Confused about carbs and how they fit into carb cycling? Believe me, you’re not alone! Many of my most frequently asked questions are about carbs. And yes, with all the talk of “carbs this” and “carbs that” in the media, it can get a bit confusing. It gets even more complicated when you think you need to keep track of grams of carbs per meal and per day and the “good” vs. the “bad.”
It’s time to rethink how you think about carbs, agreed?!
First, the basics: Carbs—and the roles they play in your diet—are actually pretty simple. If it comes from a plant, it’s a carb, and carbs are the preferred fuel source for your muscles and organs. Breads, beans, potatoes, table sugar, fruits, and vegetables are all carbs.
There are two categories of carbs: simple and complex. The simple, not-so-healthy ones are found in foods such as cakes, cookies, some commercially made breads, and many processed foods. Fruits are also considered simple carbs because of the type of sugar they contain, but they’re a healthy choice because they’re loaded with vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, antioxidants, and some fiber. Your body breaks down simple, not-so-healthy carbs very quickly, which spikes your blood sugar levels and stimulates the release of insulin, resulting in a craving for more simple carbs. And that is soooo not good!
Complex, healthy carbs—like those found in legumes, root vegetables, whole-grains, cereals, breads, and pastas—are typically high in fiber, which slows food digestion and the release of sugars. This keeps your blood sugar and energy levels steady (and longer lasting), so your calorie-burning furnace stays hot and burns more calories! And that is awesome!
So how do carbs fit into our carb cycling program? It’s actually pretty simple. No matter what carb cycle you choose, every breakfast of every day will contain a carb. Every breakfast, every day. Your carb can be a grain, a legume, a starchy or root veggie, or a fruit.
In the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles, on low-carb days, your remaining four meals (spaced every three hours) consist of a portion each of protein, fat, and veggies (think fibrous green veggies, not the starchy, root kind), and on high-carb days, your remaining four meals (spaced every three hours) are made up of a portion each of protein and complex carbs (grains, legumes, starchy or root veggies, or fruits). To learn more about the new Extreme Cycle, go here. And no matter which cycle you choose, if you’re ever still hungry, you can always throw in a portion of veggies (again, the fibrous greens). Remember: With carb cycling, you can have non-root/non-starchy veggies with every single meal (starchy, root veggies, like potatoes, will fall into the carb category)! Pretty simple, right?
Here’s what it looks like, including some handy portion size helps, for the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles:
Here’s the most important take-away about carbs: With carbs and carb cycling, it’s not about a magic number of grams of carbs to eat every day. It’s about that carb for breakfast every morning and spreading your carb intake throughout your high-carb days so your body gets the greatest benefits from those healthy carbs you eat. Carbs are amazing, and they can be an important key to achieving your transformation goals. 🙂
693 Responses
I’m sorry I’m not quite getting it. I’ve looked up several sites with lists of “non-starchy” vegetables but each list has different things on it. For example are carrots ok on the low-carb days? What about sugar snap peas? Can you suggest a reference list of the types of veggies to choose from on low -carb days?
Thanks!
Hi Julie: Both carrots and sugar snap peas are considered veggies. There’s a complete foods list in Chris and Heidi’s book, “Choose More, Lose More for Life.” It’s awesome!
Hi there!! I’ve been reading through all of the comments & haven’t seen anyone post this – so here’s my question:
On Page 72 where it breaks down what to eat with each meal on high or low carb days…for breakfast On low-carb days, it says to eat protein, carbs & veggies. However, on page 206 where it gives examples of the meals for breakfast – it doesn’t include any carbs in the recipes given – yet it includes fats (which wasn’t listed as a part of our required breakfast on page 72). Does this mean we would just add a carb such as a piece of Ezekiel bread or a whole grain tortilla with our meal for every breakfast of the week – both on low & high carb days?
Just wanted to be clear as in starting my first carb-cycle tomorrow morning! I’m excited :)) thanks for all of your help! xoxo
Hi Chandra: So sorry for your confusion. The spritz of olive oil used in the omelet recipe on page 206 isn’t enough of a fat to count as a fat, it’s simply enough to make cooking the omelet possible. On page 207 are the options to make this either a low carb meal (for a meal after breakfast on a low carb day) or a high carb meal (which you could use for breakfast or any high carb meal). And you’re right – you’d add a carb to this omelet to make it a high carb meal. Just a reminder: Every breakfast – on both low and high carb days – is a high carb meal: protein + carb + veggies. And happy carb cycling – you’re going to love it!
Hello,
I’m starting Turbo this morning and want to clarify where all natural peanut butter with Coconut oil would be…protein or fat. I don’t have time in the mornings to make omelettes, and need something quick in the mornings. I started the morning off with a protein shake which has the following: 0 carb,0 sugar,22 protein. I also had 1 piece of eK bread with a tsp of peanut putter on it instead of eating it dry.Thanks
Hi Shelly: Any type of nuts, nut butter, and oils are considered fats in carb cycling. One other thing: Since very breakfast in carb cycling is a high carb meal (protein + carb + veggies), you’ll want to skip the peanut butter. Otherwise, this is a great high carb meal! You can do this!
I am confused about the number of carbs I should be taking in on low carb days. On atkins, it was simple. I adjusted to 20 g for 2 weeks and increased up to 40 there after. Now, with the high carb breakfast, even low carb days seem like high carb days when I look at my carb count for the day on MyFitnessPal. Also, what is the limit on fat carbs on highcarb days. I had a peach the other day, and never knew there was fat in it until I looked at my fitness pal that evening, so I am guessing other things have fat that I may not realize.
In carb cycling, we don’t count grams of anything, we count portion sizes. It makes it so simple! There’s an awesome graphic in this post that shows you how to put together all your carb cycling meals, so that should be very helpful. Happy carb cycling!
when can i eat fruit? i am doing turbo cycle
Hi! I am 6 weeks in and have lost 24lbs. I could probably lose another 30 lbs or so. Should I be losing weight during the slingshot week? I did lose 2lbs…is that ok to lose weight during that week 4? I followed the plan from the book and worked out like I normally do. Thanks
During your slingshot week, it’s okay to lose weight, but you also might not, and that’s okay too. Congrats on those 24 pounds gone!
That is a great weight loss. How hard was it to stick to the program?
Hi Heidi,
i want to try carb cycling but i have a doubt.
– Is it ok for breastfeeding mother to be on this ”diet” and is it enough 1200kcal on low/ 1500kcal on high day?
– Also can we drink milk ( under 1% of milk fat) bc i don’t see it on any list?
Hi Jelena: Here’s a post from this blog that outlines Heidi’s breastfeeding nutrition program: https://heidipowell.net/2275/q-a-carb-cycling-while-prego/. And milk is not on the approved foods list because it contains both fat and carbs. However, since a breastfeeding mom does not follow carb cycling exactly, you could drink 1% milk while breastfeeding. Good luck!
What if it is fat-free milk? Could we count it as the carb for that meal (breakfast or on high carb days)?
Hi Melissa: Skim milk could count as about a 1/2 a carb portion for a high carb meal.
Just finish week #1 of Turbo and it is going well (lost almost 5lbs). However mostly because of my schedule is really hard to me to have a big breakfast (ham omelet on low days and Muffin/egg whites on high carb day) So I was wondering what is your take on protein shakes with oatmeal for breakfast. Currently I am doing the omelet at 6am and the shake at 10am but it will actually a LOT easier for me to do it backwards.
This is the shake I was thinking for 6am:
1.5 scoops of protein powder (26g)
1.5 cups of kale
1.5 cups of spinach
1 cup of oatmeal
10 almonds.
Thank you and you guys rock 🙂
Congrats on those 5 lbs gone – that’s awesome! You’ll want to skip the almonds since they are a fat and each breakfast is a high carb meal (no fats). And make sure your protein powder has less than 5 grams of carbs or you could have a double carb with the oatmeal. Hope that helps!
do the rotation of the carbs have to be every other day, or can i start with two high carb days, one low, two high and two low? or two high, two low, two high, one low?
Each cycle has a different rotation of low and high carb days. You can get links to all four cycles in this post: heidipowell.net/2713/carb-cycling-101/. Choose the one that works best for you, and get started!
Hi, I have a question. I was wondering if there were some sample meal plans anywhere in Chris’ book? I’d like to start meal prepping on Sundays and I’d love a simple meal plan to follow. Thank you!!
I’m so sorry but there aren’t. There’s an awesome graphic in this post that shows you how to put together every meal in carb cycling, and the recipes in both books are broken out into low and high carb as well, so you can either choose foods from the list to put your meals together, and/or choose recipes from the books. You have lots of options so you can put together meals that fit your taste and schedule! Happy carb cycling!
Thank you so much for your reply! I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood 🙂 I just completed my 1st weigh in and lost 4.2lbs!!! It was actually just shy of a week but wanted to follow the Saturday weigh in guideline. 40 lbs to go:)
Awesome! You got this!