Back on the wagon
 

Back on the wagon again! I had major "life issues" that took me on an eating binge for a month~~old habits die hard, and I fell back to my old comfort foods. I have been back on program for 2 days and lost 10 of the 17 pounds I had gained. I really believe in IP but I don't get a great deal of support from my coach (although she is a wonderful person) and moving to another center is not an option.

All you folks who have done this "forever" are my inspiration and the encouragement I need to kick myself in the butt and get this show back on the road!

Can anyone out there discuss exercise with me ~~ do you exercise regularly and, if so, how much and how often??

Thanks everyone!:dizzy:

Welcome back! Whatever support you don't get from coaches can definitely be found here :)

RE: Exercise - much of that depends on your activity level before IP, and your motivation for exercise. It does NOT speed up your losses, and may actually stall your losses (the diet is so low in calories, muscles will retain water because they can't recover properly). But many exercise because they love it - and many use strength training (Slow Burn method is recommended) to help tone while the fat is burning away :)

If you exercised regularly before IP, after the first few weeks you can usually go back to what you were doing before (at lower intensity if possible) - but you need to make sure you add an extra packet within 1/2 hour of finishing, so that your muscles have some fuel for recovery. If you weren't a heavy exerciser, your best bet is to start off with some gentle low intensity exercise - walking, beginner yoga, etc and see how your body reacts. You still need to add a packet just like with more intense exercise, but you just don't want to start out high intensity if you didn't exercise pre-IP.

I was a non-exerciser before IP. After the first 4 weeks, I started some light walking, 20 minutes every couple of days at a slow pace. Now (13 weeks in) I walk at a slow-moderate pace 1 mile in the morning, 1 mile in the afternoon. I have some protein shake as my coffee creamer before my morning walk and eat breakfast when I get home, and I add an extra shake when I get home from my afternoon walk.

I do pilates once a week and I'm no athlete but I find the stretching and core strengthening to be very good, in a gentle kind of way. I appreciate you admitting to getting off then on the wagon again, and I'm with ya on both of those. Got off the wagon myself, and I do well every day until dinner/evening and then old habits kick in. So, tomorrow's a new day and I'll wake up 100% O.P. (then I have to get out of bed, which is where the challenge begins! LOL)