Hi all,

This is my first post here. I attended an introductory session on IP last week and am interested in the program but I have some concerns about working out - or the lack thereof.

First of all, I don't have a lot to lose. I started at about 132 (I'm 5 feet tall and have bird bones) and my goal is 115. I am presently 124 - I did that with Weight Watchers, but my loss is only about half a pound per week on that program, and I just want to do something to get the last few pounds off quicker. I'm sick to death of half a pound per week loss, it's been excruciating, and the closer I get to goal, the slower it seems to be going.

I work out - A LOT. I work out with a personal trainer and do a ton of cardio a week - it's my life. I can't even imagine a life without vigorous exercise and I know I'm going to have to give that up for a while if I do this program, and that makes me very, very sad.

Is there a realistic amount of time before I can get back to hitting the gym? I don't think I'm prepared to give it up for more than 2 weeks. And even then, I don't want to go back to light workouts. I've really worked my butt off and don't want to lose all the progress I've made. I don't mind cutting the cardio back - it's the weights I'm more concerned about.

Has anyone here been through the workout thing and how did you find it? How long did you have to give it up for, and were you able to resume normal workouts quickly?

Any and all input is appreciated - thanks!

Usually week 3 or 4 is the point at which you can add back in LIGHT exercise. The thing to remember is that this diet is EXTREMELY low in calories and carbs, which is why it works faster than other diets. Too intense exercise while trying to follow IP will deplete what little stores you have. You will also need to add an extra packet within 1/2 hour of exercise to keep from burning lean muscle mass. Some have actually seen a REDUCTION in weight loss after adding too much exercise because they end up throwing their body into starvation mode.

There is an athlete's protocol for IP, that may be something you want to ask your coach about and may be more appropriate for you if you don't want to reduce your exercise load by much.

Oh thank you - I did not know about, that, I'd be very interested in that. While I'd hardly call myself an athlete, anything that could help keep my at the gym while following the diet sounds great. I guess at the intro it was more "generic" as there were a lot of people there. Thanks for this!!

Someone actually posted the sheet in another thread, here's a link to it - just in case your coach doesn't have it:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/idea...ml#post3950642

Awesome - thank you again!

Not sure I understand?
You are 124lbs and want to go down to 115lbs? So at this point you have only 9lbs to lose...why even bother with all this? Why not just cut back on what you eat, and exercise all you want?
Just wondering!
Jake

I lift weights, and just do a light cardio on most days. I wouldn't do any workout for the first couple of weeks, as your body really does need to adjust. After that can you just lift for say 30 to 45 minutes 3x per week? If you can do that and have an extra packet right before or after you work out, you should be fine. You aren't going to burn nearly the same amount of calories lifting as you would doing a high intensity cardio. One thing you do have to remember is that you don't have very much to lose, so that is going to be a much slower process than say someone like me who had a lot to lose. Of course now the closer I get to goal, the slower it's going.

Actually I know quite a few people who needed the strictness of this diet to lose the "last 10 pounds" that just wouldn't come off with traditional diets. I just happen to be someone who needed to lose the "last 10" seven times over

I am having to tweak my plan this week. I just went back to work 2 weeks ago, I only work 4 hours per day but am really on the go for that time and my losses have really dropped because of the extra activity! My coach is having me add 2 extra packets because I actually lost lean mass both weeks, so hopefully that will help!

Me too

I wish I had only 9 pounds to lose! I was just saying that many of us find this diet very hard to adhere to...and are hungry all the time (ME!)...but we do it as we have a long way to go to reach goal etc...but I can assure you, if I only had 9 pounds to lose, I would not even think about putting myself through the rigors of this diet plan. I would simply eat less (heart healthy diet)and exercise more, which is certainly much healthier for your body then this program is...without a doubt. Now I say this because the OP indicated they work out ALOT and that is important to them...and lets face it, it is only 9 lbs afterall...
I would recommend: heart healthy diet...1500 calories a day...and work out as much as you want. Makes sense to me! We are delaing with a thin individual here and not someone who is obese such as myself.
Jake

Once upon a time I was a "thin" and athletic person...believe it or not, it is HARDER to shed the last bit of weight once you get very close to your goal. It is also a fine line between losing weight and building extra muscle mass when you are exercising a lot. I also have friends who bodybuild, and many times before photo shoots they will go on a cyclical ketogenic diet (same basic principle as IP) in order to drop body fat for the best possible visible muscle tone. It might SOUND counterproductive but a diet like IP CAN be necessary for even a "thin" person if they are trying to achieve a certain level of fitness/body makeup.

Hey Jake - cause it's so damn slow!! LOL! I read an article from a competitive rower about IP and I guess I have to agree - he was doing IP to get back into his competitive weight having put on 25 pounds of the off season. He said he could do it over 3 months with another plan, or do it with one month and just get er done with IP and have it over with. I guess that's my mind set right now - "get er done!". My husband is going away on business for 3 weeks, I don't have any kids, and it just seemed like an ideal (pardon the pun) time to throw myself into this and stop messing around with the half pound per week nonsense.

So would you say that the "average" of 3 pound loss per week for me is unrealistic then? I've been eating pretty low cal with Weight Watchers so it's not like I'm going from eating tons and unhealthy to eating low cal - I'm going from low cal to lower cal LOL. I am worried that I won't see big losses with IP - but I know it's in the 800-1000 cals per day range - surely that PLUS being in ketosis will be enough to shock my system into letting go of the fat??

As well, it's not the length of the sessions I'm worried about, it's the weight. I've always wanted an athletic looking body where you can see some muscle definition and I'm finally starting to get there - I'm scared of losing the muscle mass (albeit as small as it is) since it took me so much time, money and effot to get it. You can't get muscle mass (esp as a woman) by lifting 5 pound dumbbells - I lift heavy and want to keep it that way. It doesn't take long to lose muscle mass (again esp. for a woman), which is why I don't want to be away from it for too long. I'm not as concerned about cardio - I can get that back fairly quickly - muscle is a lot harder.

Exactly - again the "get er done" thinking I had mentioned. I don't want this last 10 pounds to drag on until Christmas or longer. As well I heard that on IP you should go 5 lower than you want/need because you gain back some in the later phases - so that means maybe I need to lose 15.

I appreciate your candidness Jake - and that is something to think about. If it wasn't for my husband being away and me being alone for a few weeks I don't think I would be considerting it - it just seems like the timing would be good. Is is really bad though - I'm scared of being this cranky, starving beast that sits in my office snarling cause I'm so hungry. I hope not! But thankfully I work in a small office!

Thanks everyone for your feedback, I really appreciate it. It's a big decision to go on this plan, and hearing from people who are actually doing it is very valuable.

What she said!! You are so right, this is exactly what I was trying to convey - thanks for the clarification on my thoughts!! My IP "coach" (is that what they are called) told me this program was designed for athletes in the off season that needed to quickly get back into competitive shape - which is why I thought it would be good for people working out hard??

It was actually designed for the French Ballet and the French olympic teams - so that in the off season they could MAINTAIN competitive shape WITHOUT excessive working out and without losing lean muscle mass. Bringing it to the community that needed to lose weight became an extension of that.