If you want to shed those extra pounds extra fast, the Turbo Cycle is for you. Of the four original carb cycles (Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit), this cycle takes off weight the fastest. Unlike the Easy and Classic cycles, which alternate low and high carb days, the Turbo Cycle pits two low carb days against every high carb day. That means you’ll burn fat two days in a row before your body’s furnace (metabolism) is re-stoked on your high carb day, and you’ll lose weight really, really fast!
Even though the Turbo Cycle has an extra low carb day as compared to the Easy and Classic cycles, it is not a severely calorie-restricted cycle that will crash your metabolism. And since you’ll have two low carb days in a row, you may feel less energetic on the second low carb day. But this is okay. These low carb days are powerful weight loss accelerators!
Here’s what a Turbo Cycle week looks like:
- Monday: Low carb day
- Tuesday: Low carb day
- Wednesday: High carb day
- Thursday: Low carb day
- Friday: Low carb day
- Saturday: High 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 high carb or low carb meal (depending on which day you’re on). Your final of the day will ALWAYS be a low carb meal. Follow the portion size guide to put all your meals together. And as with the other cycles, you can stay with the Turbo Cycle as long as you want, or you can change cycles at any time. This program is tailor-made to you and you alone!
Learn more about the Turbo Cycle in our book, Choose More, Lose More for Life. And if you’re interested in learning about the Extreme Cycle, check out our 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!
950 Responses
Hi! I’m super excited to start carb cycling, as I have been trying to lose the same 8 lbs for the past year. Ugh. I do have a question though
… The “Choose More , Lose More for Life” book indicates I should eat breakfast within 30 mins of waking… But on Tuesday and Thursday’s I train with a trainer at 5 am (so I’m up at 4:15am), and then go a full day. Should I eat my 1st meal when I return, or before training?
If I eat my first meal when I return (6am, I know: not 30 mins from waking, but I’m not sure I should eat the full meal before training,) then eating 5 meals would bring me to 6pm for dinner. I don’t go to bed until after 10.
My trainer has indicated I should have a protein shake (with a time released protein an hour before sleeping.) 2ns question… The protein shake would bring me to 6 meals… Is this ok?
Thank you for all your help!
Great questions! Here’s a post that will help you figure out your first meal of the day and working out dilemma: https://heidipowell.net/9194/qa-with-the-powells-to-eat-or-not-to-eat/. And Chris and Heidi recommend 5 meals a day, and ending your last meal at 6 pm totally fits into their recommendations, so they would not recommend a 6th meal of the day. Happy carb cycling!
Hi there,
I was reading this post and when clicking on the link to what a “turbo Week” would look like the link is broken. My wife and I have Chris’ book, but have not had the chance to read it yet, so I was hoping to get an idea what to expect.
We are both between 150-200 pounds overweight and are needing as much guidance as we can get…so looking forward to learning as much as we can to insure that it’s done correctly. I also want t his to be a lifestyle change!
Thanks for all that you and Chris do…you are both such an inspiring couple!
Cicero
Thank you for letting us know about the broken link – we’ll get it fixed! Happy carb cycling – you both can do this!
And here’s the turbo cycle weekly schedule: Monday – low carb day, Tuesday – low carb day, Wednesday – high carb day, Thursday – low carb day, Friday – low carb day, Saturday – high carb day, Sunday – reward day. Hope that helps!
I am a 6’0″ tall woman. From what I remember, the Chris Powell carb cycling books say that women should be eating 1200-1500 calories per day and men should be eating 1500-1800. However, it has the average female at 5’4″ and the average man at 5’8″. What is an appropriate calorie range on high and low carb days for a woman of my size?
You’ll still want to stick to the 1200 calories on low carb days and 1500 calories on high carb days. Happy carb cycling!
So glad this question was asked, as I am 5’10”. Thank you for addressing this, Heidi! 🙂
This is beyond amazing! I’m getting married in August and recently went dress shopping. They tried to tell me I needed to buy a size 8 in the dress because they thought a 6 would be too tight, but I knew my dedication to being in shape for the wedding.
I’ve been working out religiously and following the turbo cycle and after 5 weeks I just got my dress and tried it on. As I nervously zipped it up I was ecstatic to find that not only was the 6 not too small, but it needs taken in…a LOT! And there are still 2 months until my fitting!
I have no idea pound wise where I am (scales just discourage me) but I’ve dropped a ton of weight following this. And when you start experimenting with lower carb foods you can really find some awesome things to eat – I can now make grilled chicken about 50 different ways 😉 I would encourage everyone to do this if they’re trying to lose weight quick. Combined with an ambitious work out schedule as well obviously. Thank you for educating the world about this!
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and on dropping all those pounds! That’s so exciting!
Do you know how many grams of carbs you were having on the low days and then how many on the high days?
On high carb days, are you allowed healthy fats to cook with or drizzle over salad (1 tbsp.)? or should you avoid fats all together?
On high carb days, you can use butter spray or cooking spray, and for dressings, you can use up to 2 TBSP of fat free/low fat kinds. Otherwise, you’ll avoid fats for high carb meals.
Hi Heidi,
I started the carb cycling turbo cycle diet but I work out really intensely. I am currently doing a hybrid of turbofire and chalene extreme and at the end of my workout I burn at least 1100 calories per day 6 times a week. My question is, should I eat more because I am burning so many calories (after 2 hours of my workout my HR watch says I burned 2000+ calories)? And if so how much more should I eat? Right now I am eating about 1300-1600 calories a day. This is my usual calorie intake not only because I diet but because I just don’t eat that much all day (occasionally I add calories from chocolate 🙂 but i never eat 2000 calories a day) Thanks for your response!!
-Marian
The 1200 calories on low carb days and 1500 calories on high carb days recommendation should work for you, but if you’re concerned, you might try the Fit Cycle and/or discuss this with your healthcare team. It also depends on your weight. You can do this!
I purchased ?Choose More, Lose More for Life? and began the Turbo Cycle on Monday. So far so good! I do have a couple of questions I’m hoping Team Powell may be able to answer:
1. The book lists carrots as a carb. Is that just cooked carrots or can I only have raw carrots on a high carb day?
2. Jicama, is that considered a high carb veggie since it’s a root vegetable?
3. Is pumpkin considered a carb?
4. If I’m eating high carb veggies, is that the carb for that meal or may I have it in addition to the carb?
5. How many carbs can a protein shake have? The Vega one I was looking at 5 carbs/serving.
Thanks!
Amanda
Here you go: 1. As with anything, carb cycling is constantly getting better! Carrots have been moved to the “Veggies” category, so you can eat them for low and high carb meals. 2. Jicama is a high carb option. 3. Pumpkin is considered a veggie. 4. High carb veggies count as the carb portion of a high carb meal. 5. For protein shakes, Heidi and Chris recommend between 15-20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of carbs per serving. They love their Vemma Powell Perfect Protein Shakes!
I’m SO excited to start carb cycling! I see that no matter what breakfast needs to be protein plus carbs, but what about the rest of the meals? I need nutrition 101 – how many servings of proteins, carbs, veggies & fats should I aim for in a typical low carb AND high carb day? I’ve downloaded the smart foods guide, and I’m ready to start making my meal plans!
Here are a couple of posts that should help: https://heidipowell.net/2713/carb-cycling-101/ and https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. And you can find the complete program in Chris and Heidi’s book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” Happy carb cycling!
Hey,
Im on week 2 of the turbo cycle, but its my birthday on 22nd April which is a Weds. How would you suggest changing the cycle so that I can use that Weds as my reward day instead of Sunday?
Thanks!!
For that week, make your birthday your reward day, and follow the cycle as outlined except for that day. Happy early birthday!
Hi,
Would quest bars be a good meal option for low or high carb days?
Thanks!
Hi Marie! Here’s some great info about protein bars from Heidi and Chris: Protein bars can be a healthy option for both low and high carb meals, especially when you need a quick source of healthy nutrition. For low carb meals, Chris and Heidi prefer Quest and Kind + Protein bars. They have some carbs on the label, but since most of these carbs are dietary fiber, they are actually what we call “non-impact carbs,” and these carbs don’t count. They also have a good amount of protein and fat?perfect for low carb meals! For high carb meals, they recommend Think Thin and Cliff Builder, even though they do have some fat content. The key to knowing which bar is best for which type of meal is to look at both the carb and fat content. If more calories come from fat than carbs, then that bar is a good option for a low carb meal. If the reverse is true, then that bar is a good option for a high carb meal. Chris and Heidi do recommend consuming only one protein bar a day, since it is best to eat whole foods whenever possible.