Chris Powell's Choose More, Lose More for Life by Chris Powell Page B

junk food, particularly high-sugar high-fat foods, for years your body is very likely to have a physical dependency on some of them. It’s common to feel a bit uneasy when you first start to carb cycle and reduce your intake of these foods. Your body may go through a period of
detoxification
, when you might experience nausea, headaches, low energy, and other yucky symptoms as you remove junk foods from your diet. Don’t worry, this too shall pass! However, if your detox symptoms are too uncomfortable, you may want to begin with the Easy Cycle and transition later to the Classic Cycle when your detox is done and you’re ready for faster results.
The Seven-Day Turbo Cycle for Rapid Weight Loss
    Are you ready to shed your extra padding
fast
—as fast as you possibly can? Yes? Then this cycle is for you. The Turbo Cycle gets results the quickest—and takes off the most pounds per week—of the four carb cycles.
    This cycle works like lightning because it’s lean and mean. Instead of the basic one day on/one day off carb cycle, the Turbo Cycle puts two low-carb days up against every high-carb day. You’ve got two fat-burning days for every metabolism-stoking day, so you slim down really, really fast.
    While the Turbo Cycle gives you the fastest results of any carb cycle, it’s
not
a severely restricted-calorie diet that’ll crash your metabolism. Women: Don’t consume fewer than 1,200 calories a day! Men: Don’t consume fewer than 1,500 calories! You’ll still get results very quickly. The Turbo Cycle is totally safe and incredibly effective!
TURBO CYCLE CARB SCHEDULE
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Low-Carb
Low-Carb
High-Carb
Low-Carb
Low-Carb
High-Carb
Reward
    On the Turbo Cycle, you’re going to get results in no time, but there’s a trade-off you should know about. With two low-carb days in a row, you’re definitely going to feel a dip in your energy level—especially on that second day—but it’s a clear sign that you’re losing inches. And just watch how rapidly the numbers on your scale go down. Those low-carb days are powerful weight-loss accelerators.
The Seven-Day Fit Cycle for Athletic Performance
    If you have an active lifestyle and you want to lean up
without compromising
your athletic performance, the Fit Cycle is a great option. Like a lot of other diets, the Fit Cycle strips off your fat, but unlike most of them it also supplies the fuel you need to excel in your sport of choice or to train for long stretches of time each day.
    Of all the four cycles I lay out in this chapter, the Fit Cycle includes the fewest low-carb days: only two per week. I’ve got you
eating more carbs
so you can drive more of them into your muscles, filling them up with fuel. As an athlete, you probably know that those carbs get converted to glucose, then are stored in your muscle as glycogen. That’s the stuff your muscles tap when they need energy, so if you want maximum physical performance you will need those glycogen stores. Score one for the Fit Cycle!
    What you might not know is that a really cool thing happens when athletes carb cycle. On your low-carb days, when you deplete your glycogen stores, your muscles develop
insulin sensitivity
. So what, you say? Well, when you switch back over to a high-carb day, or when you enjoy your weekly reward day, your insulin-sensitive muscles do somethingbrilliant. It’s called
super-compensation
, and it means that your muscles actually soak up
more
carbs than they normally would. Your body burns the extra fuel to keep your performance high, instead of storing it as fat. Your metabolism is pumped, so taking in the extra carbs actually helps you lose weight!
    Because you’re in a high-carb mode, you won’t be losing weight as fast as you would on the Turbo Cycle. It’s the sacrifice you make to maintain your performance! In fact, structurally the Fit Cycle is the opposite of the Turbo Cycle.
FIT CYCLE CARB