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
Hello. I have started carb cycling (turbo cycle), and I am on week 2. I exercise 6 days a week also. The first week went very well and I lost 3 pounds and was feeling great!
After my Sunday reward day, I felt awful and tired from eating cheat foods and the scale is back up 4 lbs. Is this normal? I was so excited about my progress, and I feel like Sunday was a step backwards. I would love any advice. Thanks!
Yes, it can be normal for your weight to go up after your reward day. Make sure you’re only weighing yourself on day 6, and remember that you can eat whatever you want on your reward day – including healthy foods if you’d rather. Keep doing the Reward Days because they are a key to weight loss success. You can do this!
Hi Heidi!
I am starting the Turbo cycle today, and I had a question about the reward day. I usually like my cheat day on Saturday, so would Sunday be a HC or LC day? Thank you so much for all you guys do! Love ya!
Hi Tiffany: If you move your Reward Day to Saturday, then Sunday would be day 1 of your weekly cycle and you’d go from there. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Heidi! I know for all the meals you have to have Vegetables, but would there be a difference if you had them 3 times a day for 3 out of the 6 days and 5 times a day for 3 out of the 6 days? Sor basically Monday: 3 Times Breakfast Lunch and dinner Tuesday: All of the meals have veggies Wednesday: Breakfast Lunch and a dinner etc??
Hi Haley: The veggies (non-root/non-starchy type) are a part of all low carb meals. If you want to skip them for high carb meals because you’re full, then that’s okay. Veggies are so nutrition packed and low in calories that they’re a key to not only weight loss, but good health as well.
I am Vegetarian and it’s telling me I should eat cottage cheese and tomatoes for every meal, us that right? Are there no other options? And I use total lean shakes from GNC, can I do that for breakfast? If not what do you suggest for breakfast foods?
Hi Amber: There are lots of food options in Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling program. Since there are different categories of vegetarianism, it’s hard to answer your question without more information (if you’ll reply, I’ll watch for your comment and do my best to help you further). There’s an awesome graphic in this post that might better explain how to put meals together: https://heidipowell.net/4514/carb-confusion/. Your shake would count as a protein and a fat, so it would be a good option for a low carb meal. You’d simply need to add a veggie (the non-root/non-starchy type). As for breakfast, since every breakfast is a high carb meal, you’ll eat a protein + carb + veggie (if you’re still hungry). For high carb meals, you can skip the veggies if you’re full. In general, for a protein powder/shake Chris and Heidi recommend whey-based ones with between 15-20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of carbs per serving, then you can add a carb (and veggies if you want) to make it a high carb meal, or a fat and veggies to make it a low carb meal. I hope this helps!
Hi I was wondering if I could substitute my morning protein for a scoop of protein powder? I am having a hard time forcing myself to eat eggs and do not really feel like eating any other protein for breakfast. Thank you!
I also forgot to ask, am I supposed to have veggies with my snacks too? I have been doing a protein and fat only.
Yes, you can have non-root/non-starchy veggies with every meal/snack in carb cycling!
Yes! Just make sure that you’re also getting “whole” protein sources throughout your day.
I purchased the original book, Choose to Lose, and I just started the Turbo Carb Cycle even though this cycle is not in the book and I am loving it!! I am interested in more recipes and snack/meal options. Do any of the other books, or upcoming book, offer this?
Yes – there are lots of awesome recipes in Chris and Heidi’s second book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” Check ’em out!
Hi. I’ve read the book and followed the regular carb cycle. It worked but I stopped for a while. I’ve now read about the turbo plan on this site. But I don’t see anything in the book about it. Do you follow the same meal portions as for the regular plan? And what do you mean about not calorie restricted? Do you still alternate 1200/1500 according to high and low days? Thanks!
Hi Jeannie: The Turbo Cycle (as well as 2 other cycles in addition to the Classic Cycle) is in Chris and Heidi’s 2nd book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” You’ll follow the same portion recommendations, and you’ll still follow the 1200 calories for low carb days and 1500 calories for high carb days recommendation. And that wording in the post (calorie restricted) can be a bit confusing, but what it means is that even though there’s an extra low carb day, your metabolism won’t crash because of this. Many low carb diets that you hear about are quite calorie restricted, where the Turbo Cycle is not. Does that make sense? Good luck!
Hello,
I work in sales and am on the road. Yes, on low carb days I can pack my lunch like salad and chicken or ground beef. But on days when its crazy what are some quick ideas…chili at Wendys? Meat is protein, beans are a protein ? Can I have chili? I tried Fat free greek yogurt plain and I can’t do it…really bad. I need some simple ideas on low carb days.
Hi Michele: In carb cycling, beans are considered carbs, so they would be a better option on a high carb day. And yes, you can have chili, just watch the sodium and fat content. On low carb days, you can also eat low sodium deli meats as your protein source, so that might be a good idea too. Happy carb cycling!
I know i read somewhere you can eat vegetables every meal, non starch of course. Can this be a low sodium fat free veggie soup?! With lots of greens, tomatoes, onion, herbs? Thank you!
Yes, that would work, and as you said, look for the lowest sodium possible. 🙂
I was wondering if I choose to do a cheat day on a different day than Sunday, how do I go back into the cycle? For example, normal cycle: lc, lc, hc,lc,lc, hc, cheat day. I want to have my cheat day on Friday or Saturday, so what do I put after my cheat day, a high carb or a low carb?? Does that even make sense? Haha!
Also, is a cheat day like a full on eat cake and whatever?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Chelsea: You can move your cheat day, and since that’s day #7, the next day would be day #1 and you’d go from there. It’s best not to rearrange the order of the days in the week. Does that make sense? And on your cheat day you can eat up to 1000 extra calories, and you can eat whatever you’d like to eat!
Hey guys! Thanks for sharing all of this information in easy to understand segments. The only thing I am still confused on is the calorie totals. I saw where its recommended for women to have 1200 kcal on low days and 1500 kcal on high days. I do Crossfit 5 days a week and run on Saturdays. I know those kcal totals will not work for my active lifestyle. My goal in using the Turbo Cycle is to shed 5lbs in remaining postpartum weight, tone, and hopefully see abs by Christmas! =) How many kcal would you suggest for someone like me? Thank you for your help! You guys ROCK!
Hi Sarah: You might want to consider the Fit Cycle (https://heidipowell.net/2719/carb-cycling-the-fit-cycle/) and see if that will fit your workout schedule the best. If it doesn’t, here’s another blog post that can help you figure out how many calories you’ll need to eat: https://heidipowell.net/5366/all-about-calories/. You can do this!