Exercise on ideal Protein?
 

I am considering starting Ideal Protein, but have been told you can't exercise. Is this true, and what is the reason? Is light cardio or weights okay?

hanks!

Hi and welcome!
The general basis is that because IP a low-calorie diet, you don't have enough food to fuel heavy exercise. My coach advised only LIGHT exercise (walking, light swimming, yoga/stretching [but not hot yoga]) during P1. I think some might agree or disagree.

I just asked my coach if I could start exercising again.. it's been 5 weeks...

She said I could do an hour of cardio 3 times a week and lift on the days I wasn't doing cardio. If I felt weak I could add a low carb packet or shake after my workout.. she said listen to my body whether or not I needed to add another packet.

just my two cents..

My doc encouraged me to continue working out while On IP. Just add an extra packet on workout days. Hasn't hurt my losses at all. I wouldnt recommend exercise in the first few weeks, I didn't have much energy at first. Good luck!

I'm thinking about starting Couch 2 5k this week. If I add an extra packet to the days I run, I'm hoping it won't effect my losses. Anyone do this running program?

I have NO issues not having to exercise. Lol. Honestly I live on a farm and somedays my day to day work busts my muscles! I feel way less energetic on this diet too.... Really feel the caloric deprivation.

I never got the major energy boost that some seem to get while on IP. I do try my best to do pilates between 4 and 5 times a week. I tried a bootcamp and almost passed out. I've never been super athletic though. I think it partly depends on your exercise level before you start IP, and just seeing for yourself what your body can handle.

My advice from IP site/chiro was about the same!! Limited to 30 min at first...but now have increased to 40-45. I do 6/days week alternating which type daily. You're probably younger than me ... LOL .... most everyone here is...and the 45 min is just about right for me at the moment. It's also not so long I wont stick with it. I think i keep reading 150 min a week is what to strive for...and I am above that.

Although you don't need to exercise on IP I think it helps create lasting change. My coach says limit the cardio so I do a light spin 3 times a week for 30 min followed by weights, one hour of yoga, and 45 minutes with my personal trainer each week. I'm going to add the extra packet before bed on days that I work out. I was going to the gym before IP , I like it and get a lot of support from them as well.

I have been exercising all the way, and some days are better than others. I spin 4x per week, and have just started group power, a lifting class. I have lost 30 pounds in 7 weeks, so it hasn't affected me. I also do take an extra acket when I am in a long spin class (50 minutes or longer). I feel amazing, but when I am tired after work, I am ok skipping a class so I can get some rest... Listen to your body what ever you decide to do...

I've been doing swimming 2 X/week for about 6 months - first an hour of arthritis swim class, followed by an hour of aerobic swim class and did not feel that I couldn't do this after starting IP- mainly I think because swimming is so low impact - I really love it. I must admit that I tend to take a nap afterwards (I'm currently unemployed), but that also happened before IP.

I am on week 6 and started exercising this week. I did 3 very gentle 2 mile jogs. I had a great weigh in this week...so I am taking that as a green light to continue.

I'm just starting week 4 - feeling like I should start up again but I have to admit the break from exercising has been nice :)

I am thinking about starting a workout program. I want to do a 90 day challenge. Which is essentially committing to a workout for 90 days and see the change.

I scaled back the first month. I now do about 10000 yards in the pool(over 4 swim days), I lift an hour about 4 days a week. I add protein(some say a packet, my coach just said extra regular protein) when I feel I need it. Has not affected my weight loss. It did really slow me down at first in the pool, but I am back up to speed now. Weightwise, I kept it light until mid January and am now back to heavy lifting.

I teach belly dance and work out with a trainer. I did tell my trainer we needed to switch me to less weight more reps. My coaches were worried about the caloric intake with intense exercise. Haven't found my dancing has adversely effect my weight loss, but I did limit it at first while I was on a break.

I do yoga once a week and workout with a resistance band a few times a week, plus I try to walk half an hour (weather permitting) a day. I find it very helpful for my energy levels.

I'm just curious here.
Why less weight and more reps? That would almost be more aerobic.
I would stick to more weight less reps and maybe less sets.
Regardless, how is it working in terms of your lean muscle mass?

I'm on my second run with ideal protein...I plan to do light walking and weight training 3-4 days per week. I'm hoping it doesn't cause my weight loss to stall.

I exercised the entire time I was on Ideal Protein. I watched my cardio so it wasn't too high for long durations but I really feel it helped me lose quicker and and I had great muscle tone after the fat was gone.

i think that's exactly why! you need carbs to fuel anaerobic exercise (ie weight lifting) but not as much for aerobic exercise. i hope i'm not getting that backward! i'm pretty sure i just read that somewhere this morning because i was looking for info on exercising on ketogenic diets. they said if you're going to lift weights you should have some carbs right before, maybe 20-30 minutes before you exercise.

Yep, it is likely I who have it backwards.
You have to have calories to gain muscle.
So the higher reps with lower weights would be more for fat loss.
After nearly 2 years I am still trying to figure that out!
Thanks.

btw i'm glad someone asked this because i was just coming to ask myself. i'm back doing ip (maybe with alternatives, not sure yet) after a 2 month detour. i started working out with a trainer twice a week for hour-long sessions a month ago and would like to continue working out. at this point between the trainer, cardio, and at home dvds, i'm working out 7 days a week. i want to scale back a little but continue my workouts. don't want to stress out my body too much or slow losses though. so i'll be back to hopefully see more responses. thanks in advance :)

The first time thru p1, when I did the training at the end, we started with conditioning (maybe after a month you are past that point?), and I had IP drink before and after. I was using the mango pre-made (which is higher in calories and protein) and chocolate drink mix, my favorite. Both body fat and lean mass went down at a similar rate to pre-exercise, I believe, possibly a little too much LM because it really wasn't enough calories. My last 10 pounds were 130 to 120. I (at 53 then) was working out with my young teen daughter (of 14 then). We did 5 days at the gym, an active day (like take a hike or walk) and one rest day. We were pathetically out of shape to start and hit the salt often (no passing out and no throwing up).

With the reset (2 weeks p1, 1 week p2, 1 week p3), it is just me at 55, looking at 4 days per week with 3 days lifting and 1 day with the trainer. Dietwise, I've done it wrong. The results are body fat % down, but lean mass went down too. More fat lost than lean mass, so for 8.9 lbs lost, 6.1 fat and 2.8 lean (per calipers), the ratio is about 2.17 fat for each lb of lean which isn't that great. I didn't do the extra packet like I should have. Bioimpedence looks like 7.4lbs lost, 5.51 fat and 1.89 lm, or about 2.9 to 1. I think it is thought that we would lose 1lb LM for each 4 lbs weight, so I'm arguably OK. I physically feel great and am so much stronger than when I started, and a lot more comfortable in the gym.

Do consider at least 1 rest day, and alternate your cardio days and weight training days or however you sequence it so you have at least a day between working the same body part again. You can do cardio the same day as weight training, you just don't want to do, say, squats every day but you can do lower body one day, upper body the next, then back to lower, etc.

Let us know how it works out!

Thanks for the great info! I brought this up to my trainer today and we are going to discuss it further when we meet on Wednesday. She told me right off the bat that she wants me eating no fewer than 1200 net calories to be able to keep up with the intensity we've been going through. I suspect what I will end up doing is following a ketogenic diet with a few hundred extra calories that come from healthy fats, nuts, and cheese, instead of a 100% ip protocol. I was on ip for about 3 months at the end of 2013 and there is no way I'd be able to sustain my current workouts on 900 calories a day. My trainer is great about mixing up cardio and strength training and hitting different muscle groups on different days. Thanks for your input. Will update once I get into a groove.

I was discouraged from exercising during P1. I am glad to hear your stories of incorporating exercise and being successful on the plan :)

My Coach was concerned that higher weights might be too intense since the calories being consumed are very low. Higher weight less reps is usually used to build strength while more reps lighter weights is the traditional practice to have leaner muscles. Current research indicates a mix of the two is optimal.

I have been exercising the whole time I have been on IP. I do spin class 2-3 times a week, a muscle pump(weight lifting) class 2x's a week, and another aerobic class during the week and I try to jog at least 2 x's a week. I have been carrying alot of weight for many years and I do an extra packet or hard boiled egg on the days I exercise.

I'm starting week 3 my coach says swimming, water aerobics, and yoga are fine I just shouldn't breath hard was his advice.

Yoga question
 

I'm going to have do a 2 week program of individual Iyengar yoga to address leg problems. It's 2 hrs/day at 6am. I'd appreciate ideas for whether to eat extra carbs or extra protein, and before or after. I haven't been physically active other than work for a long time. My current diet is generally no more than 40 carbs/day.

Thanks for any ideas!

My coach encourages light walking, 30 minutes/day, "to move the fat". I figure, anything that will relocate fat is a good thing. It also helps with a mental boost & clearing the mind after a long day.

My understanding is that iyengar is lower intensity with lots of emphasis on alignment (which makes sense given you're doing it for leg problems... Let us know how it works!)

I do a vinyasa flow class twice a week (75 minutes, not super hard but breaks a sweat and leaves me a little sore the next day) and have one extra packet afterwards. It's also probably an hour or so after I eat breakfast. I don't find that I need any extra carbs. I'd try one extra packet ( maybe half before and ha
F after) and see how you feel with that. You might even try 2 extra since 2 hours is a lot.

I'm going back to my kettlebell class (1 hr long) & possibly a kickboxing class. Even though I go to gentle yoga & take an intense riding lesson (horse) every week I have become flabby. I'm in a stall and have only been dropping 1lb a week. Which I'm happy that I am still losing but, at 1lb a week and 25 to go it will take me over 6 mths!! FYI - I searched out some knowledgeable IP peeps on here and was told to have a protein pack before and after excercising.

Thank-you sooo much--this is going to be so helpful!

You're welcome! Hope you enjoy it! I've never tried Iyengar so I'll be interested to hear how you like it and how your energy level is! Good luck

Experimenting with a little bit more exercise this week. My month two loss was roughly 4 pounds, which was a little bit disheartening, and not only do I want to shake things up a little, I could really use an 'outlet' (I've been job hunting unsuccessfully since the summer and it's been more and more stressful as time passes).

Typically I walk the dog for about 30 minutes a day (very leisurely) and do yoga about twice a week. I have a gym membership just for the yoga classes and today I went to the gym to use the elliptical. I ended up doing 30 minutes an a 5 minute cool down with no problem. Not anywhere near the intensity that I would do under 'normal' circumstances, but still felt good.

I did try some weight training but after a few minutes I felt way too weak to continue, so I just got back on the elliptical. I suppose I could use lighter weights but I don't really see the point of doing that, so I'll continue yoga for strength and the walks/elliptical sessions for cardio and see how that goes.