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
This helps me because I am still in that ‘Atkins’ mentality where I want to count carb grams. I did sign up with Chrispowell.com but haven’t received any printable meal plan. I have both of his books on carb cycling but they are on my Kindle and it is hard to read those charts from there. Is there a link to printable charts?
As for the printable food guide, once you enter your email address in “Join the Transformation” and hit “Join,” the next screen will have the link to the food guide: CHRISPOWELL_SMARTFOODSLIST. Click on this link, and you’re good to go! And I’m sorry, but there’s not a link to the printable charts. Happy carb cycling! 🙂
I started eating clean about 2 years ago and have lost about 30 pounds. I am looking in to carb cycling to get past a plateau. My question is-I eat a lot of dairy, but it is all full fat (and grass fed, of course) and I see that almost all of the dairy on the smart foods guide is low-fat. Do you think I will still see results if I follow one of the carb cycling plans, or should I modify in some other way? Thanks!
In order to see the results from carb cycling, you’ll need to follow the program exactly. You can have a variety of low fat dairy products throughout your day – give it a try! 🙂
Since I work at night, I like to get to the gym first thing in the morning. (Usually around 45-60min after waking up.) Do you recommend that I should still eat breakfast as soon as I wake up or would I be better off eating after the gym?
Great question! Here’s a post that will help you figure out what works best for you: https://heidipowell.net/1071/to-eat-or-not-to-eat-before-exercise/. 🙂
How would the estimated calorie intake/portion sizes be adjusted for an extremely active female? I regularly use a fitness tracker and have an average calorie burn of 2,500 calories/day.
The answer to your question depends on whether or not you’re trying to lose weight or just eat healthy. This post should give you some ideas on how to figure out the correct calorie intake for you: https://heidipowell.net/5366/all-about-calories/. 🙂
I’m having trouble finding ideas for the protein portion of snacks. Can you please give me ideas? I can only eat so many eggs or yogurt and I’m not a fan of cottage cheese. Help please!
You can find an extensive list of options in both Chris and Heidi’s books (“Choose to Lose” and “Choose More, Lose More for Life”). You can also download their approved foods list for free when you sign up for Chris’ free enewsletter at http://www.chrispowell.com. Some quick ideas: low sodium deli meats or protein shakes. Happy carb cycling!
My question is abt exercise, if this is not relevant to this page, pls forgive me, but i really need advice from an expert, so pls help me.
i think I have only abt 5 kg to lose (Im 5ft and 58 kgs.), but i have really large thighs and arms.,
so should i do mostly cardio OR weights? if its a mix of both, pls advice me how much time to spend on cardio and how much time for weights.
THANK YOU SO SO MUCH.
Hello Heidi!
My partner and I love your show! Together we have lost almost 80 pounds, but are doing carb-cycling to break through our plateau!! Question: can I prep roasted veggies for high and low carb days by misting on extra virgin olive oil, or do you recommend cooking spray?? Thanks!
Chelsea
It’s okay to mist on extra virgin olive oil, and here’s a post all about spritzing: https://heidipowell.net/1253/oil-spritzers-a-dieters-dream/. And congrats on those 80 pounds gone – that’s awesome! 🙂
started reading Chose to lose, and what i gathered was, that in the high carb meals, we can eat only 1 slice of bread as the carb, am I right? so what if I eat bread for all 3 meals on the high carb days, would that be too much of bread??
Pls clarify if we are only allowed 1 or 2 slices per meal, thank you so much.
1 slice of bread would count as the carb portion of a high carb meal. And while bread can be a good carb choice, you might want to mix it up a bit and eat a different carb (say a fruit or root/starchy veggies or legumes, etc.) so you’re not missing out on any of the nutritional benefits of other carbs.
Hi Heidi & fellow carb cyclers!
I recently started following the program & have hit A snag. I would like to incorporate a shake into a few of my meals. If following the rules on a high carb meal it would be one protein one carb and veggies so I’m not sure with my shake that has carbs in it I should add fruit to it etc… Thanks hope this makes sense…
Here’s a post that will give you some great info on protein powders and carb cycling: https://heidipowell.net/6274/protein-powder-its-not-just-for-shakes-anymore/. 🙂
im still waiting for your Book to arrive from EBay, So Pls help..
Is the Turbo Cycle effective if I have to lose only about 10 kgs??? and pls tell me around how long does it take to see results?, This is my 2nd week, and i have lost only 1Kg!
Thank you.
Any of the carb cycles will work no matter how many pounds you want to lose. Seeing the results you’re looking for depends on how exactly you follow the program: portion sizes, exercise, water, reward days, slingshot week, etc. And please be patient – sometimes it takes our bodies a bit of time to adjust to a new way of doing things, and as you get closer to your goal the weight does come off more slowly. Actually, losing 1 kg (2.2 pounds) in two weeks is not bad at all since you’re just beginning! You got this!