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
Good morning. A friend of mine suggested I try the Turbo Carb Cycling program. I am wondering what caloric intake should look like on the three types of days (low carb, high carb and reward). My friend had great success, not only with loss but with maintenance…which is very important to me. I want to be sure to do this right. I am 5’6″ and weigh 215.
Hi Ann: For the turbo cycle in general, women aim for 1200 calories on low carb days and 1500 calories on high carb days. You’ll aim for 2500 calories on your reward day. If you’re interested in trying our app, it offers you a totally customized nutrition and workout program: http://thetransformapp.com You got this! 🙂
Where can I purchase the carb cycle app? I’m interested in starting the Fit Carb Cycle but cannot find where to purchase. The only app I can find is the Transform app but I dont see any of the Carb Cycles there. Please advise.
Hi Mady: All of our carb cycles are in The Transform App, and you’ll choose a cycle inside of your Nutrition plan on the app. http://thetransformapp.com We hope you love the app! 🙂
Hello,
I am a female and have tried the program twice, but not full plan because each time I?ve had same thing happen. During week two day 4 of the plan I will get shivering cold and ice cold to the touch and feel very foggy headed. What could be happening…. do I need to up my calorie intake?
Hello,
I am getting married at the end of this month and I have lost about 6.5# counting macros. I want to incorporate carb cycling and wondered if you would recommend either turbo or extreme for me? I do crossfit 5 days a week and also a few days of running. I want to tighten up a bit more before my wedding and would love to lose about 10# total (obviously not all in 4 weeks).
Hi Cassidee: Congratulations on both your upcoming wedding AND on losing 6.5 lbs! With your goals and workout schedule, we recommend the Extreme Cycle: https://heidipowell.net/10503. You can totally do this! 🙂
Hi Heidi, I am currently nursing my 5 month old and wanted to know if you would recommend carb cycling while nursing ?!
Thank you, Nicole 🙂
Hi Nicole: Here’s a post about carb cycling and nursing: https://heidipowell.net/2275. I hope it helps! 🙂
Hi!! I LOVE your program, but I?m trying to understand it fully. How do you feel about carb cycling for people with 75-100lbs to lose? What amount of protein and carbs would they need to eat? My understanding is that a 150 lb person should eat about 150 lbs of protein, but should a 250lb person eat 250g of protein? And what about carbs? It seems like that would be so much food! Do the calculations change for larger people? Thank you for your help!!! ?
Hi Emily: Great questions! Yes, carb cycling can work no matter how many pounds you want to lose. If you’d like a customized carb cycling program that will adjust as you progress towards your goals AND that is based on you, your current stats, and your goals, you might want to check into Chris and Heidi’s app: http://thetransformapp.com. If you’d like a general plan, you can choose any of the cycles in this post, and we would recommend you begin with the Extreme Cycle: https://heidipowell.net/10503. And here’s a post that has a “Create Your Own Meals” chart that can help you understand how to put your meals together: https://heidipowell.net/10617. I hope this helps – you can do this! 🙂
Hi Heidi,
I’m 5’3 and 150 pounds, I gained 10 pounds last winter and want to loose 20 pounds, to feel great again with my body and fit into my jumpsuit (I skydive).
I got the book and started the lifelong weight loss in 21 days. After 2 weeks, it feels like I barely loose weight, I lost 2 pounds.
It’s a big step for me to eat in the morning and so often, I’m used to eat twice a day: lunch and dinner time.
I keep repeating myself, what’s written in the book: trust the program, but after 2 weeks and such little results, I struggle. Feels like I eat to much carbs and too often, too much, even if I count what I eat and follow recipes.
I live in Paris, France, some of the products can’t be found here, or really hard to find. I’m careful with gluten and don’t drink milk (I have Crohn’s disease) so I tend to eat almost the same breakfast, might be to much eggs in my diet…?
I hope, next week, after 21 days, it will show more results.
I love the book, it helps for the commitment and the mental transformation on top of the being structured.
I’m not counting on giving up 😉
Thanks
Hi Ingrid: You’re doing awesome! And a 1 lb weight loss/week, with a 20 lb weight loss goal, is right on track. You’re right – trust in the process, and you will get there! And remember, there is a learning curve to a new program, and since your body isn’t used to eating more than 2 meals a day, it will take some time for it to adjust to this new way of eating. You got this! 🙂
I?ve been trying to see what type of eating lifestyle works for me. I have 30 lbs I want to loose. I think I?m going to give carb cycling a try.
Insta: jtrujillo26
Oops insta: jtrujillo2
I haven’t been eating healthy lately and I have about 75 lbs to lose. Would the turbo carb cycling be best for me? Thanks
I love your carb cycling posts (and that you respond to people?s questions!) This is the for booty band giveaway. My insta name is @annienielson ??