Hi Folks.
Just curious to know what you are doing for exercise. Whenever I start an exercise program I seem to gain weight and get uncontrollable food cravings that have led me to cheat. Given that we are eating a mega calorie restricted diet, I'm really struggling with what to do with exercise. It seems like exercise should accelerate fat loss. On the other hand, when I don't exercise I feel like I'm getting flabby. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Exercise is NOT necessary on IP. The daily calorie intake is really too low to support exercise, and your weight loss will stall if you exercise and don't replace those calories with an extra packet. I know it SEEMS like exercise should accelerate things, but the chemistry of IP is different from conventional diets. Your body normally pulls energy from your glycogen stores when you exercise, but the first week of Phase 1 depleted your glycogen stores so you have no reserve energy. Your muscles have nothing to pull from in recovery.

There are a few threads about exercise on Phase 1 - but the nut of it is that if you plan to exercise:
- keep it to lower intensity than what you normally did before IP
- ALWAYS add an extra packet within 1/2 hour of finishing exercise, so that your muscles have fuel for recovery
- expect that your losses will be slower. For many this is a fair trade because they are toning at the same time as losing the weight, or they just love the feeling of exercise.

I have been doing 30 min strength 4x and cardio 2x per week. I took 1-2 packages more (2 in the beginning and 1 later), plus some protein shake.

You have to wait about 3 weeks before doing anything. As Scorbett pointed out, you will deplete glycogen stores and it takes your body a while to shift to using ketones and restore glycogen stores in your muscle. You will notice. I felt like passing out in the beginning and I had been exercising regularly.

I would not do anything that puts you above 65% of your maximal heart rate, because otherwise you risk breaking down muscle on this diet. Toning or walking/swimming is the best if you want to work out. Ketosis preserves muscle well and does not lead to the usual build-up of lactic acid. However, you need to adjust potassium and magnesium carefully to avoid cramping. At least, that is what I noticed.

Yoga or Pilates is also great for firming up without the cardio. I am a big exerciser too. I have been doing the yoga with some light bike riding. Having some foot issues so the walking has been out for me.