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
Hi!
I thought I posted, but I’m not seeing it now, so I’ll try again 🙂
Okay, in the last year, I have gained 15-20 lbs and excited to start carb cycling to take off 20. Food is my problem, definitely not the gym. I just started the EASY CARB cycle on Monday so I don’t feel deprived, and am already down 3 pounds…YAY!!!
I have a few questions though:
My workout schedule (I have been working out consistently 3-6x/week for 5 years now)
M through Fri…. jog/walk/run for 30-60 minutes (5days/week)
M,W. and Fri….. I do a weight lifting class called Muscle Mania. I use anywhere from 10-15 lb dumb bells and always break a sweat. It is a 45 minute class with an additional 15 minutes of core work at the end (60 min. total).
Sat… I usually do an easy 30-45 minute workout with some light cardio and weights
1.Should my MWF weightlifting days be high or low carb days? does it matter?
2. Should I be scheduling my 5 meals to hit a certain time before or after those work outs?
THANK YOU so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Five years ago I did weight watchers on and off between having three babies, and lost over 130 pounds… It’s been a LONG time since I have found another program that seems so do able and is working to get off these 15-20 lbs that I’ve let creep back on with bad diet choices. So excited to continue with carb cycling!!!
Hi Ali: All comments have to be approved before they post, so that’s why you didn’t see your first post. I’ll answer your first post right now. 😉
I have a question:
I am a regular in the gym, but still managed to put on 15-20 lbs over the last year (my goal/need is to lose 20): I started carb cycling on the EASY PLAN five days ago and LOVE it… down 3 lbs already (obviously, food was my shortcoming not the workouts at all… I LOVE getting to the gym)!!!
These are my questions:
My avg week looks like this gym wise… I jog/run (sometimes walk, lol) Mon-Friday for 30-45 minutes: on MWF, I do a one hour weight lifting class at the gym (I use between 10 and 15 lb dumb bells for my exercises and always break a sweat).
And 2 times out of 4, squeeze in an easy workout on Saturdays as well.
1. SO, should my MWF weight lifting days be my low carb or high card/cheat meal days?
2. If I typically workout from 9:30 to 11am…how soon before and after each workout should I be eating?
Hi Ali: Yay for those 3 pounds gone! That’s awesome! Let’s get you some answers to your questions: 1. Unless you’re having issues with your workouts on low carb days, you should be good to go. If you are having issues, you can switch things up so your more intense workouts are on high carb days. 2. Here’s another post from this blog that talks about eating and working out: https://heidipowell.net/9194/qa-with-the-powells-to-eat-or-not-to-eat/. You can do this! 🙂
Hi, I am looking into starting this carb cycling. However I’m not sure how many carbs i should be eating on high carb days and low carbs days… I also am unsure of which plan to use. I am 5’2 152lbs and would like to lose about 30-40 lbs after i lose weight i want to drop body fat and tone up. I also was wondering if you guys helped with workout plans and what not. I could really just use any advice to get started again to be a healthier and happier me. I want to be the best me possible.
Thanks for the help!!
Hi Shelby: In carb cycling, we don’t count grams of anything, we count portion sizes (and calories if you’d like). There’s an awesome graphic in this post that outlines how to put together every carb cycling meal: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. And you can use whichever cycle you’d like to, and you can change at any time. There’s a chart in “Choose More, Lose More for Life” that helps you figure out which cycle to begin with. And there’s a complete exercise program in the book too. You can do this!
Is Chris and Heidi?s carb cycling program compatible with Vegetarians and/or Vegans?
Do you provide recipes/options for vegetarians?
Hi! I was wondering which cycle you would recommend for myself, I’m 5.1″ weighing around 7.5st. I am wanting fat loss and to build muscle (tone) I work out 4-5 times a week which include weight training, cardio, and compound training. Any advice would be great thanks!
You might want to start with the Fit Cycle since you do work out pretty intensely. And you can change cycles at any time!
Thanks for what you all do! I have a question about the reward days in the cycles. I tried the Turbo cycle for a few weeks but the one reward day was overwhelming for me. I recently switched to Easy and my husband is on Classic now to make meals easier. 4 rewards meals of 250 calories each is 1000 calories just like the 1000 allowed for the reward day on Classic cycle. Would i be able to put two reward meals together for 500 cals each twice a week (on high carb days ) and still get he same results?
Hi Kimmie: It’s best to follow the program as outlined, and only have reward meals on the days as suggested. Good luck – you can do this!
I am looking to eat healthier but not looking to lose weight. I am 4′ 11″ and weigh 96 lbs. I run about 3-4 days a week and weight train 1-2 days a week (not heavy weights). I have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, and can’t eat gluten or dairy. I eat mostly fruits and vegetables but love my pasta!! I have just started to add more protein into my diet but don’t really enjoy meat, chicken, etc. Would carb cycling be a good plan for me to learn how to eat healthy, balanced meals?? I feel bloated most of the time right now. I’m lost right now. Thank you for any help you can give me!!
Yes, carb cycling could work for you. Since you don’t want to lose weight, you’ll need to adjust your calorie intake to equal your calories out every day. Here’s another post from this blog that might help with this: https://heidipowell.net/5366/all-about-calories/. And with your health issues, please discuss this program with your healthcare team first, and then follow their recommendations. Good luck! 🙂
I started carb cycling. Yesterday on a “low carb day”, I gave into a treat at a dinner party and then I went overboard and binged. 🙁 That “all or nothing” thinking got the best of me (OLD HABITS DIE HARD) and I feel horrible and bloated and definitely not hungry today!
I don’t even feel like breakfast and my first instinct is to skip it and do a low carb day, though technically it’s a high-carb day.
Where should I go from here? Two low-carb days in a row?
Thanks!
Hi Liz: One rough day does not mean you’ve failed. You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, learn from yesterday, and begin again. Never skip breakfast, and don’t repeat days. If this is supposed to be a high carb day, then keep it that way. And believe me, you’re not alone. We all have rough days. The important thing is to not let yesterday’s rough day affect today’s amazing day. You can do this!
I’ve tried every diet out there and have had nothing but problems. I’m an insulin dependent diabetic and am trying to get my A1C to a 6.5 and lose at least 40 lbs so my husband and I can have a baby. Honestly I’d like to lose 100 lbs to be comfortable in my own skin again. I’m an EMT and have very busy days where I am running calls constantly. I was thinking about doing the Easy Cycle to start and then move onto the next in order to see which works best for me but also to make a habit stick first. Any suggestions? I am tired of gaining the weight back after stopping using products and meal replacements. I want a healthier lifestyle for myself my husband and our future children.
Thanks in advance! I’m all for making this work!
Hi Crystal: The Easy Cycle is a great place to start! I’d also suggest you discuss this program with your healthcare team first, and then follow their recommendations. Here’s another post from this blog that might help also: https://heidipowell.net/5078/ask-heidi-anything-im-diabetic-which-plan-should-i-follow/. We wish you the best – you can do this!
Hi,
I am starting carb cycling for the first time ever. I am kind of nervous to try this but at the same time I am excited. What foods are high carb? And what foods are low carb? I understand that on doffrent days you need to have ether a low carb or high carb day. As a college student I find it to be overwhelming to try something new if I have never done it before.
~ Alexis
– 5’1
~ 164.9lbs
~ first time carb cycling
Hi Alexis: There’s a complete list of approved foods in Chris and Heidi’s book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life,” so that would be a very helpful resource for you. And there’s an awesome graphic in this post (as well as some other helpful info) that will show you how to put together every meal in carb cycling: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. Happy carb cycling – you can do this!