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 just finished reading Chris’s first book on 7 day carb cycling “Choose to lose” and I’m so excited to get started tomorrow! However I’m really wanting to try the turbo cycle. I didn’t realize the book I bought wouldn’t have that info. I’m familiar with the classic cycle but what is the workout schedule like for the turbo plan?
Hi Lindsay: If you’ll follow the info in the Turbo Cycle post, you’ll be good to go. The only difference between it and the Classic Cycle (in “Choose to Lose”) is the schedule of low and high carb days. As for the workout schedule, it’s the same for all four carb cycles (Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit). The 9-Minute Missions in the second book (“Choose More, Lose More for Life”), called “Shapers” in “Choose to Lose,” are a bit different. Instead of doing Shapers Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you do a 9-Minute Mission Monday-Friday. You can get awesome results no matter which book you’re using for your workout plan. Hope that helps clear things up! 🙂
Hi Heidi.
I am a runner/lifter (5 times per week vs twice a week). 5’4″ female. I have just come off 2 months of lchf primal diet. I tried low carbs because I have ovarian cysts and hoped it might alleviate some of the symptoms that go along with those. I felt good and my running didn’t really suffer, but I did lose the ability to sleep at night and all last week I was experiencing heart palpitations before and during workouts. Scared and frustrated, I have added carbs back into my diet. I am a mom of 1, in good shape, but I could stand to lose about 10 lbs and get my booty up where it belongs. I work out pretty hard but these last 10 sometimes feel like the fight of my life. Will this eating cycle help me with that?
Yes, it will! And please – if you have any more issues like you’ve described in your post – discuss them with your doctor. We want to keep you safe and healthy! 🙂 You might also look at the Fit Cycle since you work out pretty intensely. You won’t lose the weight as quickly, but you’ll be able to better fuel your body for those workouts.
I want to do the turbo plan. I was wondering what a sample meal plan would be for a week on the turbo cycle?
While we don’t have a complete week’s worth of sample menus to share, here are some ideas for both low and high carb days (all recipes are from Chris and Heidi’s books: “Choose to Lose” and “Choose More, Lose More for Life.”). Low carb day: Breakfast (within 30 minutes of waking): Basic Omelet with a corn tortilla to make it a wrap. Snack (3 hours later): A protein shake with a portion of a healthy fat, like peanut butter, mixed in. Lunch (3 hours later): Tomato Basil and Garlic Chicken with a portion of olive oil drizzled on top. Snack (3 hours later): Sonora Cottage Cheese with a portion of avocado. Dinner: (3 hours later): Lemon Chicken drizzled with salad dressing. High carb day: Breakfast (within 30 minutes of waking): Denver Omelet with a portion of your favorite fruit or oatmeal on the side. Snack (3 hours later): Greek Yogurt Parfait with a portion of low fat granola. Lunch: (3 hours later): Caribbean Jerk Chicken with a portion of brown rice. Snack (3 hours later): Protein shake with a portion of oatmeal mixed in. Dinner (3 hours later): Apple Cider Chicken.
And remember, you can have veggies (the non-root/non-starchy type) with every single meal, and you can use any of the foods on Chris and Heidi’s approved foods list (in the book), in the proper proportions, to create meals to fit your needs. Happy Turbo Cycling! 🙂
Hi heidi,
I am 26 and I weigh 367 pounds. I want to lose weight but I just dont know where to start. On top of this I have a bad back and a lot of movement is extremely painful. What are somethings I can do to try to get this weight off?
Kattie,
After loosing almost 190lbs. without any weight loss surgeries, the best advice I can give you is to be committed. Even with physical barriers, take a step. That is one more step than you took to begin with. Discuss with your dr, your personal limitations. I started with walking to the stop sign, then around the block, then low impact water aerobics. When I watched tv at night, walk in place in front of your tv. Follow a healthy food regimen and don’t binge eat. Don’t hide and eat at night. And drink lots of water! I still drink about a gallon a day! And remember, you can do it.
So I have a question, I have already lost 25 pounds but I have plateaued. So I bought Chris’s book choose to lose. I do cross fit three days a week and I also run 2-3 days a week. So you get Extra calories when you exercise. Also I am diabetic,.I am worried about getting too many lows on a low Carb day? Any suggestions would be great, thank.
Tracy
Check out this post from Heidi’s blog about carb cycling and diabetes: https://heidipowell.net/5078/ask-heidi-anything-im-diabetic-which-plan-should-i-follow/. And you really don’t get to eat extra calories because you exercise, those calories burned while exercising help contribute to your calorie deficit. Read more about this here: https://heidipowell.net/5366/all-about-calories/. 🙂
I did one of these low to high carb diets and DIDNT lose a pound , my doctor said that evidently carbs are not my problem , so now I just exercise and not changing what I eat and have lost 10.5 lbs in 2 months .. so ill stick to what I am doing..
I work 14 hours a day, then with my running around for the gym and kids I average a 18 hour day. Would I space out meals or add meals? Im having a hard time losing weight and getting very discourages. Please help
Still eat 5 meals a day and do the best you can to work your eating schedule around your busy schedule. And make sure you’re following your chosen carb cycle exactly as outlined in the book. Remember – you can have a 2 fist-sized portion of veggies (the non-root/non-starchy type) with every single meal. And remember to drink your water every day too – 1/2 your body weight in ounces every day (150 lbs = 75 ounces). Dont give up – you can do this! 🙂
Hi Heidi, you are such an inspiration! Thank you for your great articles! What type of regimen would you recommand for a Crossfiter? Thanks.
Any of the cycles would work. If you’re training for something, try the Fit Cycle. 🙂
Heidi,
I just finished CMLML and I loved it! However, what would you recommend for a person on the Turbo cycle to choose as snacks on low carb days? Thanks!
You can choose any of the options under proteins, veggies, and healthy fats for snacks on low carb days. Greek yogurt is always a great choice, and nuts, and peppers…the list could go on and on. Just choose one item from each category and you’re good to go! 🙂
What if you can’t eat that many meals in a day?
Check out this post to get some info that might help: https://heidipowell.net/2960/ask-heidi-anything-what-if-i-cant-or-dont-eat-every-three-hours/. Best of luck! 🙂