both books.. I was wondering what cycle you would suggest to do out of all your cycles to lose the last 5-10 pounds!
Thanks 🙂
Hi Alexa: Any can work, but I’d do the Extreme Cycle (in “Extreme Transformation”). And welcome to carb cycling!