I am very new to this site, and also new to Medifast. I have been on it a little over 2 weeks and am down 14 lbs.

The plan advises not to start any kind of exercise until week 2-3 of the program. Tuesday I will have been on it for 3 weeks. I am still kind of tired and weak.. but want ideas for 'gentle' exercise. Toning and stretching.. Please help.

Yoga and pilates are great. Are there any classes in your area that you know of?

Thanks Emme! I am sure there are probably classes available, but I live 30 mins from town and am currently not working.. so paying for anything extra is definitely out. Maybe I will try to find a good DVD... what is the difference between yoga and pilates? Thanks!!

Thank you MiniFluffy! That is exactly the kind of input I needed! Pilates definitely sounds like the better pick for me...

I am going to respectfully disagree

I've been doing intermediate-advanced yoga for years since high school and played competitive soccer/ran for years and will state without reservation yoga can provide the same or more cardio as Pilates.

Saying that pilates is better for getting in shape than yoga is like saying an apple is better than vegetables. There are a lot of different kids of yoga, from hatha to Bikram to power and everything in between. A gentle beginner's hatha class will most likely not cause you to sweat and burn as many calories as a Pilates class, but a power/vinyasa class will get you more winded and your heart rate up higher than a Pilates class.

Pilates and yoga are great for different things. I agree with MiniFluffy that Pilates focuses more on training and core. To say what yoga focuses more on is difficult, since classes are so varied. A hatha class might focus more on stretching, while a vinyasa class will focus more on breathing and an ashtanga class will focus on alignment. And it's difficult to argue that either pilates or yoga can "get you in better shape," because there are so many different elements to being in shape- strength training, lung capacity, flexibility, etc. (See also a post I wrote recently on another thread here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/exer...6023-yoga.html)

I have a terribly biased opinion about how awesome yoga is, but that said both yoga and pilates have great strengths. If I were you I'd try out different pilates and yoga classes. You said you live far away from a studio, so videos or free YouTube clips can get you a good idea of what different types of classes are about.

It's great that you are remembering that stretching/flexibility is a really important part of physical fitness, that it's not just about burning calories. I'm sure you'll find with a little exploring that yoga and/or pilates will be a great addition to your exercise regimen.

Totally agree, MiniFluffy. Both pilates and yoga of all kinds have their merits and different individuals may have different strengths and get more out one class than another. It's nice therefore to have such a diversity of options of different sorts of classes and teachers to choose from! Hope the OP will have a chance to try different ones out.