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 really excited and just started the Turbo Cycle. I read the book, and I have been reading several posts on your blog. The extreme cycle adds in fat for breakfast and takes out carbs for dinner on high carb days. Should I be doing that with the Turbo Cycle?
Hi Ashley: You’ll want to follow the Turbo Cycle as it’s outlined since each cycle is formulated in a certain way for certain reasons. Welcome to carb cycling!
Do you guys suggest the same eating schedule for someone who works evenings? I don’t usually wake up until about 10 or 11am & most days I work out at midnight. Thoughts? Advice?
Hi Beth: Get some great meal planning tips in this post: https://heidipowell.net/10556/ask-the-powells-how-can-i-structure-my-meals-2/. 🙂
I’m just learning about carb cycling and I’m have trouble in tummy area been eating clean for 5 months now and so far only 10 pounds I have definition on my arms and legs but my pouch doesn’t go away. Still eating clean but would like to give carb cycling a change. I wanted to ask you in the morning I always drink shakes. ( whey protein, spinach, oats and natural peanut butter) is that okay to drink every morning. ( it does work for me- find it hard to eat solid in The morning) this is what I eat everyday chicken/tuna-(P) oats/sweet potato (C) broccoli/green beans (V) avocado/peanut butter (F) don’t have carbs after 4pm and eat every 3-3.5 hours.
Hi Jules: You can learn about the different carb cycling programs in this post: https://heidipowell.net/2713. For your outlined breakfast, this would be an option on the Extreme Cycle (link in the post) as it does have both a carb and a fat included in breakfast. As for your other meals, this post (Carb Confusion) shows you how to put your meals together for the Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit Cycles, and check out the link for the Extreme Cycle for how to put meals together on this cycle. You can do this!
Hello! I am on my first week of Turbo cycling. Going well so far, but I am pretty hungry. I am looking at veggie options that I can eat on low carb days. Are carrots allowable on low-carb days? My book stated “no” but I thought I read somewhere (but can’t find it now) that the guidance for that has changed. Can you please give me some clarification on the status of carrots? 🙂 Much thanks.
Hi Valerie: Yes, you can eat carrots as “veggies,” and you can have two fist fulls of veggies with any meal, both low- and high-carb! It’s pretty common for your body to take a bit of time to adjust to a new way of doing things, so stick to your cycle, and you can totally do this!
I have a question about fiber intake. I have been carb cycling for a few weeks now and have seen a HUGE difference in my slim down goals. I was looking at my food diary the last couple days and noticed that I’m eating little to no fiber.
How much fiber a day should I be consuming and what are some good, low-carb sources of fiber?
Hi Jennifer: Fiber comes from carbs, so you will get some fiber in fruits and veggies as well as whole grains and legumes. For fruits and veggies, look for strings, seeds, stalks, and skins, and these types will have more fiber in them. And make sure you’re eating high fiber sources for your breakfast carb, for your veggies (which you can eat with every meal), and for high-carb meals. Hope that helps!
Hi! So far I’m down 10 pounds after 3 weeks of cycling! I have a quick question…can I use shakeology shakes as snacks on low carb days or should I just use as a meal on high carb? I bought them and do t want them to go to waste!!
Hi Tara: Shakeology shakes would be best for a high-carb meal as they do have a good amount of carbs, and one shake would count as both the protein and carb portion of a high-carb meal. Hope that helps!
On the a turbo and extreme plans I know the difference are breakfast. Other than that can I use the meal plan ideas from extreme transformation for turbo cycle?
Also, do Heidi and Chris recommend protein shakes for every snack?
Thanks, Maggie
Hi Maggie: You can use any high-carb meal from any of the books for a high-carb meal. and the same is true with low-carb meals. Hope that helps!
Hello! Can you please clarify how many flavoring portions are allowed. I’m not sure if it’s per meal or per day. I cannot seem to find the answer in the book. Thanks ?
Hi Jen: You can use flavorings throughout the day, just be sure to include them in your calorie count. Hope that helps!
Hi Chris and Heidi, I am so happy I discovered you guys. I am going to try the Turbo Cycle because I need to loose weight fast well at a healthy rate while working out and then I plan to continue being healthy and active. I have a question though for our protein can we have a protein shake or a protein Bar? I was following the ideal protein diet and have lots of high protein low carb snacks left that would hate for then to go to waste. Thank You for being so inspiring.
Hi Pamela: Yes, you can use protein bars. Just make sure you use the correct one for the correct type of meal. ?
Thank you for your help. I am confused with how to measure fat. If it’s olive oil or almond butter I get one tablespoon. But if it is a portion of almonds, how do you measure that in ounces or how many almonds per serving. A thumb size is hard for me to measure in nuts, etc..
Thanks
Hi Jen: The chart at the end of this post will tell you how many calories of each item for each meal, so you can use this to figure out the serving size of any food, including nuts: https://heidipowell.net/10617. ?