OMG that was HILARIOUS!! I agree with Sheila, best laugh I have had in a long time!

I used to do a workout from a book, and it worked great at the time. Hurt my foot (wearing bad cute shoes to a festival), and fell out of it. But I recently started it again, and can already feel the results.

The book is Strong Women Stay Young, by Miriam Nelson. It has 8 simple exercises you do, with small adjustable hand barbells & adjustable ankle weights (I got at the local sporting goods store). It is easy to do, takes just 20-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week, and you'll definitely see results within the first 6 weeks! It also has supplemental exercises you can do if you want.

I also have a recumbent exercise bike, and try to ride it 20-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week.

Hi All,

I really only got the energy to start working out last week, week 4 for me. I have been doing a 10k loop....I swing my arms and try to keep a steady pace. It takes 1h/45min but I feel so good after. I have been doing it really early in the morning before work and before it gets too warm out...

This has really helped tone up my arms, waist and legs...without high intensity...

Wow! This article from today's New York Times about exercise is fascinating.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0...n-on-exercise/

kellyrook, is there a lot of difference between the AM & PM versions?.. mornings are just not a good time for me to do the yoga workout, so I've switched it to late afternoon after my cardio & strength training... if there's not much difference in the two routines, I'll probably just stick with the DVD I've got for now...

jlewis88, too funny!.. I was telling a friend about the speedos & he had just about the same reaction...

hugs

Super article, Linden!.. exercise makes us smarter!.. thanks for sharing this...

hugs

Hey everyone! I am pretty sure I mentioned this before but I am currently doing the Wii Active and I love it. I just do the light intensity and its about 20 minutes long. Perfect for me Do you think if I did 30 min. on the elliptical once a week it would be ok? It does get my heart rate up so do you think it would slow me up? Hmmmmm.......curious to see what you all think

You'll probably have to test it out a few times to really see. In addition to Curves 3x/week and walking on the treadmill, I do a 30 minute zumba class once a week. I tried several things with extra protein and fat on those days to see what would help since it burns so many calories. So far the best thing for me personally has been having a restricted bar an hour or two before the class. I also modify the movements as needed so it's not quite as high intensity but that's probably not as easy to change on a machine!

I'd say give it a try... just pay close attention to how you feel & how it affects your weight loss... I hope it works for you...

I'm not doubting anybody's word on the whole exercise thing, but I'm having a hard time understanding why it interferes with the diet... in my case, my loss slows way down when I don't exercise... maybe it's just me... last week I had company & I barely got in maybe 30 minutes of cardio total the whole week, & even with sticking to protocol 100%, I can tell I've stalled out... this week, I'm aiming for lengthening my workout by about 10 minutes by Friday... I can always adjust if it's not right, but I'm betting it helps... I am careful to keep my heart rate at 60-70% of max... I think my exercise is what makes IP works so well... sure, I could lose weight with just diet alone, but at my age I'd end up just a bag of loose skin... instead, I'm building muscle & feel better than I have in 20 years... it keeps me feeling young, & I'm not ready to be an old lady yet!..

hugs

I also don't understand the don't exercise thing. What if your heart rate is above 70% (forgive me but I'm not ever sure how you are supposed to measure your heart rate)? I was walking at a track, about 5 miles, 5Xs a week. My loss was doing okay but not as good as I thought I would. Last week because I was feeling poorly I didn't walk, I stepped on the scale this morning and was down 3 lbs in 3 days, I was shocked. It doesn't make sense to me. What exactly are they concerned is going to happen? Loss of Muscle? Going into starvation mode? For reasons out of my control I will not be able to walk this week either. Will this actually help or hurt me to take two weeks off? Sorry about all the questions, but I have been wondering, and talking to the coach doesn't seem to answer my questions completely.

Took a 30 minute swim today at the Y...first time doing regular exercise since starting IP 5 weeks ago...hope it kicks up my weight loss!

Marilyn

The concern is putting your body into starvation mode. If you go into starvation mode you will not lose as much weight. At least this is what my coach told me and it make sense. I use to do a very intense workout 90%+ MHR and lost nothing...I did this for months 3 or 4 times a week. I started IP and have changed my workouts to a milder workout with an MHR of about 60% and have been steadily losing. This is what works for me but everyone is different, so find out where your comfortable and how it affects your results.

Walking isn't going to get your heart rate up into that high of a zone, unless you are really really really out of shape. However, walking 5 miles will take quite a bit of time, and that can add up. Here is how you calculate it manually:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5139_calcula...ing-heart.html

There is also the perceived exertion scale to go by as well so you don't have to stop and check your hr. Can you talk and hold a conversation when you are walking or is it so bad you can't do anything but pant? You want to be able to hold a conversation but be a bit breathless. Unfortunately, this didn't work for me in my intense workouts so I use a hr monitor.

I wear a heart rate monitor when I work out, so it does all my calculations for me. I unfortunately had been exercising way past my "moderate" level and had to cut back (I used to exercise a lot pre-IP), then I was exercising for too long at that moderate hr level and it really messed up with my weight loss as I threw my body out of sync (hence the gain week). My coach says there is an athletic protocol for those who workout long and hard which pretty much is more protein packs. I took the full week off from exercise last week and lost. This week I'll exercise probably on the weekend and look to add a 4th and possibly 5th protein supplement.

I understand why they say it also but like you, Aunt Sheshie, my weight definitely fluctuates until I get some cardio in.

It's 220 minus your age, then multiply by .60 & .70, respectively, to get the 60-70% range...

Thanks to everybody who replied & helped clear up my confusion about why exercise can interfere with IP... so far, I must not be doing too much, 'cause it's working... best wishes to all...

hugs