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
I love overnight oats and trying to make the measurements work. I always use 1/3 cup oatmeal, 3 oz Greek nonfat yogurt and 1/2 cup unsweetened milk.
To make a proper size for macros should it be 6 oz yogurt ( to count as protein) 1/2 cup or 1/3 cup oats? (For carbs) and 1 cup almond milk? Plus throw in a fat?
I know 3 oz of protein is a serving please tell me approx how many carb grams to make one serving?
What category does almond milk fall in?
How many ounces in nuts can you have for a fat?
Hi Dan: This depends on which cycle you’re following. For the Turbo Cycle, you don’t add a fat for breakfast. For the Extreme Cycle, you do. If you’re following the Extreme Cycle, here’s a blog post that can help you understand how to put your meals together: https://heidipowell.net/10617. For any of the other cycles, there’s a graphic in this post that can help: https://heidipowell.net/4514.
Aftenoon Powells,
I’m a 28yo guy, at the edge of being overweight, recently diagnosed with hypertension, and quite frankly tired of not looking and feeling great. I recently started doing green smoothies (mostly consisting of kale, spinach, or romaine and cucumber with a little bit of fruit like a kiwi, a squeezed lime, and/or a little melon or berries; low sugar fruits, flaxseed and sometimes added plant protein etc…) under recommendation from my doctor and a friend that is a nutritionist. My nutritionist friend is actually who directed me to you and your husband for carb cycling because she believes it might be the best option for me. Now that the long explanation for my comment is out of the way hahaha… I was wondering if I would still be able to do my morning smoothie with my bit of fruit while doing the turbo cycle. Thank you.
*for clarification, the doctor recommended incorporating more plants in my diet and the nutritionist recommended the added seed, protein, etc…
Hi Kaleb: On the Turbo Cycle, every breakfast is a high-carb meal, which means you’ll eat a serving each of protein and carbs, and veggies also if you’re still hungry. There’s a great graphic in this post that shows you how to put all your meals together: https://heidipowell.net/4514. However, it’s always best to follow your healthcare team’s recommendations. Good luck – you can do this!
Hi,
I was so excited to start carb cycling and I’m on week two of the turbo cycle and no results! I am drinking a gallon of water a day and working out everyday. I do cardio three days ( 45 min. on elliptical or bike ) and the other days a moderate pilates / stretching workout. I only had one slip up by drinking a glass of wine the day before the reward day and didn’t go overboard on that reward day. I typically eat all the foods suggested and have always had an active healthy lifestyle but, I’m in my mid forties now and can’t break this plateau. I need to only lose 15 or 20 pounds and feel really frustrated at this point. Anything I need to adjust to get better results?
Thanks so much!
Hi Cara: It sounds like you’re on the right track. Try upping your cardio to 60 minutes, 5 days a week, make sure you’re also doing the 9-Minute Missions or another strength training program, and try tracking your calories (1200 on low-carb days and 1500 on high-carb days). The less weight you need to lose, the closer you have to watch your calorie intake. Hope this helps – you can do this!
Thanks for the quick reply. I forgot to add that I do my own version of the 9 min. missions as I’m trying to challenge myself with adding more squats and pushups each week as well as a total of 100 reps with 15 pound weights doing biceps, triceps, rows, etc. on the cardio days so I almost thought I was maybe doing too much but, should I be doing that along with the cardio 5 days /wk.? When do I see results and do I just stick with this turbo cycle for a month and try a new cycle after the slingshot week? After that week is that when the results will kick in?
Thanks!
Hi Cara: While strength training and cardio are both important for overall health and weight loss, for losing weight, you’ll want to spend more time on cardio since that’s where you usually burn more calories. For strength training, be sure you’re not working the same muscle group two days in a row also. This helps to alleviate your risk of injury. I’d try and bump up your cardio and aim for 5 days a week, and also do your strength training, but have your cardio be your main focus/where you spend more time. You can do this!
hello, how are you guys doing today? 🙂
Ive been trying to figure out what my carb cycling macros should be and i do 2 high carbs 3 low carbs and 1 medium carbs, I’m 141lbs and exercise 6 days a week doing cardio and weight lifting. Here is my carb cycling macros
high carbs
carbs: 250
Fat: 56
Prot: 141
low carbs:
carbs: 165
fat: 65-71
prot: 141
Medium carbs
Carbs: 200
prot: 141-150
fat: 67
Does this look good to you guys?
Hi Bethany: We really don’t have a medium-carb day in carb cycling. You can get some ideas of the daily macros we follow in carb cycling in this post: https://heidipowell.net/10617. And your macros do depend on your goals – weight loss or gaining healthy weight. Hope that helps!
oh okay, will the page that you showed should have how to calculate how many carbs and what not that i should have? thanks for the reply
Yes, there is a lot of great info in that post!
Hello!
First of all im so impressed of the the extreme makeover wight loss show/program. I have had the problem of my weight almost all my life. 2003 i got in a accident and hurt my back badly and had to have a back surgery, after that i gain a lot of weight, almost 35 kg. I succeed to lose from that 35 kg 20 kg witch was ineradicable and the years went and all good. 2011 i got depressed and it was an hard depression so they gave me anti – depression that made me gain 30 kg in 6 month and i lost from them 10 kg, but then I gained it back in 1 ? month but that was after 4 years, during the 4 years it have been ups and downs, but more downs. Today i standing on 102 kg on my 157,5 cm and im so depressed that i dont know where to start anymore, What i need to know is : How much carbs should i eat on my low and high carbs day and what about the calories amount, i have so many questions. I live in Finland and here what i have felt the nutritionist arent that good, i have been 3 times and no help at all, thats why i would like to give this a try Turbo carb cycling. And then what about my work out days, when im i not suppose to lift? I miss the old me when i had energies and life lust that I have lost. Can i find anywhere some male plan? I would be super thank full for your help! <3 thank you so much!!
Hi Beri: Thank you so much for your comment! You can get answers to all your questions in this post and the links within it: https://heidipowell.net/9060. And as with any nutrition and exercise program, it’s best to discuss this program with your healthcare team first and then follow any modifications they might recommend. You can do this!
Is the carb cycling safe to do while breastfeeding? Or while pregnant? I have a 1 year old that still gets breast milk (in addition to solids) but I would love to find a way to kick start some muscle.
Also, we are hoping to have another so I would love to know for future reference. Thanks!
Hi Labella: Here’s a post that outlines Heidi’s breastfeeding nutrition program: https://heidipowell.net/2275. Hope it helps!
Hi Team Powell,
I have recently started the Turbo carb cycle, but am concerned that I need to tweak something. I just finished week 2 and have not lost any weight as of yet. I’m staying within the guidelines of the plan, have worked out 5-6 days a week, and have stayed within 1200 cals on low carb days and 1500 on high carb days. I’ve been at a plateau with my weight loss for quite some time, and was hoping that carb cycling would be the solution for me. 🙁 Any advice??
Hi Tracy: For some people, it takes a few weeks for their bodies to get used to a new way of doing things depending on what dieting they’ve done before. I’d give it one more week, make sure you’re following the plan to a T, and see what happens. Depending on how much weight you want to lose, your rate of weight loss can be slower. Also, are you drinking all of your water every day? Chris and Heidi recommend 1/2 your body weight in ounces (200 lbs = 100 oz of water) every day. Are you doing the weekly Reward Day? These are important for overall success also. Please be patient – you can totally do this!
Thanks for the feedback! I have been doing the reward days, but could probably drink a bit more water. I have been stuck at 163 pounds for over a year and just can’t seem to get past that number no matter what I try. I’d like to loose another 30 pounds and am growing more and more discouraged. I’ll give it another week and see what happens. If I haven’t lost anything by the 4th week, should I do the slingshot week or should I continue on with the Turbo Cycle? Would it be beneficial to try a different cycle?
You can do either, and you can change cycles at any time. If you decide to change cycles, you might want to try the new Extreme Cycle (https://heidipowell.net/10503/carb-cycling-the-extreme-cycle/). Another thing you might track is your sodium intake. Most people consume more sodium than they think they are consuming, and this can cause a slow down in weight loss too. You can do this!
Hi! I plan to start the Turbo Carb Cycling and this may have already been answered and I’m sorry if it has been! Is there a workout schedule I should follow? As far as weight training on high carb days vs low carb days and cardio other days, no cardio, etc? Any help or tips are appreciated!
Hi Morgan: Welcome to carb cycling! There is an entire workout program, and it’s outlined day-by-day in “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” Here are a couple of posts that talk about the exercise part of carb cycling to get you started:
9 Minute Missions (strength training): https://heidipowell.net/9045/9-minute-missions/
Shredders (cardio): https://heidipowell.net/9058/shredders/.
Hope this helps – you can totally do this!
Thank you so much that does help! I just have 1 more quick question. I know it says to eat 30 minutes within waking and I watched the video of Heidi & Chris when they talked about eating before and/or after workouts. My question is I tend to get up at 3am and get my workout done because I work early and my gym is very busy after work. Is there a link or something I can read on how to schedule my eating around early morning workouts? I just ordered the book and cannot wait to start this program!
Hi Morgan: You can eat before your workout or after your workout, or you can eat 1/2 of your first meal pre-workout and 1/2 after your workout. Just do what works best for you!
Hi Heidi,
Love your book and this site. I have been researching carb cycling for about a month. Every time I try to put together a meal plan, the end # of calories are way off, since most foods contain a mixture of carb/protein and fat, eg., beans have all three components. Any suggestions on how to put together a daily meal plan for high and low carb days without spending hours on calculations for each food? Many thanks.
Hi Regina: There’s an awesome graphic in this post that shows you how to put your meals together: https://heidipowell.net/4514. And when you follow these portion size guidelines, all your macros are taken care of. Chris and Heidi try to make things as simple as possible. Hope this helps!
Hi Guys,
First let me say you guys are awesome! Second, my husband and I are seriously thinking about starting carb cycling. We have been eating Whole 30 (similar to paleo) for about a year now and have had some great results however we have stalled out and have had a hard time finding a healthy way to eat for life. I have followed heidi on facebook for months and had never fully investigated into their program until recently. My questions stem from switching from paleo based to this. On occasion we eat sprouted grain bread and brown rice that we like without any issues but we have eliminated our dairy intake to pretty much none unless we splurge on pizza. Also our fats of choice have been avocado oil, avocados, homemade paleo mayo, and almond butter. Im trying to figure out a way that we can follow both as close as possible. we are not avoiding grains due to any allergies and have avoided dairy because of acid reflux and other stomach aliments for my family of 4. Are we able to use the fats we like on low carb days or should we switch completely? I have borrowed the book choose more, loose more and still reading it. Im waiting for the newest one to come in, but i’d like to start asap. I prep our food for the week every weekend and I’d like to get a head start.
thanks so much:)
HI Natasha: You can put your meals together using any of the foods in the approved foods list in both books. Here are some meal planning tips for the new Extreme Cycle that could be helpful also: https://heidipowell.net/10617/the-extreme-cycle-meal-planning-tips/. And the fats you listed are also fats in carb cycling. Hope this helps – you can totally do this!