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
Hi, my question in regards to the Classic cycle. I have the last 2 books but can’t seem to find Choose to lose. So on the graphs for the last 2 books it states on high carb days that you can eat carbs? But maybe I’m confused but I thought that on high carb days the last snack and the dinner the carbs are not allowed? Please advise. Thank you so much!
Hi Cynthia: There’s an awesome graphic toward the end of this post that shows you how to put all your meals together. Basically, for a high-carb meal you eat a protein, carb, and veggies (if you’re still hungry). For low-carb meals, you eat a protein, fat, and veggies. Breakfast is always a high-carb meal whether it’s a low-or high-carb day. Hope this helps!
My husband and I are following your diet. How would we serve spaghetti on the high carb day? Keep everything separate or mix it all together and eat a certain amount?
Hi April: Great question! It might be easier to track your calories and make sure you’re getting the right portions sizes if you serve spaghetti and sauce separately. Hope that helps!?
Which hamburger can I eat, my husband give me gift card http://www.mycfavisitcom.com/ can i eat any hamburger? and than easily keep weigh!
Hi Nancy: Chris and Heidi recommend leaner cuts of meat. I’d look at the restaurant’s website nutritional information, which can be very helpful in deciding what to eat when away from home.
Question about Quest bars. I hear a lot about them being “low carb” because when you subtract the fiber grams from the carb grams it makes them a low carb option. Should I be doing this to all items, such as high fiber pasta? I thought carb grams were all created equal and a carb is a carb? Can someone clarify this for me?
Hi Elise: Great question! Yes, Quest-like bars are considered low-carb, especially since they have a pretty good amount of fat. However, you’ll want to treat pastas and other grain products as carbs. Hope that helps!
Hi, I didn’t see this question asked in this thread (sorry if it was and this is a repeat). You advise to eat your first meal within 30 minutes of waking, what if I work out first thing in the morning and don’t wake up in enough time to eat prior to working out (as context I do crossfit)?
Hi Jennifer: You can get some great info on eating and working out in this post: https://heidipowell.net/9194/qa-with-the-powells-to-eat-or-not-to-eat/. Hope it helps!
What a power couple! Love what you guys do for so many families!
One question… on the turbo cycle. Can you switch the reward day and high carb day? For example, make Saturday the reward day and Sunday a high carb day? THANK YOU!!
Hi Ashley: You can change your reward day, but you’ll want to keep the days of the week in the same order. So if your reward day is Saturday (day 7 of the carb cycle week), then day 1 would be Sunday, and you’d go from there. ?
Hello, I just bought the choose more, lose more book and I’m ready to start the classic carb cycling. I’m confused on how many flavorings and beverages I can have per day. On low carb day, if I’m doing 1200 calories per day at 100 cal portions of each food.. That doesn’t leave me much room for the smart flavorings. Is there a set amount or guideline for this? I couldn’t find one in the book. Thanks!
Hi Tamara: You can use the flavorings and beverages as you’d like, but you will want to include those calories in your daily totals. If you follow the portion size guides, you should be good to go! The foods list with calories is to help you put your meals together and give you an idea of how many calories are in certain portions sizes, and these portion sizes do not always match up with the portion size guide. You can use both to put your meals together to help you make sure you’re staying on track. Good luck – you can do this!
Thanks for the quick reply. So with that information and from what I can gather in the book, would you approve this for breakfast: Protein Shake with 2 scoops protein powder, 2 cups water or unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 2 TBSP peanut butter, and 1.5 cups of oatmeal blended in? Do you recommend a certain protein powder like Optimum Nutrition, or something like what I can get at my local Wal-Mart?
Hi Robert: Based on what you’ve told me, this is about 200 calories of carbs, 200 calories of fat, and 200 calories of protein. On page 72 in the book is a chart that outlines how many calories of each macro you should shoot for for each meal, and for breakfast, men eat 200 calories of protein, 150 calories of carbs, and 150 calories of fat. As far as protein powders, Chris and Heidi recommend low-fat, whey-based powders with between 15-20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of carbs per serving. Hope this helps – you can do this!
What’s the ratio for women? For low and high carb days
In all of the carb cycles, if you follow the portion size guidelines and/or recipes, all of your macros are taken care of for you. We try and make things as easy as possible! ?
Hello, Is there an app for heidi and chris’ carb cycling?
Hi Gina: There isn’t an app at this time, but keep an eye on their social media channels for any announcements of anything in the future.
hey guys,
just bought your book and excited about getting started, but I’m confused about something. I’m needing/wanting to do the Turbo cycle. The protein shake option is optimum for me as I don’t really care for eggs any longer. On p.205 it says that to make it a low carb meal add veggies + fat (no carbs listed) but on p. 273 for the Turbo Cycle Sample Weeks you have listed for breakfast a Protein + Carb (no veggies or fats). I have read almost all of the comments on here and you say multiple times that every breakfast is a high carb meal…please clarify this for me.
Hi Robert: On the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles, every breakfast on both low- and high-carb days is a high-carb meal. Beginning on page 205 are listed both breakfasts and snack recipes, so that basic protein shake can work as the protein part of any meal, depending on what you eat with it. I hope this helps – you can totally do this!
Thanks for the quick reply. So with that information and from what I can gather in the book, would you approve this for breakfast: Protein Shake with 2 scoops protein powder, 2 cups water or unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 2 TBSP peanut butter, and 1.5 cups of oatmeal blended in? Do you recommend a certain protein powder like Optimum Nutrition, or something like what I can get at my local Wal-Mart?