Anyone exercising regularly? Love to exercise? Want to talk about it?

I LOVE exercise! It's driving me crazy that I'm not supposed to work out right now. It has never helped me lose weight (even when I had a personal trainer, no luck) but I still love it. Walking, kettlebells, and turbokick are my favorites. I look forward to getting back to it.

How long do we have to wait? I definitely don't want to mess up and burn muscle. I like muscle.

I have done complete IP with a coach in the past and at that time the advice given to me was nothing for the first 3 weeks then I could walk but not get out of breath. I did not do anything more strenuous than that, but frankly it almost pushed me off the plan. I could hardly stand it.

I am personally doing the Alternative plan this time around because I have to exercise and I KNOW it is good for my body. To each there own, but for me this isn't just about getting smaller numbers on the scale. There is so so so much good that comes from exercising that I will NOT ever give it up again just to see the numbers drop more quickly. Especially for women, weight bearing exercise is extremely important. I strive to be healthy not just thin.

I am so glad to find another person that loves to workout on this board. I love to read about it, talk about it, research it, do it!! Looking for like minded people and people to motivate and support and to receive that also.

How far are you into your IP journey? Are you doing strict IP with a coach? or using Alternative Products?

After my first month on IP I added back in light strength training 3x/week. This was a far cry from my heavy lifting, running, and yoga (I exercised 6 days per week with one rest day). But, it's worth it in the end. At least you can get some exercise in!

There's a thread I think it's C25K peeps. Those are all IPers following the couch to 5K program.

Yay another workout lover! Yes there is a C25K. Nice people there and I follow it and contribute. I was just hoping to also find a group that exercised daily and loved to discuss it as much as I do. Or others that wanted to share motivation and support.

I am in my first week, and I have 80-100 pounds to lose. My plan is to take it week by week. I'd rather be larger and fit than skinny and unfit, but I do need to get to a healthier weight before I consider jumping back in, or switching to the alternative plan. I've eaten healthy before without results so I know I need to stick with something drastic for right now. I am using alternative products, no coach. My husband questions that approach and thinks I'd be better off switching to the clinic. We shall see. Week one ends tomorrow.

Good luck with your weigh-in tomorrow! How has your first week went?
Yes you probably want to wait at least a few weeks to let your body become more adjusted to the plan. Be careful and listen to your body is you do decide to exercise.

I found that despite watching my calories and working out a LOT I wasn't losing any weight. Looks like we're on the same there. This diet was the best thing I ever did. It's nice to see my gains at the gym now too..I probably flex in front of the mirror way more than I should when I'm at the gym. Hehe! I tried running last week too and I was blown away by how much better I was (which obviously makes sense seeing as I'm not carrying around a bunch of excess weight). Can't wait to get back to my usual exercise regime though.

It's been almost too easy. The thing I struggle with the most is taking all the vitamins. I'm not one to take pills (even for a headache) and now these big supplements have me gagging. It literally took me 3 hours to get them down today. No signs/struggles pertaining to ketosis. Day 2-headache, day 3-sick. I lost 2lbs/day for 1-3 and a 1/2 pound since day 3. But 6 1/2 pounds and 3" in week 1 ain't so bad.

Tell me more about your workout regimen and schedule. How old are you if I may ask? I am coming off any injury so just slowly increasing my running again and back in yoga. Been hit and miss with weight training since restart. Ready to hit it hard again!

Simplchaos and boyz4us, exercise was also a big question for me. I am going to write a longer post because I think it would have helped me when I started.... maybe there will be a few things that will help.

I had a great coach who encouraged me to do whatever I wanted (in regard to exercise) once I felt up for it. They said the first 3 weeks no exercise for sure (light walking ok) but after that would be OK based on my desire. My coach is also a nurse practitioner at my doctor's office, and the doctor supervised the whole thing, so I got a lot of really good medical advice. They weren't so married to protocol in the sense that if there was something to adjust for my particular circumstance they would, but I stuck pretty close to 100% (the adjustments were in adding IP packets or not for the most part). I have lost about 80 lbs on Ideal Protein over the last year, went through P2/P3 last month, and now have been in p4 for 2 weeks.

I have just seen Kimo88 post a few times in another thread, but I think we have a kinship in similar stories to some extent, as my exercise experience was similar to what she describes above.

For me, this is what happened, and it worked well for me:
1. The first two months I had big losses and was only able to do walks, sometimes up to an hour, but this is much less than what I was doing before, which was a lot of hot yoga and heavy duty weights and cardio.
2. After that my weight loss slowed to 1 or 2 lbs a week, maybe 4 or 5 lbs a month. At that time I started to feel more energy, and just naturally wanted to do more - hiking more strenuously, swimming, hot yoga, etc. - this actually resulted in faster weight loss/inches, so it also didn't scare me.
I added in an extra bar or drink at that time, and again, it didn't slow weight loss. I only did it on the days I did something active. My coach actually said if I was going to do a lot I could add in a baked potato (plain) instead of the extra packet, but I never did that, as the extra packet seemed to work fine and something about the potato made me nervous, so I just trusted that instinct. Looking back on it I think it actually would have helped me. They had another (male) patient who was successful and lifted weights the whole time, and he did the potato.
Basically I did what I could while staying within protocol, with the option of the extra packet. If I exercised enough that I felt light headed at the end of the day, I knew I had pushed further than my body/organs etc. could handle with the amount of calories I was giving it, so I learned not to go that far. My body was very clear with me what I could and couldn't do, and I listened to it and trusted that. There was a like a wall that I would hit, it would clearly feel like "I'm done" and then I would stop. That would sometimes happen at night too - maybe I would be working around the house on something - cleaning or whatever - and then around 8:30 this "I'm done" feeling would come, and I would just trust that and lay down for the night.

I personally did not think I could do weights, as it sapped my energy too much, so I didn't. After a while my routine was hot yoga 3 to 5 times a week, 1 hour fast walk/hike on hills the other days.
I had a lot of energy to do all of this.
3. After about 8 months, I was about 15 lbs to goal, and started to feel very depleted and also about to start the holidays, and my weight loss had slowed to 2 to 3 lbs a month. My doctor said that adding some oil and fat sometimes actually helps speed weight loss at this point, and I did that. Per their suggestion, I added 2 tsp oil and actually some cheese here and there (about 1 0z per day) and sometimes an extra packet, and ate more red meat (higher fat) than I had been. My weight loss didn't increase any faster but I did keep losing weight slowly, and I think it helped me stay on program at a point where I started to get really bored with it. I was still able to exercise as I noted above.

4. After 10 months, I was about 5 to 7 lbs from goal, and started to feel extremely low energy. The doctor felt that perhaps my goal was too low, and I could stop if I wanted, but we decided together that mentally I just needed to see if there was any more weight to lose, so I had no regrets. Under their supervision and direction, I stopped all exercise for 30 days, cut out the extra ip packet and oil and did very few restricted foods. This made me miserable and I couldn't do anything but work for eight hours and go home and sit on my chair.
5. After 3 weeks of that I called and said "this isn't working". They said there was a good chance that I would lose weight in P2 and p3, and we decided to start p2. That week didn't really help much with my energy (still was very depleted) because it's not that different from p1 to be honest, so after still feeling miserable for a week I called and asked if I could start p3 early, and they said because I likely waited too long to do p2 anyway, that it would be fine for me. I did lose 1 lb that week of p2.
6. After 3 days of p3 I had all my energy back and was able to go back to the workout routine easily, and felt strong. I lost 2 more lbs during p3.
7. I have been in p4 for 2 weeks and have lost another 1lb. For some reason I didn't gain the 3lbs glycogen, I'm not sure why, but I'm not going to worry about it. I think it might be because I was able to go back to my workouts.

For me, keeping going with the exercise was really important for my overall well being, it helps my mental state tremendously, and also made me feel like I was keeping everything toned up and functioning - I wouldn't have wanted personally to not do that for a year. I think everyone is different. I think what did change for me, is I "unlinked" exercise from weight loss/control and began to see exercise for what it is - something to do for my health and strength, but unrelated to the loss itself. I.e. if I didn't work out I wasn't going to gain weight per say, but I just wasn't going to feel as good. I have a tendency toward compulsion when I get nervous about something, for example weight, so it was good for me to "unpattern" that part.

Hopefully this is helpful!
Good luck!
p.s. I'm 47 years old, and have been exercising most of my life, and actually eating relatively healthy with the occasional stress binge episodes or days - finally figured out the extent of my carb/insulin sensitivity by doing this diet - it's been a miracle for me. I had genuinely tried everything, and given it my best shot. I was always about 20 lbs overweight unless exercising heavily and very low calories/carbs, and then in my late 20s started a pattern of losing 10 lbs and gaining another 20 every year or so, until I was just very overweight and so diet fatigued I could hardly stand it, and my metabolism and hormones and pancreas and sleep/cortisol were basically shot to ****. This was the first thing in 20 years that actually worked. I am able now on maintenance to eat foods that for 20 years would for sure have made me gain weight overnight in the past. For the first time it feels like my body is actually metabolizing and digesting the food properly and efficiently - before it just felt like it got stuck and weighed me down, no matter how healthy or how few calories... And now, the health aspect it just so calming and satisfying. I am truly so grateful. Now to focus on maintenance... the next challenge, willingly accepted.
Good luck!!!

I strength train 2-3 times a week (dumbbells) and Couch to 5K or a 15ish minute mile walking 3 days a week.

Does it harm weight loss? Yes, it CAN - because there are several factors at play within the IP protocol. You are taking in sufficient calories and carbs to support existing and light movement in a normal day for the average person. Once you introduce an elevated heartrate you are looking at starving your body of essential nutrients for recovery of the muscles that you use. You risk electrolyte imbalance if you aren't hydrating properly, and IP is very low sodium in comparison to pre-packaged diets that most of us enjoyed prior to the program. Then there is starvation mode when the body will absolutely refuse to give up fat stores when it perceives there is famine to cope with.

The simple outlook - be smart about introducing exercise. Make a conscious effort to listen to what your body is telling you when you work out, how it feels AFTER you work out and what you feel during recovery. Take a day out between strenuous exercise (classed as more than 75% exertion) and make sure you rehydrate, rebalance electrolytes and add in extra packets to cope with the caloric burn from physical activity. It won't hinder loss, it will actually help keep the muscle developing at the same time as your body is burning fat.

The time I first lost my weight with IP I was going to a coach at a clinic very similiar to yours. We got much the same advice. The coach and I are both RN's, friends, and both love to run and workout so she TOTAllY got me!! This go around I am doing on my own, with alternative products and alternative protocol. What the coach and I worked out last time served me so well that I refer back to that advice.
Thanks for the great response! So glad to find others that want to talk workouts

p.s. I loved Amanda's post above, more simply said than I did. It also reminded me that I drank a lot of electrolytes - I found a 0 calorie one, and I also drank 2 to 3 of the Mangosteen powders on heavy days, esp. in the summer.

Also maybe once a week or so, I'm not sure how often, I added 2 packets and rather than just the 1 packet. My coach knew I was doing this. It all seemed to work out, and I think it also helped me start to trust myself that I knew how much food/caloric intake my body needed, and that it was OK to trust when I genuinely needed more. The expense of the extra packets of course was a little concerning but if you are doing alternate products that will make it easier - I just looked at it overall financially as an investment in the my future health and well being, and it was indeed.

Wow Grateful4Health your coach sounds AMAZING! My clinic is very anti-exercise which makes it hard for me. I had to go by what I read on these forums and how my body felt. I'm with you on "unlinking" exercise and weight loss as those two things didn't coincide for me....it is nice to have reassurance of that fact. Changing the focus on exercise from weight loss to mental wellbeing really helps to make it easier to get a workout in since the feeling of wellbeing is an immediate response in my body...and I'm more inclined to do something if it yields quick results, which I'm sure is just human nature.

For all on here, on my workout days I always add an extra packet, unless it's something light like walking the dogs. I also make sure to drink a mangosteen powder with ideal salt in it. Last week I pushed myself at the gym and I paid for it. I gained 2 lbs on the scale and I was sore for 4 days after my leg workout..so I've scaled back this week. At least until I've phased off.