Do you want to “lean up” without compromising your athletic performance? Do you want to train for long periods of time? Then the Fit Cycle is the cycle for you. The Fit Cycle not only eliminates fat, but it also supplies your body with the fuel it needs to perform successfully, no matter what sport you choose to excel in.
Unlike the Easy, Classic, and Turbo Cycles, the Fit Cycle only has two low carb days per week, and there’s a very important reason for this: The extra high carb day allows your muscles to absorb more fuel (glycogen), which you’ll need for maximum athletic performance. During your low carb days, when this supply of glycogen gets depleted, your muscles will develop insulin sensitivity. When you then have a high carb day or your reward day, these insulin-sensitive muscles will actually soak up more carbs, your body will burn this extra fuel instead of storing it as fat, and you’ll still lose weight. It’s an amazing process!
Here’s what a Fit Cycle week looks like:
- Monday: High carb day
- Tuesday: High carb day
- Wednesday: Low carb day
- Thursday: High carb day
- Friday: High carb day
- Saturday: Low carb day
- Sunday: Reward Day
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 of the day, you’ll eat either a low or high carb meal depending on which day you’re on. Your last meal of the day will ALWAYS be a low carb meal. Follow the portion size guide to put all of your meals together. And with the Fit Cycle, you won’t lose weight as fast as with the Turbo Cycle, but you will be able to maintain your athletic performance. However, if you do experience a slight decrease in your athletic performance with this cycle, and you’re not as concerned about losing weight, try combining the Fit Cycle with pre- and post-workout supplements or meal replacement shakes with some extra macronutrients. And as with the other cycles, you can stay on the Fit Cycle or change cycles at any time. It all depends on your weight loss and athletic goals.
For more information on the Fit Cycle, check out our book, Choose More, Lose More for Life. Interested in learning about the Extreme Cycle? 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!
183 Responses
I lift heavy Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun. My goal is to gain muscle but not belly fat. Would the fit cycle work best for me?
Hi Bonnie: You can start with the Fit Cycle, and you can change cycles at any time!
I’ve never carb cycled before and was looking into trying it out. I’m a registered dietitian and pretty familiar with macronutrients but don’t know which plan would work best for me. I train 6 days a week, mostly at moderate (heavy lifting days) to high intensity (tabata days). I am looking to lose about 5-10 lbs but really just lean out without affecting my athletic performance. Thanks for the help!
Hi MB: I’d start with this cycle or the Extreme Cycle (https://heidipowell.net/10503/carb-cycling-the-extreme-cycle/), and you can change cycles at any time!
I am looking to start carb cycling along with my current weight training and half marathon training. With the Fit Cycle does it have to be 2 high in a row? My current schedule has my long runs (6-14 miles) on Saturday and I just can’t do a low carb day then I’ll never make it through and its the only day I can run that kind of distance. I was looking at 2 high, 1 low, 1 high, 1 low, 1 high, reset. Would this still provide results?
Hi Toni: It sounds like the Classic Cycle might fit your needs better (https://heidipowell.net/2722/carb-cycling-the-classic-cycle/), or you might also check into the new Extreme Cycle (https://heidipowell.net/10503/carb-cycling-the-extreme-cycle/). And you can move the weekly schedule of LC and HC days one way or the other to better fit your needs, just keep the days in the same order. Hope that helps!
Are there samples of what to eat on a daily/weekly basis.. Ive done carb cycling before, but sometimes I felt like I had been eating the wrong foods at the wrong times.. & I don’t eat meat so while doing it I felt limited on proteins.. I was told to eat fishes and eggs. Are there others Id be able to eat too? Thanks so much!
Hi Danielle: There’s an awesome chart in this post that shows you how to put together you meals on the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles: https://heidipowell.net/4514. And there’s an extensive list of food options in “Choose More, Lose More for Life” also, and this post also has some protein options to get you started: https://heidipowell.net/7139. You can do this!
I’ve lost about 15 lbs post-babies doing carb cycling and weights in the past 11 weeks. If I’m interested now in maintaining rather than losing is carb-cycling still a good diet plan with maybe higher calories or different ratios?
Hi Lisa: Yes! Here’s a post that will help with the maintenance phase: https://heidipowell.net/5137/weight-loss-maintenance/. And congratulations!
Hi Heidi I couldn’t find out how to post my own separate comment on here so I’m jumping in here. I’ve been carb cycling for about 1.5 yrs I started at 285lbs and went down to 200lbs (85lbs) but ended up back up to 212lbs and I’ve been fluctuating between 205 & 210 since January. I feel I’m in plateau and I need to change things up. I want to work more with weights and cardio & start to gain more muscles tone! Do you think the fit cycle would be the best for me? I knew phase 3 would be hard to lose weight. I feel stuck! I would like to lose 35lb by the summer!!
Hi Evelyn: Any of the cycles can work for you, and you can change cycles at any time. You might want to try the new Extreme Cycle, as it’s the most updated carb cycle: https://heidipowell.net/10503/carb-cycling-the-extreme-cycle/. The Turbo Cycle and the Extreme Cycle are the fastest weight loss cycles, so either would be a great place to start.
Hello! I am looking to shed the last 15 lbs of “baby fat” which cycle is best? ALSO, would my daily intake of calories need to be higher than 1500 if I am breastfeeding my baby?? Thank you ya’ll!
Hi Cait: Here’s a post that outlines Heidi’s breastfeeding nutrition program: https://heidipowell.net/2275. Hope it helps – you can do this!
So I just started extreme transformation. My goal is to lose 15 pounds in 63 days 🙂 I am excited to see results! I have a question…usually one day a week, or every other week, I work a 24 hour shift. This usually completely derails my attempts at clean eating. I am wondering if I should continue to eat every three hours during the entire 24 hours, and then do low carb before I finally sleep? I know my body’s metabolism kind of shuts down overnight…but I need to stay awake until 7 am. Don’t want to let this throw me off course! Thanks in advance.
Hi Lesli: Here’s a post that gives some great tips on scheduling your meals with an unusual schedule: https://heidipowell.net/10556/ask-the-powells-how-can-i-structure-my-meals-2/. And welcome to carb cycling – you can totally do this!
Hi there!
What does reward day mean? Can I eat anything I want or follow the plan and eat a piece of chocolate maybe? Thank you for being an inspiration.
Kristina from Sweden
Hi Kristina: On your reward day, you can eat anything you want up to an extra 1000 calories, so up to 2500 calories. ?
Awesome :). Chocolate bar here I come! I wrote on Facebook as well but I can ask you too – I?m working out at the gym 4 times/week burning about 600 calories every time, so should I go for the Fit cycle or the Turbo cycle? Only need to lose 30 punds and 4 pounds/month is enough, building mucsles is more important than losing lots of weight. My first goal is to have a stronger and healthier body and losing 20-30 Pounds by November :). My second goal is to run 10 km by the end of the summer :).
Hi Kristina: You can start with the Fit Cycle, and if you want different results, you can change cycles at any time! ?
Thanks again :). I?ll try it for a week first and if I lack energy I will just add some more calories/day, I?ll write back in a week and let you know how it works for me :).
Hi Chris and Heidi,
I have your digital book and also the audio version, how can I get the tracking sheets is there a PDF that I can print from.
Thanks for your inspiration!!
Hi Wendy: It can be tricky to find the PDFs for the audio book form of “Extreme Transformation.” You can 1) contact the help center where you purchased your audio book or 2) if that doesn’t work, you can contact the publisher directly at [email protected] and they will be happy to help you!
Hi! I’m currently nursing my 7 month old and working out 6 times a week with a mix of circuit weight training and HIIT training. I’m 5’5″ and weigh around 135 so I need to lean out a little, but don’t have much to lose. I also want to continue building muscle. I’m worried about my supple and was wondering if the fit cycling would be best since there are only 2 low carb days
Hi Rebekah: Here’s a post that outlines Heidi’s nursing nutrition program: https://heidipowell.net/2275. I hope it can help you figure out what will work best for you! And congratulations on your new little one! ?