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
Please help! I just started my carb cycling plan on Monday and have tracked everything perfectly thus far. I also had all my meals planned out for the week (spent two hours doing that).
This morning, as I was browsing workouts, I accidentally started a whole new plan and it erased everything Ive tracked thus far and everything I had planned for the week.
Can you please restore back to what I had?
🙁
Thank you!!!!!
Dustin
Hi Dustin: I do know that since different plans have different nutrition options as far as low and high carb days, so that can erase what you’ve had stored previously when you change plans. Go to Me, then Program, then scroll down to history, and hopefully, that will pull up your previous plan. If not, please contact our support team, and they’ll be happy to help! [email protected]
Hi Heidi! Love your videos and all your blogs! I am 45 years old with 4 kids. I am 5?3? and my weight fluctuates between 109-112. I work out religiously 5-6 a week. I eat pretty clean, but I am finding I?m getting hungrier at night. I do intermittent fasting and my eating window is 1-9. I am not looking to lose weight but I am struggling with stomach bloating and want to get leaner. I have always disliked my legs!!! In the past, I have been scared of carbs but now eat more carbs like quinoa, farrow, sweet potatoes. I feel like I need to adjust my carbs, protein and fats but not sure how much of each. I track my food (most days) and goals on there are 136g carbs, 53g fat & 94g protein (which I don?t always meet…sometimes my fat goes a little over. I want to start the carb cycling. I would love to know what you recommend for me.
Thank you!!
Hi Nicole: There?s a link to an awesome macros calculator in this post: https://heidipowell.net/10990. This calculator won?t break down your calories into low and high carb days, but there?s a ?Create a Meal? chart in this post that can help you figure out low and high carb days: https://heidipowell.net/4514. Just remember that each gram of protein and carbs = 4 calories, and each gram of fat = 9 calories. We also offer a customized nutrition program in our app, The Transform App (http://thetransformapp.com), which adjusts as you progress towards your goals. The app has several amazing workout programs too! Hope this helps!
I did the fit cycle after the birth of my first baby. I?m due with my second in June. I got so lean on this the first time around. This time though, I?m going to add my whey protein shakes after my workouts. I want to be lean, but get my strength back the second time around! Thanks Chris and Heidi!
But how many calories I need to eat on high and low carb days?
Hi Anique: If you’re putting together your own custom meal plan, that number is based on you and your goals and preferences, and there isn’t a set “correct” number for any person-it’s very individualized based on several factors. If you wanted to try our app, The TRANSFORM App (http://thetransformapp.com), your calories and macros would be computed for you now and as you progress towards your goals. Hope that helps! 🙂