Chris Powell's Choose More, Lose More for Life (14 page)

The beauty of carb cycling is that all you really have to remember is how to
eat in two different ways
. On some days—your high-carb days—you eat a lot of carbohydrates, and on the others—your low-carb days—you don’t. You eat smart fats instead. It’s that simple. Just put these two kinds of days together into a seven-day pattern that you follow from week to week, and you’re carb cycling! It’s amazing that the high-carb/low-carb cycle, such a straightforward setup, is such a powerful strategy for weight loss.

On
low-carb days
, you start out each and every day with a breakfast that includes a portion of protein, a portion of carbs, and as many vegetables as you want. You eat this within half an hour of getting up. After that, every three hours you eat a meal of one portion of protein, a portion of veggies, and one portion of fat. That’s right,
fat
. Your total is
five
meals a day
, with just enough carbs first thing in the morning to jump-start the metabolism. Pretty clear-cut. That’s a low-carb day.

On
high-carb days
, you eat the same metabolic boosting breakfast that you do on low-carb days, within thirty minutes of waking up. Then you do things a little differently. Every three hours, for four more meals—for a total of five meals in the day—you have a meal made up of a portion of protein, a portion of carbs, and a portion of veggies. Easy, right? That’s a high-carb day.

Now you’re asking how much food’s in a portion. Depends on what kind
of food you’re talking about. I’ll give it to you super-quick: For protein, a portion is the size of your palm. A portion of carbs is the size of your fist. Two fists make up the size of a veggie portion. And a portion of fats is the size of your thumb. All told, on low-carb days you should be eating a total of around 1,200 calories if you’re a woman and 1,500 calories if you’re a man; the numbers go up to 1,500 and 2,000, respectively, on high-carb days. That’s all I’ll say right now, because this chapter’s about cycling strategies, not food. For more on portion size and calorie counts of different foods, go to
Chapter 6
, “Feed Your Fire: The Recipes.”

Let me simplify all this info in a chart (opposite) that sums up the fundamentals of high- and low-carb days, short and sweet.

You can see in this chart that I talk about “smart” foods. We’ve selected carb-cycling foods that are, well, smarter to eat than others. (
Chapter 3
, “Weight Loss 101,” and
Chapter 6
, “Feed Your Fire,” have everything you need to know about smart foods.) It might seem like a lot to digest, but it really isn’t if you use my schedules and food lists to guide you through your low- and high-carb days. If you want to keep it as simple as possible, you can just follow these and trust that I’ve got the backstory right. Sure, it helps to know
why and how
carb cycling works, but the real key is to
do it
. So I won’t get into all that again here; I want to get right into how you put low- and high-carb days together to create
cycling strategies
.

Before we go any farther, I want to bring you back to an incredibly important part of my carb-cycling program: rewards. These are a break in your carb-cycling routine, when I ask you to
enjoy anything you want, in moderation
. Anything! I give you two ways to claim your rewards depending on your cycle. You either get a
reward day
once a week, when you can indulge some of your food cravings throughout the day, or you get one
reward meal
on each of your high-carb days. Pretty generous, right?

Why should you stray from the straight and narrow with a reward meal or a reward day? Because believe it or not, it
keeps you on
the straight and narrow! If you can relax with your favorite foods once in a while, it’s easier to follow the rules on your low- and high-carb days. Like I always say, if you can’t have it now, you can have it later.

Rewards aren’t exactly about the fat-melting objectives of carb cycling, but they play a powerful supporting role. Reward days and reward meals are designed to satisfy your
psychological and emotional
cravings for the sugary or fatty foods you love the most. Nothing is off limits. Nothing at
all, because I don’t want you to feel deprived or restricted! If you did, chances are you’d eventually fall off the carb-cycling rails—say, on an especially rough day at work or home—and then punish yourself for it or give up carb cycling altogether. When this happens, the mental consequences are a lot more damaging to your progress than the physical effects.

Another thing: I have an ulterior motive in giving you reward days. They actually help skyrocket your metabolism! Your body will raise its metabolic rate in response to the increase in calories on reward days, and hang on to that boost for some time. When you drop back into carb cycling, your calorie deficit—the difference between the number of calories you eat and the number of calories you use—is even bigger, giving you greater fat loss!
Eat what you want and still lose weight
: It’s a win-win situation.

From this point forward, think of reward days and reward meals as a bonus for
a job well done
, and a necessity for your long-term success. When you pick up that burger or sit down to that slice of pie, you can give yourself a high five and say, “I’ve been eating clean. I’ve really been doing my low- and high-carb days, and I’m losing weight. I’m keeping my promises to myself! And you know what? I’m going to give myself a pat on the back and the reward I truly deserve.”

When you get your rewards depends on which carb-cycling plan you choose to follow. Later in this chapter I lay out four distinct cycling options, which I’ve designed to meet the
various needs
of different kinds of carb cyclers. That includes your need for the rich foods you love.

First, let’s talk about reward
days
. I’ve designed three of my cycles—Classic, Turbo, and Fit—to take you into carb cycling quickly, so you can start losing weight pronto. These cycles include that once-a-week reward day,
a goal to shoot for
during your week’s six low- and high-carb days. Reward days, naturally, are high-carb days, due to the kinds of foods you’ll be consuming. I’ve made Sunday the reward day in the programs that follow, but if there is another day of the week that would be a better reward day for your life, you can declare it your reward day. But be sure you set
this reward day in stone so you don’t find yourself “chasing the reward”—or justifying more than one reward day a week.