I started last week and lost 4 lbs. I have been working out regularly 3-4 times a week. I dont weigh myslef everyday but today I weighed myslef to see if I was loosing and I had actually gained 2 lbs. I was shocked since I have been a 100% on plan. The only thing is excersise.

If you aren't adding a packet after exercise, and doing too high an intensity workout, that makes sense. The diet is super low calorie and if you don't supplement with an extra packet AND dial back your workout intensity, it's too much on your system and not enough fuel for recovery. There are definitely ways to continue exercise for fitness while on IP, but it's not going to increase your losses.

After the first couple of weeks most people should be able to resume their normal level of exercise. But this means it is not the time to start something new if you didn't already exercise.
Most days I exercise (at a high intensity, bootcamp style format) I do use 1 extra packet or 2 hb eggs. It depends on the timing of my workout and how I feel.
I don't feel it hindered my losses at the beginning, but as I got closer to goal loses came very slowly.

WHen I went on my hiking / running vacation a few weeks ago, I just added some extra packets during the longer hiking days, especially if I was feeling hungry. I always made sure I have a restricted bar or something in my pack. On the day I did the Half Dome hike in Yosemite ( 13 hrs) i ended up eating 5 packets plus a good supper upon return. I ended up losing 4.5 lbs on the 2week vacation which was amazing. i covered 80 miles of either hiking or trail running within 13 consecutive days; all while on the program.

So, my workouts are Tuesdays through Fridays in the morning and it consists of running/walking for abut 30 minutes and about 10 minute ab exercises. After workout, I take a shower and get ready for work and then I have a bar. My lunch is the standard lunch and my dinner is the standard dinner and then I have my snack at night. Should I add more protein?

I'm not feeling any different. I'm feeling a little tired right now but that's because I've been up for almost 12 hours and the day isn't anywhere near being over. Can I add more protein to the diet since I work out more? Or should I always keep it at 8 oz?

i started power walking for 20-40 minutes every day, its working out well for me. i wish i was able to lift weights too if possible but my coach is against it.

I would read through all of these posts, but I'm at work, so not much time.

Before I started IP, between the months of September 2010 to May 2012, my roommate and I worked out pretty hardcore and ate healthy and I lost weight. I moved back in with the parentals after graduation and my unhealthy eating started as well. I started IP about 4 weeks ago, but during the first 2 weeks, I ran 2 to 3 days a week and did some ab workouts.

This past week, I did my former workout routine because I read that after the first two weeks you could work out. My coach said that I can continue working out, but this past week, I ran 4 days and incorporated some weights and lunges/squats and some machines. I also ate mostly according to the plan and didn't cheat once! I went from 166 to 164, but my lean weight went from 113 to 111 and my body fat percentage went up almost half a percentage, around .41%. What could I be doing wrong? Should I cut the amount of cardio or weights? This week, I'm gonna cut the weights a little and the reps and see what happens next week.

Does anybody else have any better tips?

Suggestion: Add an extra packet or the equivalent in eggs or protein on workout days, even if it is not directly before or after the workout. So you day could look like: IP non-restricted pre-workout, workout, bar for breakfast, IP lunch, protein dinner, IP snack. Cut out the cardio entirely. Keep the weights, squats, machines. See what happens.

It is typical to lose 1 lb of lean weight and 3 lbs of fat for every 4 lbs lost. Also, if you worked out the day before or the day of the weigh in, water in the muscles plays games with the scale/BF too. Too much exercise/too intense of exercise will change that ratio, just like you experienced.

Each person is different, so if that doesn't work after a week or two, tweak something else.

If you are looking for a fat burn only, keep the cardio to gentle walking. If you want to build muscle or keep it, you have to just do the weights. Look for posts from momto2cs as she exercises strenuously when she does Phase 1 (she is in maintenance now).

Everything noteworthy I've found in web searching pretty much says you cannot build muscle and lose fat at the same time. You have to choose.

You do realize that if you are able to maintain 111 lbs LM that you will be at about 18% body fat when you reach goal. Is that what you are shooting for?

A couple of other things: Not all lean mass lost is muscle mass. Sometimes it is just water or some of the support structure for the fat you are losing. And, the BF measuring device is not all that accurate (arguable between 2% and 5%) so don't get too spun up over a one time blip rather than a trend (although I get aggravated when it doesn't go my way, too.)

Hope that helps. You can PM me with other questions if you would like.

Yes-definitely add either a packet or the 2 eggs. Those body comp scales are very inaccurate, so I would not worry about one reading, but watch for a trend.

I did not feel exercise impacted my losses until I got close to goal. At that point I had gotten my bodyfat down to around 18% and at that point I pretty much stalled. I decided that was fine with me, although to be honest my maintenance diet includes mostly low carb eating.

See how you feel with exercise. It can make you hungry, which during the major losing phase of ip is not very fun. I have always felt I have lots of energy.

My workouts are usually about 60 minutes-bootcamp/circuit type workouts that combine cardio and strength training. 6 days a week.

My normal exercise consists of 30 to 45 minutes of walking/running/biking/elliptical and then about 15 to 30 minutes of weight training from Tuesday through Thursday, sometimes Friday.

I really like running/biking. I don't necessarily want to gain muscle, but I definitely want to burn fat. That's definitely my main goal of IP. So, I should add food in there? I'm worried that maybe I ate too much protein last week and that is what caused me to not necessarily lose fat. But, all in all, I shouldn't be too worried about that one weigh in? Just watch to see if there is a trend?

This is all extremely new for me and I don't want to waste my money on this diet cause you guys know how expensive it is!

Do you typically workout before breakfast?
Why do you think you ate too much protein last week?
And yes, do not get worried about one weigh in if you were 100% on plan.
Could TOM be impacting this for you as well? That could definitely make things look different from what is really happening.

How long have you been on IP, just a couple of weeks? (Sorry if you wrote it and I missed it.)

Does your coach give you some of the info sheets on the science of the diet?

Weight training can definitely cause water retention. Building muscle is hard work and takes serious effort, especially for women.
That said, sometimes focusing on diet is the best plan. Exercise can follow in the later phases. Everyone is different.

Have you tried carrying small dumbbells in your hands while you are walking? I am doing that now and I fell like I am getting more done during the walk.

If you're actively trying to lose weight (i.e. not in maintenance), you might want to cut back on the activity. From what I've seen, you shouldn't do much more than 30 minutes of low impact activity and then follow it with a packet or eggs. This diet just doesn't have enough calories to support high levels of activity and weight loss.

I very rarely exercised before IP, I had a full left hip replacement so I can't run (looks funny when I try) and broke my ankle in 3 places and have rods and such in it. So even walking a couple blocks and I was in pain.

Which is the reason I stated this diet! Hoping to give some relief to my joints! My coach said no exercise that makes you sweat. So once I feel up to it I will be walking and who knows what else!

I do workout before breakfast. I just had my 4th weigh in and my lean mass went down another two pounds. My coach is going to talk with the doctor and try to reduce ways for that to happen. I'm only working out two days this week so I'm not going to worry about it much. Today, was a pretty relax day at the gym. I'm trying not to push myself too hard and see where I go with it.

My coach said that I might need to add a packet because I'm burning calories but not consuming much. I don't want to lose lean mass, so it's driving me crazy. And I think I have some of the info sheets, not sure if all. Honestly, I did better when I had a cheat day. Lol. I definitely think I worked out too much though because on days when I don't work out or work out light, I feel energized which I'm supposed to feel like and less hungry. Whereas, last week, I was starving all day everyday.

I wasn't allowed to do any physical activity during my first month (last month) but I started working out this month. I have since been working out for the past three weeks, it has had no negative impact on my progress. It has made a slightly noticeable, positive change to my fat and muscle percentages.

I am currently working out 3 times a week. I do strength training (lower weight, higher reps) and 20min of intervals on the treadmill. I start my workout an hour after I have my restricted item (extra energy) I immediately follow the workout with an extra packet, usually the orange drink.

The important factor is knowing your limitations and listen to your body.

I workout at Curves...I love it! I do my 3 times a week strengh excercise, but on my 1st few weeks on IP, I went once a week.

Did you find you were tired more easily? I haven't been to Curves since I started IP, but I want to soon.

I would say now that you are well into ip you should go back and try it. I found I had lots of energy. I do find timing my workouts for just before dinner work best for me...

Hi, I am doing IP on plan pretty much 100%, I use about 80% IP products and 20% alternate products that some other members are using. No coach, am doing on my own.

Regarding exercise, I have always done a hike/walk (I live in the mountains) for at least 35 minutes 6-7 days a week to walk my dog. I never could consider not doing that walk...my dog would NEVER let me ;)

Am almost at end of my 2nd month back on this diet and feeling good, I've been doing some longer fast walks along the river about 3 times a week that take about 1 hour 20 minutes. Does anyone have an opinion if on the days I do that long fast walk if I should figure in an extra non-restricted packet?

Thank you!

My personal take? I would add the packet. You are doing more than your normal amount of exercise, on LESS calories. Your muscles are still going to need extra fuel for recovery. I didn't exercise much at all before IP - now I walk 2 SLOW miles (broken up during the day) walking my kindergartener to and from school, and I add a packet even though I don't even work up a sweat.

I'm with Scorbett on this one. From all I've read, you should add an extra packet after exercise. I've also read that you shouldn't be doing an exercise that you'll break a sweat doing and you shouldn't exercise more than 30 minutes. You might be burning up your muscle if you're exercising too long and/or too hard. Or you might be stalling or slowing your weight loss.

I'll ask my coach about this when I see her next week but wanted to get others' thoughts on scuba diving. I've accepted that I can't keep up my routine of 30 minute medium intensity bike rides for the time being, but I also scuba dive fairly routinely. Other than carrying gear to/from the boat, it's not terribly taxing since where I dive there aren't strong currents and I'm not usually doing any heavy duty swimming. That said, even without any major exertion, my metabolism usually kicks up into high gear just keeping my body temp up (a typical dive can be an hour long in 78 degree water; given a 'normal' body temp of 98.6 and the greater density of water helping to more quickly take heat away from the body - even with a wetsuit - it can be a challenge keeping my core temperature up). Typically, I'll do two of these dives between breakfast and lunch.

I'm figuring at this point that I should probably add a protein bar in between the two dives. Any thoughts? I won't be back in the water until later this month so by that time I should be pretty well acclimated to the diet.

Your question got me curious on scuba diving calories burned so I looked them up. I'm assuming you'll be down to 148 on your dives; the sparkspeople site says you would burn 473 calories for a hour of scuba diving.

Since you are used to the medium intensity rides, I would start those back up at a lowered intensity once you feel you are in ketosis. That should give you both an idea of how you will feel and help your body start to learn the new fuel source for exercise before your dives.

Not sure how much you would typically eat before your dives.
Let's say a shake AND 2 whole eggs for breakfast (gives about 260 calories) then your bar between dives is another 160. After the second dive, assuming you still feel like you can handle it, I would have something like the mango ready to drink at 200 calories. Then have lunch (maybe flip dinner & lunch) with 8 oz of protein & veggies within an hour of the second dive. Still have a snack and have dinner as an IP and veggies. Be sure to bring salt in case the first dive is intense enough that electrolytes are impacted.

Even a Zumba class that I did at an extremely low intensity after 1 month on IP really wiped me out, but, sadly, I had not worked out for maybe 3 years prior to that. Once I got back into the swing of things after 6 months on IP, I really needed the extra calories & nutrients from eggs and extra IP around workouts. I played around with it on a daily basis, thinking that I really shouldn't need the extra packets, etc. But I was wrong! I could get by with not needing an egg/eggs after a while, but the packet before and packet after followed by a meal is something I still do in maintenance. (5x per week, about 60 min weightlifting and core work).

My weight loss became more consistent week to week after exercise, but by then I was close enough to goal to be losing in the 1.2 to 1.8 lb/wk range anyway, both in the month before I started working out and the month & a half to hit goal after.

Your results will vary, of course.

I'll be interested to hear what you experience with SCUBA. I'm planning on starting my studies and doing my training dives on my birthday trip in March.

Because you'll be under water, I'd suggest a short dive at first, slowly adding time as you determine how you feel. Even though you are an experienced diver, you are new to diving while on IP. Your coach can give you protocol for increased exercise.

Keep us posted!

Thanks very much. This helps a lot putting it all in perspective. Normally I'd eat very lightly before a dive, but I could certainly do egg whites and a shake. I like the idea of flipping lunch and dinner and that probably makes the most sense. And very good point about electrolytes since it's very easy to become dehydrated while diving, between the salt water and the sun.

Thanks. I'll keep you all posted! One thing I'm thinking of is using a scooter more on the initial dives (less kicking - pretty much just holding on and steering, and with it clipping to my gear it doesn't take much strength.

There are some places I've dived that I wouldn't even consider doing while on IP, but this is typically pretty relaxed. Still I don't want to push it too much, although I just can't fathom completely staying out of the water!

bubbleblower--there are also Nunn tablets that are electrolyte tabs you can use to flavor water at minimum calories. My coach swears by them but I have not tried them. They are starting to pop up in lots of places but for sure I have seen them at Whole Foods and Sprouts (which might not be in your area). Sporting Goods store might also have them. Whole Foods also sells an Electrolyte Water that my teenage daughter said was really good. It doesn't have any sweetener.

Thanks! We do have Whole Foods here so I'll check them out! Much appreciated.

I just started working out with the Wii and borrowed my mother's excersize ball. I might do a yoga class too.

If I want to do eggs insted of an extra packet, how many eggs would I use? Just eggs hites or the whole egg? Does it depend on te length of time I excersize?

The packets are about 15-18g protein and 100-120 calories, so you'd have to take in enough to cover that. One large egg has 6g protein and 71 calories. An egg white is 16 calories and 4g protein. If you did one egg and two egg whites you would be eating about 103 calories and 14g protein. If you weren't an avid exerciser before IP you don't want to push it much beyond burning 100 calories or so for a while, your body isn't used to it and it could stall your losses.

Thanks for your help,with this! You always offer such great advise!

Bump

being a newbie, and totally out of shape, moving was just hard for me, I joined the YMCA and I do the treadmill for 26-30 miuntes 4X a week(walking ) . The trainers there have now expanded me to doing upper body machine and a lower body machine to add to my visit each time, until I develope the endurance and stamina this is pleanty for me !!

I purchased a semi-recumbent bike and put it together on Sunday. I've ridden twice- Sunday and this morning. Seeing I don't exercise at all I'm keeping it to 100 calories and have added a shake after I do the bike in addition to my other 3 IP packets. My heart rate goes up a little, but I don't break a sweat. I thought I'd do every other day.

We'll see how tomorrow's weigh in goes - I'm anxious to phase off, I'm almost there, so I don't want to risk stalling. I do need to get muscle tone tho.

Does anyone do Crossfit? I was an avid crossfiter before I started on IP. I didn't workout the first week and lost 7 lbs. The second week I did 3 days of crossfit with only 2 of those days involving olympic lifting and the other day pure cardio (endurance workout) and lost only 2 pounds. What do you all recommend? I don't want to stop doing crossfit, but I did find myself feeling very hungry. Any recommendations are welcome.

I don't do Crossfit but I did start working with a trainer during my last couple of months on Phase 1. Regardless of your starting weight and exercise, 7 lbs the first week and 2 lbs the second are great losses.

For your crossfit workout days, you will want to add an IP (or egg or protein equivalent) before and after you workout. Try it at first where one of those is an extra IP and one of those is your snack IP. Also, try selecting a higher calorie non-restricted such as the mango ready-to-drink. If you truly are still hungry, add the 2nd extra IP. The other thing that happens is that you may be extra hungry the day AFTER you work out, too.

Exercise arguably slows your weight loss. I found that it made my very consistent week to week, realizing that I was close enough to goal that I was losing less than 2 lbs per week by that time even prior to exercise. (I was doing ZERO exercise prior to that).

Try not to get frustrated if your weight loss is not linear and keep in mind an average for a female is 2 to 3 lbs per week. You might not be average. :)
LizRR on this site had great results with a long walk every day on P1 and Momto2cs worked out strenuously on P1 as her choice.

I personally would keep with the olympic lifts and cut back on or cut out the cardio. Especially if you are resting between sets. If you are doing it circuit style, then it is partly cardio and you might need to cut back. It's very much a personal body experiment so it's a good idea to track your exercise on your food log so you can make adjustments each week.

Do you have a lot of weight to lose or are you more looking at some weight and some body composition adjustments? I've been reading a lot on this stuff. The only consistent thing I am starting to find is eating IP style (protein and veggies) as the common recommendation. Some places are suggesting to cut out the cardio entirely.

Since you were already exercising, hopefully your coach told you that just a short break, while your body acclimates to ketosis, is all that is necessary.

Then, follow the suggestions for adding an extra packet.

Although exercise can slow weight loss (scale), it won't slow fat loss so make sure you keep that measuring tape handy! The scale measures your entire weight...water retention from so many things shows up on the scale. Heavy workouts cause inflammation (water retention). As long as you know that and can view that scale neutrally, know the FAT loss is happening!

I used to do Crossfit before I started IP but I took a break for monetary reasons. I agree with Lisa and Infoplease. I am working out while on IP (30 day Shred, running, and a daily 5 mile hike in the hills) and increased my food intake to take this into account. My weight loss has slowed a bit (I was averaging 2.5 pounds per week and now about 1-1.5 pounds a week) but inches lost has not slowed down so I know I am toning.

I started reading this thread yesterday, and I finally finished reading everything today. I have finished my 6th week, so I did my first workout since being on IP today (I had taken a break for four months due to outright laziness and lack of motivation.) It was BodyPump (low weight, high rep). I split my extra packet and took a long nap. I feel good, but I'm so nervous about slowing what has been steady progress. I was worried about getting my heart rate too high, so I stuck with squats instead of the plyometric jumps on and off a step (I got some looks for this, but I know what exhausts me, and that includes plyo and intervals). I have been reluctant about resuming exercise until I reach my goal, but with all of the great information, I'm giving it a shot. I was feeling like taking Zumba again tomorrow (I love Zumba), but I can already feel my muscles, so I may just stick with taking walks the rest of the week and add Zumba next week. Plus, it's so much cardio, I just don't know how it will be beneficial during Phase 1. We'll see. I'm learning to be patient with the process.