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 lost 80 pounds in about 2 years. I continue to exercise and keep a watch in my food intake. I would love to lose 20 more pounds but it has not been easy. The scale started playing with me the yo=yo game.
This was really helpful. I’ve been following carb-cycling for a few weeks now, following Choose More to Lose More for Life. My main confusion were with fruits as carbs and vegetables like carrots. Confirmed – high carb days only! Thanks! 😉
Everyone always talks about how to lose weight….how do you actually MAINTAIN weight after you have finally lost all the weight?
I would love a diet with a actual menu to cook by to lose weight. There’s so many confusing ones out there, thanks!
How do you carb cycle exactly. Do you do a low carb day followed by a high carb day or do you do a week of hi carbs and then a week of low carbs how often do you switch it up?
On my homepage is a link to Carb Cycling 101. Its a great place to start.
someday i will just be like you guys ! but i am greatfull over an answer if she can buy the bod? concept with the carb cycle when she got PCOS. Thank you for answer 🙂 have a great day
I have been working on my triglycerides for quite some time now. I am allerfic to all the meds the doctors can give me. I walk a mile a day and am doing zumba 2x a week but the doctors say to cut my carbs. I eat maybe a 3/4 cup prepared rice 1-3 times a week and maybe 6 slices of bread per week. Mostly I eat greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and 1/2 cup of granola for breakfast. Any advice to cut my carbs even more?
Show your doctor the carb cycling plan and see what he thinks. You do need carbs – the right kind of carbs. Fresh fruit is a carb and so is granola.
Hey ! you got realy great produkt over the bode concept. Someday i will be just like. I will be personly trainer and my biggest goal is to help people to get down in weight no matter what.
I got a question from a freind of my. She has the sickdom “PCOS” it is a sickdom there the body doesnt take up all over the sugars.
And i wonder if you think she can use the bod? concept. i was more thinking of the bode burn and cleanse and not the shakes
I have a video on my site on PCOS. That is also something she should check with her doctor on.
I need something basic to start losing weight. Hard to do when being under stress. :(.
Need suggestions on calorie intake for someone who has Psoriasis and takes 100 mg shots of Enbrel a week (causes weight gain), uses topical ointments with steroids daily (which causes weight gain cause it gets in the blood stream thru the skin) and has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (which makes me insulin resistant). I find the only way to loose the weight is follow the program and stay under 500 calories a day. I just purchased some bode products which are the protein powder, body cleanse and burn.
Any suggestions or advise is appreciated. Matlice
You should NEVER eat under 1200 calories a day or you will put your body into starvation mode and you will not lose weight. You should check out the episode with Jami on Extreme Weight Loss (use the search box on my site to find more info on her). She had Psoriasis. i also have a video on PCOS. Good luck!