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 y’all!
My name is Tiffany. I am 5’4 and weigh 245… I completely lost control of my diet/exercise when I had my third child. 🙁 I have ordered your book, but I’m wondering which program you would suggest for me? I need to be in the 150-160 range. I have recently been told that my blood pressure and cholesterol are getting out of control. I’ve known for a long time that I’ve needed to make some changes just can’t find something that I can stick to. I’m impatient and don’t like to wait for results 🙂 haha All that to say… which program do you think would work best for me? Turbo or Extreme? Thanks!
Hi Tiffany: If you ordered Chris and Heidi’s new book, “Extreme Transformation,” it contains the Extreme Cycle, so I’d start with that one. If you ordered “Choose More, Lose More for Life,” I’d start with the Turbo Cycle. Both cycles can work, and you can change cycles at any time!
Hi, I have one other question please. I have about 120lbs to lose so am very overweight. I have previously been using myfitnesspal which suggest 1803cal a day for me based on my weight and height etc. For someone of my weight, would you suggest starting with the 1200 and 1500 calories or should I reduce my calories to those as I lose the weight?
Thanks Lynne
Hi Lynne: We would suggest trying the 1200 and 1500 calorie recommendations, and please keep in mind that some fitness apps will add back in any calories you burn working out to your daily calorie total. We don’t want to do this – these burned calories go towards your daily calorie deficit, which leads to lost pounds. You can do this!
Hi, my mom has introduced me to yourselves and carb cycling and I am just waiting or your book to arrive from Amazon. I am wondering if you can please give me more info on the Reward Days. From what my mom has said these are days that you can eat what you want ( within moderation ) but I found a video on The LIst TV that the two of you did and on there you suggest that you only have 1 cheat meal on the reward day. If that is the case, the other two meals of the day do they need to be based on the high carb or low carb guidelines ( I am looking to do the Turbo cycle)
Thanks Lynne
Hi Lynne: Different cycles treat the reward day/reward meals differently. For the Turbo Cycle, Day 7 of every week is a Reward Day, and you can eat anything you want up to 1000 extra calories – healthy, cheat-type foods, or both! It’s awesome!
Hello Team Powell! Love you guys; have lost 37lbs so far on your program 🙂 I have a question about exercise though. I LOVE the treadmill but can’t decide/figure out if its better to stay within my target heart range 138-148 or really push myself. I start getting really annoyed by having to maintain the slower speeds just to maintain that heart rate. Any advice?
THANK YOU!!!!
HI Jennifer: Congratulations!!! That’s so exciting! You might try adding some intervals into your workouts, and you can learn more about these here: https://heidipowell.net/1330/mix-up-your-cardio-routine-with-intervals/. And if you really feel like you’re moving to slow, try using the talk/sing test during cardio: If you can talk pretty normally, you’re going too slow. If you can sing, you’re going way too slow. If you can’t talk, you’re going too fast. Try and find a range in between talking normally and not being able to talk, and that’s a good fat-burning range. Hope this helps!
Hello! How many flavorings are allowed in a day/meal on the turbo cycle?
Hi Jen: You can add flavorings as you’d like to, just be sure and keep track of the calories.
I started the Turbo cycle two weeks ago and am loving it. I have the book as well, but still have a few questions. I know it say to eat 1200 calories on LC days and 1500 on HC days. Could you give me the break down of the Grams i should be consuming on LC and HC days. For example on low carb days I consumed 133 g of protein, 72 grams of carbs, and 24 grams of fat. On HC days i had 146g of protein, 131 g of carbs, and 20 grams of fat. I feel like this is incorrect and am doing it wrong, can you clarify for me please.
Hi Nikki: We really don’t have macros broken down into grams/meal for the Turbo Cycle, but here are some macro percentages you can aim for for both low- and high-carb meals:
High-Carb Meal:
Protein: 40%
Carbs: 40%
Fats: 20%
Low-Carb Meal:
Protein: 40%
Carbs: 20%
Fats: 40%
To figure out the percentage of a macro in a food, multiply the # of grams of protein or carbs by 4, and the grams of fat by 9, and divide that number by total calories. For example, if a food has 100 calories and 8 grams of protein, multiply 8 x 4 / 100 = 32% protein for this food. Hope that helps!
One more quick question.
Is agave nectar considered a flavoring?
Hi Nicole: Agave nectar is a sweetener, and it’s not on the approved foods list. If you do choose to use it, remember to count those calories as they can add up pretty quickly. Hope that helps!
Hi again Team Powell. I am a vegetarian that has followed extreme and turbo cycles. Love them both! It’s now become an easy part of life eating this way! I am considering switching to vegan and wondered if your list of approved proteins only consisted of vegan protein powders, tofu or tempeh?
Do you suggest either of these cycles for vegans?
Thank you,
Nicole
Hi Team Powell,
I have been doing the Turbo Cycle for months now and love it! I am trying to lose the last stubborn couple pounds. What cycle do you recommend?
I also have two nutrition questions.
What percentage of carbs, proteins and fats should my calorie intake be in low and high carbs days?
Also I workout at least 5 days a week and rotate between cardio and strength. Should my calories intake be net or gross of calories burned. (Example low carb day – burned 300 calories so I can eat 1500 calories?)
Thank you!
Lindsey
Hi Lindsey: The Turbo or Extreme Cycles are the best for losing the weight the fastest, so either one can work, and you can change cycles at any time. As for macro percentages, Chris and Heidi have figured out all of your macros for you in carb cycling (for both low- and high-carb meals) for the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles, so you don’t need to worry about tracking them. Follow your carb cycling plan, eat proteins, carbs, and fats when outlined in the meal plan, and you’ll be getting all the macros you need to be healthy and lose weight. However, if you’d like to count your own macros, here are some general recommendations:
High-Carb Day:
Protein: 40%
Carbs: 40%
Fats: 20%
Low-Carb Day:
Protein: 40%
Carbs: 20%
Fats: 40%
And we always go by gross calories consumed, and we don’t add back any calories burned. Any calories burned go towards your daily calorie deficit, which adds up to lost pounds. It’s like this: calories consumed – less calories burned = calorie surplus (gain weight) -or- calorie deficit (lose weight). Hope this helps!
HI Heidi,
My question is pertaining to eating breakfast within 30 min of waking up and what flexibility there is in this. I get up very early and go straight to the gym to get my workout in usually a combination of lifting and cardiovascular exercise for at least an hour. I am not hungry that early and don’t want to train feeling full. What do you suggest to clients who train first thing in the early morning as far as nutrition goes when doing your turbo carb cycling program? Thanks for your time!
Hi Jennifer: You can get some great tips for eating and working out in this post: https://heidipowell.net/9194/qa-with-the-powells-to-eat-or-not-to-eat/. Hope it helps!