Congratulations on choosing to begin your transformation journey! You have made a choice that will change your life?for the better?for many years to come. We want you to be successful, so Chris and I have made all of the tools we use with everyone we work with available for everyone to use in our books, Extreme Transformation and Choose More, Lose More for Life, and our TRANSFORM app. In both of our books, we?ve outlined everything you?ll need to do to reach your transformation goals, so let?s get started!
Step #1 Promises: The foundation of your transformation.
Making and keeping promises to yourself is the true secret to transformation, and it?s the most important step of your entire journey. Begin your journey today by making and keeping one small promise!
Step #2 Carb cycling: The nutrition plan that fires up your metabolism.
Carb cycling is a nutrition plan with alternating high and low-carb days that not only maximizes your metabolic burn, but it?s also extremely effective at speeding up weight loss while maintaining those fat-burning muscles. It adapts easily to your daily routine for weight loss success, and it helps you avoid that dreaded weight loss plateau. And in carb cycling, you get reward days or meals (depending on the cycle you?re following), so you can still eat your favorite foods from time to time! Awesome, right?!
Learn about the basics of carb cycling, then explore and choose one of the five different cycles: Easy, Classic, Turbo, Fit, and Extreme (the newest member of our carb cycling family). And don?t worry! You can change cycles at any time?it?s that flexible!
Step #3 Exercise: Move your body to accelerate weight loss.
In addition to a sound?and simple to follow?nutrition plan (like carb cycling), you?ll need an effective?and realistic?exercise program to help you reach your transformation goals. Chris and I have put together just the program for you! It combines strength training (for muscle development and maintenance) and cardio (for accelerating calorie burn), to turn your body into a maximum calorie-burning machine. And we?ve outlined everything you?ll need to do?step-by-step?every single day! So learn about the basics and benefits of exercise first, and then get moving today!
When you put all of this together, your journey becomes whole. Take a look at the stereogram image above. This captures the essence of transformation so beautifully. Before you shift your focus, all you see is a chaotic mess of dumbbells and food. Basically, it is the confusing mess of every single diet and exercise program out there for weight loss. But once you shift your focus, the 3-D path of true transformation?and lifelong weight loss?becomes clear.
678 Responses
I just finished reading Chose More, Lose More for Life and I’m preparing to start the Turbo cycle this week. I’m trying to lose my last 10 pounds. I already currently work out 5-6 days a week. Would you suggest that I change and do your suggested workouts in the book that are shorter with my own cardio, or continue to do my 30-40 min lifting with 20 minutes of cardio? Also, I’m having a hard time coming up with what meals I will eat everyday. Your book had some good recipes, but I don’t feel like I have enough ideas to keep going. Any other resources where I can find other food ideas? Do I really have to eat 2 cups of veggies for all 5 meals every day? That seems really hard. Also, how do protein bars (quest bars for example) or pre-made protein shakes (like muscle-milk) come into play? Would those work for a snack on carb days since they have a little bit of carbs, or do I need to stay away from packaged food like that? I really want to succeed and I don’t feel like I have enough ammo even after reading the book, I’m struggling with my first week meal plan. Any help would be super appreciated. Thanks for the motivation.
Hi Sara: Let’s get you some answers to your questions! 1. You can continue to do your workout program. 2. There are additional recipes in Chris and Heidi’s first book, “Choose to Lose.” You can also use your own recipes that will fit into the plan. 3. You can skip the veggies for high carb meals if you’re full. 4. As for protein bars, the key to knowing which bar is best for which type of meal is to look at both the carb and fat content. If more calories come from fat than carbs, then that bar is a good option for a low carb meal. If the reverse is true, then that bar is a good option for a high carb meal. Chris and Heidi do recommend consuming only one protein bar a day, since it is best to eat whole foods whenever possible. 5. For protein shakes/powders, Chris and Heidi recommend those with between 15-20 grams of protein and less than 5 g of carbs per serving. Hope that helps – you can do this!
Hello Heidi + Chris + Powell Team,
Heidi and Chris are definitely life changers. I love you guys!
I enjoy watching your show, and now your biggest fan is my 10-yr old daughter. She loves watching the transformations. 🙂
I have about 20 lbs left to lose, with 26% BF. For most people this may seem OK, but those 20 lbs annoy the heck out of me. I’ve been stuck on the same weight +/- 2 lbs for the last 3 years. I keep an active lifestyle, eat well, but I still struggle with my image. Maybe I’m being selfish, but i have been on a diet since I was 8 yrs old. For the last 30 yrs all I’ve heard is “I need to lose weight”…. Honestly I just want to be diet-free, is there such a thing?
I practice yoga 4-5x/week (either ashtanga yoga, power yoga, hot yoga, walking, … something). I find that lifting weights prevents me from moving deeper into my yoga practice.
What do you recommend for a chubby yogi who wants to get rid of the last few pounds?
Thanks! 🙂
Hi Gabi: Carb cycling is a program you can follow for life, and it can definitely work no matter how many pounds you want to lose. All the steps you need are in this post, so begin today with that first promise, choose a cycle, and go! And to see how carb cycling can be a program you can follow even after you reach your goals, check out this other post from this blog: https://heidipowell.net/5137/weight-loss-maintenance/. You can do this! 🙂
Hi, thank you for sharing all off this information! Is it ok to have a low carb meal for meal 5 everyday? I’ve got a lot of weight to lose, and have been turbo cycling for 3 weeks now with plenty of exercises from my Powell books, just wondering if that is safe to do
Hi Kayla: You’ll want to follow your carb cycle exactly, including the meal outline for each day. The program is designed to help you lose weight in a safe manner to keep your body healthy throughout the weight loss process. And don’t forget to do your Slingshot week every week 4 (an entire week of high carb days). You can do this!
Team Powell,
I have lost weight and gained weight. My whole life I have been afraid of food. I don’t have a good relationship with it at all. I want to be able to eat food and not worry. I have lost over 100 lbs but over the last year, I have gained back about 15 so now I am freaking out. What I was doing, is no longer working. I am scared. I don’t want to end up where I was again. I don’t know what to do anymore. I want to exercise but doing that on my own seems to end in injury and then me stopping. Then I cut calories to get the pounds down but I seem to end the week going up a few ounces. Hence the 15 lbs.
I would love to get a week with a coach and learn to eat without the “dieting”. I think I eat good. Lean meats, fruits and a lot of veggies. I don’t eat many breads. My downfall is greek yogurt.
So confused.
In it all alone.
Hi Melissa: Congratulations on all those pounds you’ve lost – that’s amazing! Everything you need to continue on your transformation journey is in this post. Begin with that first promise, and you’re on your way! You can do this!
HI Hedi And Chris Powell, I Want To Start Off By Saying How Wounderfull I Think You Two Are Yall Inspire Me And Make Me Want To Do Better. I Watch Yall Show Every Chance I Get! I Have Always Struggled With My Weight Growing Up. I Have Been Trying For A While To Get Into The Body Ive Always Wanted To Be In. I Just Had A Baby 2 Months Ago And After I Had Her I Am Having A Hard Time Getting Back On Track And I No I Wanna Do It Not Just For Myself But For My Daughter And Family As Well I Just Love Food Hard For Me To Say No. But I No If Its Something I Really Want Then No Is Going To Have To Be My Favorite Word So If You Have Any Encouraging Words For Me or Any Advice I Would Love That!!
~ Kristen ~
Hi Kristen: Congratulations on your new baby – that’s so exciting! You’ll find all the steps you need to achieve your transformation goals in this post. Begin with that first promise, and you’ll be on your way. You can do this!
Thank You 🙂 for replying and for those links they are really going to help me on the weight loss journey and thank you for the encouragement 🙂 xxx lots of love from Ireland 🙂 🙂
Hello i’m Teegan i have been trying to lose weight over the past 4 months and I’ve only lost a few pounds.
i am teenager and I don’t really go out a lot with my friends because i have really low self esteem and no confidence and a lot of my childhood has been taking from me because of this.
I’ve always wanted to lose weight and 4 months ago i decided to stop all the bad eating habits that i had and I’ve been eating healthy ever since.
I started comfort eating when i was around 9 when my step dad died of skin cancer and then my granddad died who i was really close to a year later and i had a ongoing issue with my dad who would be in and out in my life and i didn’t really see him, then my nanny died and my weight just hit its highest and i am so ashamed of what i looked like then that i ripped up of every photo i had and got my mam to delete any photo she had of me at that time on her phone or on Facebook. when i was around 13 or 14 i lost a bit of weight but i was still quite big.
Because i don’t go out a lot i bought myself a cross trainer and that’s how i do my exercise,
my mam always says that i should go out on walks but i have tryed that before and i became to self contuse and stopped.
As u can see from what i have written i was really bad image problems and i care a lot about what people think about me.
i have low self esteem and no confidence because most of my life i have been bullied and picked on for being over weight, someone even spray painted on one of the walls were i live “teegan is a fat blob” and everyone that i knew saw it so i stopped going out completely and id only text my friends or id ask them to stay over in mine for a sleep over and that would be the only time that i would see my friends.
Another thing is since i have been trying to lose weight i have been becoming more insecure and there has been a few days where I’m like “I’m not getting anywhere whats the point” and just cry for hours.
so if you have any advice on any of these topics that i have just talked about and how to maintain a positive mentality along this journey i would love to hear your advice. xx <3 🙂
BTW I'm Irish and have a really strong Irish, Dublin accent so if you don't understand some of the things that i said SORRY!! i tryed to use no Irish slang words 🙂
Hi Teegan: Thank you so much for your post. I’m so sorry for all you’ve been dealing with, and I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you. It sounds like you’re doing some great things to help with your health, and that’s awesome! We know it is so difficult to be a teen these days! You are constantly bombarded with images and advice on how and what you should do and be and look like, and most are very unrealistic. Heidi has addressed the teens and body image issue in this amazing post on her blog: https://heidipowell.net/7201/teens-and-healthy-body-image-its-not-just-about-the-pounds/. In this post, she offers lots of helpful suggestions for both teens and those with teens in their lives, and I hope you can find some ideas that will help you develop healthy habits that will benefit you your entire life! Here’s another thing that might help you on your journey to get and stay healthy: One awesome tool Chris and Heidi use with every client is to make and keep a small, simple promise to yourself every day. This is truly a key to achieving any goal! Learn about the process here: https://heidipowell.net/8679/it-really-is-all-about-promises-2/. What will your first promise be today? Make and keep that one, then make and keep one tomorrow, and so on. It works! We wish you the best as you work to achieve your fitness goals – you can do this!
Hi! I just ordered the book, and I will get it tomorrow! YAY! I’m 37 years old, 5’6″ and 220 lbs. I’ve lost 60 lbs on my own since last summer (go me!) but I really want to lose more, FAST! I’m doing cardio nearly every day. I was wondering if Turbo is the best cycle for me to lose the weight quickly, then when I’m ready to start looking HOT, switch to Fit? Also, I am trying to be as clean and natural as possible, and I was wondering if the book will outline how to get all the carbs/protein I need with food, and not supplements or shakes? THANKS!
Hi Cathryn: Congrats on those 60 pounds gone – that’s awesome! Yes, the Turbo Cycle is the fastest weight loss cycle, so I’d start there. And yes, the book helps you learn to put your meals together with real foods. Good luck! 🙂
Hi! I have been following you and Chris for a few years and am super inspired by your intensity!!
I’ve had the typical up-down-up-down weight loss/gain story because of restrictions and body hatred etc. But I am finally leveling out my mind and my weight. I love my figure and my curves and muscle tone now, I just have a few questions about calories.
I am 24, I used to be 232 lbs, went down to 190, went up to 210, down to 164, then to 180 from 2009-2013, and now I am sitting at 193 comfortably for about a year and I’m basically eating whatever I want and keeping an active lifestyle, by the way I am 5’9″ and have a lot of muscle due to good genetics. I have pear shape, 30″ waist and 42″ hips, giant thighs and big butt! I think I am only about 20-25 lbs overweight according to BMI but anyways, I want to lose juuuust a little bit, my goal weight is somewhere between 165-175 but I want to do it right this time (when I got there the first time, I basically at 1000-1200 calories a day and ran 3-5 miles every day for 4 months. It was crazy and stupid).
I am tracking my calories and averaging about 1400-1700 a day (sometimes more because I give into temptation) and I am wondering if that is too much or too little for my body? When I am eating I feel satisfied for the most part but of course I have a huge appetite and always want to eat more but I usually stop myself.
I do about 30 minutes of cardio a day, sometimes more, 5-6 days a week and also mix in hot yoga, home fitness DVDs and lots of walking.
My calories come from (mostly veggies), beans, yogurt, fish, tofu and some peanut butter and olive oil. I have mostly stopped eating rice or bread but if I do it’s only one serving a day. I only eat meat about 3 times a week.
The extremist in me wants to cut down my calories but I know that with my size and fitness level that would probably result in quick weight loss and I’d probably gain it all back fast and then some. Plus I would starve like I did before. So I’m a little bit scared of eating too much, or eating too little. I want this time to be done right! I have only been “counting” for about a week now and obviously no results yet other than feeling great and getting rid of the stomach bloat. (I don’t have a scale and I kind of want to do it this time without weighing myself, but rather just measuring myself and going by how I feel and how my clothes fit. Before I let the scale control my life).
I am pretty confident in myself that I am going about it right this time, however whenever I look up calorie intake etc. online the answers vary so much it’s hard to know what is correct. Some say 1200 and some say 1900! I know that I would feel sooooo hungry if I only had 1200 and if I had 1900 I think I would have eaten too much to have any sort of impact on my weight loss.
So, if you have any suggestions and a professional answer about my calorie intake for my goals, I would appreciate it so much!
<3 from Canada,
-Lindsay
Hi Lindsay: Thank you for your post! If you’re interested in trying carb cycling, I’d start with the Fit Cycle (https://heidipowell.net/2719/carb-cycling-the-fit-cycle/), and on high carb days you’ll eat 1500 calories, and on low carb days you’ll eat 1200 calories. The Fit Cycle has the most high carb days throughout the week, and so that should fit into your goals and what works best for you from what you’ve shared. You can do this!
Hi Chris and Heidi,
I just wrote a comment a minute ago and i just want to say im ready to do this and it would to be an honor to get a response from you and it would be an honor if you agree to be by my side for this transformation. I really need someone there who believes in me and i really hope its team Powell.
~Lily
Hi Lily: Please see my reply to your comment – and we do believe in you! 🙂