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
Thanks so much for this information. I’m loving the book about Carb Cycling. One question. I’m going to follow the Easy Cycle. Is the reward meal supposed to be eaten NOT at dinner? And, how much extra calories on top of the 1500 should the reward meal be? Thanks!
Yes, your reward meal should not be at dinner time. And you can have up to an extra 250 calories. Happy carb cycling!
I am going to start the easy cycle tomorrow. Are we allowed to have a glass of wine in the evening?
Wine is not on the approved foods list, however, it could be an option for a reward meal. Just be sure and include those calories in your daily calorie total (1200 calories for low carb days and 1500 calories for high carb days). Happy carb cycling!
I have been doing turbo for a week. Do the low carb days get easier even after you do the high carb day and cheat or so you feel bad again like you did cutting carbs
Yes, the low carb days will get easier. It just takes our bodies a bit of time to adjust to a new way of doing things. Hang in there, keep following the Turbo Cycle exactly, and you’ll be good to go! You can do this!
What I want to know is how many grams of carbs is considered low and how many for high?
In carb cycling, we don’t grams, we use portion sizes. Learn more in this post: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/ (pay special attention to the graphic). I hope it helps!
I don’t know which carb cycle to do, I practically live in my car for work. (sales) I am 38 5ft 4 & 178 pounds. I have had 3 kids and I weigh 25 pounds more then when I went into labor! (ages 20,15,9) I have gained 30 pounds since getting an IUD
Choose whichever cycle will help you be successful at the beginning, and that will fit into your busy schedule. You can change cycles at any time! You can do this!
I am in Sales across 3 states and quite frankly can average 10-12 hours a day in my car in between customers. I travel thru Rural areas where the local food is a fast food chain and just can’t stand eating any of it. Most days I will not eat at all until dinner … I’m 47… My weight fluxuates between 20-30lbs over what I feel is a comfortable weight … I run 3-4 times per week normally and would love to work out again mostly to strength my leg muscles to reduce injury but I just don’t have the time. Between my grueling travel and poor food choices how can one of these carb cycling plans fit into my schedule?
As far as fitting the nutrition part into your schedule, you can carry a small cooler in your car and stock it with many of the things on Chris and Heidi’s approved foods list. It will just take some advance planning. And as far as working out, fit it in anytime you can during your day. If your hotel has a fitness center, take advantage of it – even for short periods of time – anytime you can. And some fast food chains are now offering healthy alternatives. You can get oatmeal for breakfast and a salad for lunch, for example. Many also have their nutritional information on their websites, so you can also plan your meals ahead, or at least have a go-to list for each chain so you can make better choices. And don’t forget about local grocery stores – they are a good option and can help you keep that cooler stocked with healthy foods. You’ll have to plan ahead and be a bit creative, but it can be done!
Hi guys!
I was wondering if your book is available in French? Although I’m practically bilingual, it would be easier for me to read it in French.
Thank you!
I’m so sorry, but it’s only available in English.
Marie-H?l?ne, I saw your comment and I just discovered that if you download the Vemma Bod-e app (I found it for my iPhone and on Android) and your device is configured in French that all the info and recipes available via the app are in French.
En esp?rant que ?a t’aide! Laura
I am a 33 year old 5’5 woman and I weigh 430lb. I am desperate for something to safely help me loose weight quickly but healthy. Which carb cycle do you think would work best for me? Thanks in advance for any help..
Try the Turbo Cycle: https://heidipowell.net/2724/carb-cycling-the-turbo-cycle/. And remember, you can change cycles at any time! Happy carb cycling! 🙂
Hello I have lost 150 lbs I want to loose 10 lousy little lbs more and for the life of me I cant, through out my journey I have done different things to get to where I am now but I can’t seem to loose any more. I have bought Choose more loose more book and call me stupid but it is a bit confusing to follow , I used Jenny craig for most of my weight loss, I’m my mom’s full time care giver and have no time to really cook so having the food all set for me was what i needed. plus I eat big portions with using salad veggies, I know I need to eat less but the hunger is what I can’t deal with, I’ve tried drinking water, eating no cal noodles just about everything. Please help
Tammy
So sorry you’re confused! There’s a great graphic in this post (as well as some other awesome info) that shows you how to put together every meal in carb cycling: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. And since with carb cycling you eat 5 meals a day and you can have veggies (the non-root/non-starchy type) with every single meal, you shouldn’t be hungry. Yes, it might take your body a bit of time to adjust to this new way of doing things, but it works! Hope this helps – you can do this!
I have been type 2 diabetic for 5 years. Currently I have a. A1c of 10.3 way high. My doctor is giving me one more chance to fix it befor they put me on insulin. I have been going to the gym at least 5 days a week. And trying so hard but the food. Is killing me how does your diet plan work for diabetics? Please give me some advice. I’m not even sure I’m doing the right exercises. I’m such a failure at this. But I want to do it right.
Hi Audrey: Here’s a post that talks about carb cycling and diabetes – hopefully it will give you some good information to discuss with your doctor: https://heidipowell.net/5078/ask-heidi-anything-im-diabetic-which-plan-should-i-follow/. We wish you the best!
Hello. I am a 38 year old born with Spina Bifida. I am confined to a wheelchair, but have full upper body mobility and I am looking to lose about 60 pounds I am currently at 214 pounds. Any advice on the best way for a disabled person to get fitor have you ever done a show with a disabled person?
Hi Josh: I’d suggest discussing Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling program with your healthcare team to see what modifications need to be made to work around your health issues. It can be done, it just might take a bit of creativity. Happy carb cycling!