Do you have a hard time going without your favorite foods, but you still want to lose weight? Then the Easy Cycle is for you. In this cycle you alternate low carb and high carb days, and on every single high carb day you can have a reward meal, as long as that meal isn’t your dinner meal.
That’s right, you can eat the foods you love—four days a week— and still reach your weight loss goals. And by favorite foods I mean pizza, ice cream, bacon, chocolate cake, cheesecake—they’re all okay. The power of this cycle is that if you get those favorite food cravings on low carb days, you only have to wait until the next day to satisfy them. Anyone can do that! Success can be yours with this cycle.
How is this possible? First of all, you’ll be following the low carb/high carb eating plan for your non-reward meals, and the success of this pattern has been proven many times over. And even though you’ll be rewarding yourself, you’ll be rewarding yourself less often. Let’s say you usually eat seven servings of ice cream a week. With the Easy Cycle you’re already eliminating three bowls of ice cream a week, and that’s a lot of calories! You’re satisfying your cravings without depriving yourself, and losing weight.
Here’s what an Easy Cycle week looks like:
- Monday: Low carb day
- Tuesday: High carb day w/ reward meal
- Wednesday: Low carb day
- Thursday: High carb day w/ reward meal
- Friday: Low carb day
- Saturday: High carb day w/ reward meal
- Sunday: High carb day w/ reward meal
Every breakfast—on both low and high carb days—will consist of a portion each of protein, carb, and fat. For the next three meals, you’ll either have a high carb or low carb meal (depending on which day you’re on), and then your last meal of the day will ALWAYS be a low carb meal. Follow the portion size guide, and you’re good to go!
And yes, you won’t lose weight as quickly as you would in other cycles, but the important thing is that you will lose weight, and you’ll also be forming healthy habits that will last a lifetime. And when you’re ready, you can move onto another cycle if you want to. Or you can stay with the Easy Cycle throughout your weight loss journey. It’s totally up to you!
For more information on the Easy Cycle, check out our book, Choose More, Lose More for Life.
Interested in learning about our new cycle, the Extreme Cycle? You can get all the info in our new book, Extreme Transformation.
And if you’d like some help creating your own meals, there’s a handy “Create Your Own Meals” chart in this post!
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!
151 Responses
I work third shift, 11pm to 7am. I then come home and sleep from 8am till 330pm. How could I fit carb cycling into my schedule?
Just do your best to eat every three hours while you’re awake from 3:30 pm – 7 am. You might have to be a bit creative, but it can be done! Here’s a post that might help: https://heidipowell.net/2960/ask-heidi-anything-what-if-i-cant-or-dont-eat-every-three-hours/. 🙂
Hi! I am looking to start carb cycling, I am currently still nursing my 5 month old son, is the diet safe to do while I am still breastfeeding?
Here’s a post about carb cycling and breastfeeding: https://heidipowell.net/2275/q-a-carb-cycling-while-prego/. It will give you some great info! And congratulations on the new baby – that’s awesome! 🙂
Hello!
Curious if it’s better to work out on high or low carb days? And if you’re drinking protein shakes along with workouts can that count as a meal?
In Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling program you work out on both low and high carb days. Their entire workout program is outlined in their book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” Yes, protein shakes can be the protein part of any meal, and depending on the carb count, they could also be a complete meal replacement. Chris and Heidi’s Powell Perfect Protein Shakes (transformnow.vemma.com) are meal replacement shakes. As far as drinking protein shakes and working out, yes, that would count as at least the protein part of a meal. If your shake is not a meal replacement shake, you’d also need to add either a healthy fat or a carb. Here’s a post about eating and working out: https://heidipowell.net/1071/to-eat-or-not-to-eat-before-exercise/. 🙂
I have a question! Am I limited to only the foods on the food list that your website provides? Say I have granola which has 4g of protein per serving could I substitute that for the protein portion of my snack meals?
No, for a food to count as a protein it would need to have closer to 15+ grams of protein/serving. And it is best to follow the approved foods list. There’s an even more extensive list in Chris and Heidi’s book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” Hope that helps!
Hi Hedi, I’m not over weight I’m 117 lbs 5’2″ 40 yrs old, but I’m looking for a easy way to eat healthy. I work out 3 days a week. Moderate to intense cardio. With light weight training alternating.
Would this plan work for me? I have 3 kids so sometimes I eat on the run.
Yes – the easy cycle is a great way to get started. And you can change cycles at any time. Happy carb cycling! 🙂
Can you carb cycle when your diabetic?
Check out this post for some great info on carb cycling and diabetes: https://heidipowell.net/5078/ask-heidi-anything-im-diabetic-which-plan-should-i-follow/. 🙂
You two are awesome! What a great couple. I am a vegetarian, no red meat no fish no chicken no eggs. I love carbs a lot more than I should. This looks like something I could try. I have a hard time finding proteins so I always fill up on carbs. Any suggestions?!
You can get Chris and Heidi’s free approved food guide when you sign up for Chris’ free enewsletter at http://www.chrispowell.com. This list will give you options to choose from. There’s an even more extensive list in Chris and Heidi’s new book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” Hope that helps! 🙂
Am I missing the location for sample meal plans? I have the book Choose to Lose and the program concept is very clear, but it would be really helpful to have more food guidance once that is clear. What does a week of high/low carb days look like? How would we read nutrition labels to identify foods to completely avoid? The only thing I recall about this was the advice on which Whey power to purchase pertaining to the carbs. I’m not liable to use recipes for entrees, per se. The food on this plan is pretty basic but what would be helpful is a simple menu plan so that you get a feel for a complete 7-day cycle. Also, with everyone being on the go, shakes don’t always work for the mid-morning and afternoon meals. Do you have recipes for those meals other than an apple with peanut butter, for example? I find that it isn’t so much the main meals that trip me up, it is the tendency to stress eat between meals. It has to be something that can be interesting to keep me from straying. Overall, I think this is such a great lifestyle change and I love your positive attitude and your genuine care for others. I’m just starting and see a difference already. Yay!
I’m so sorry, but we don’t have sample meal plans available. Here’s a post that has a great graphic (as well as some other useful info) that will show you how to put together each meal on all the cycles: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. There is even more info – as well as an introduction to all 4 carb cycles and more recipes/options – in Chris and Heidi’s new book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” And we’re so excited that you’re seeing a difference – that’s awesome! 🙂
Can you do the Carb Cycling with kids? I don’t want to be making separate meals for husband and son every day.
Here’s a post that will help answer your question: https://heidipowell.net/4373/ask-heidi-anything-can-my-kids-carb-cycle-with-me/. And you definitely shouldn’t have to make separate meals.
I am considering trying this however, I have anaphalactic food allergies. My food allergies are: eggs, bananas, lime, all nuts, kiwi, avocado, all melons, and soy. That and I only will eat limited meats primarily nothing on a bone or with skin – chicken and occasionally beef.
I am about 75 pounds overweight and have many health issues including: diabetic, asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and more.
Do you have any tips that would be helpful for me both food and exercise wise?
I’d suggest discussing carb cycling with your healthcare team so they can help you put together an exercise program that will work for you with your health issues, as well as a nutrition plan for your food allergies. There are so many food options in the plan, that you should be able to follow it in spite of your food allergies. Best of luck!