Hi just wondering if there any other crossfiters on IP? I know they kinda contradict each other but I can't give up my exercise!

Funny thing about crossfit is much like IP there is little control over the outlets so just like you can have a great coach or a less than great coach you can join an crossfit gym that is great or horrific.

As for combining crossfit and the IP diet it is quite simply a recipie for disaster. IP phase one doesn't provide enough calories to recover from an intense type of workout like crossfit so while you may or may not end up bonking in a workout you're definately not going to be recovered well which increases the chance of injruy significantly. Also, research indicates that too much exercise while in a PSMF can slow weight loss which probably has to do with cortisol but you can read more about it in this article if you wish.

If you're going to do crossfit I think you're better off just following their nutrtion plan which last time I checked was a paleo/zone combo. (I don't follow crossfit too closely so they may have changed)

I did CrossFit for two years. I really enjoyed it, but it is intense. You need more calories than IP is going to give you.

I workout 6x/week. I took a few weeks off when I started IP. Then I started back slowly with exercise and added an extra packet.

If you won't give up CrossFit, youl will need to not push as hard. You will feel the lack of carbs and calories. Listen to your body.

IMHO.

I would love to do crossfit, but as the others have said no way on IP. That's a recipe for disaster. However once at goal and I"m following a paleo diet for maintenance, then I might quit my gym and join a crossfit gym.

Hi Ella! yes, I do xfit and did through out my entire journey on IP. I usually WOD 4x per week and run 2x. I have not had any problems combining IP and Xfit. Actually, I feel like it helped because while I was burning fat, I was building muscle and now I am nice and toned. No flabby skin to speak of and I am a lot smaller than a lot of other people who weigh the same as me.

If you have been doing xfit, then I would say you should continue! You may need to scale back on your weights until you see how you feel doing it, but I feel like it has been a huge bonus for me. I also make sure I have an extra packet each day I WOD, immediately following exercise.

People will tell you "no way" "it's a bad idea" etc... because that is what has been drilled into their heads and they don't know any different. You have to try it for YOURSELF. I can only tell you my personal experience. But I do actually have experience to draw on.

Right from the get-go I told my coach that I was NOT going to give up exercise. I love it, and I worked too hard for it to become a habit to just give it up. She was on board with me and was the one who told me to have the extra packet. Additionally, the Dr. whose office IP is run through is a crossfitter and he knew that I was doing it too. When he asked me if I would be interested in IP, the first thing I said was "do I have to give up xfit?" and he said no.

Anyway, my own experience has been very successful in combining exercise and IP, and quite frankly, it has helped tremendously in maintenance as well. My suggestion to you is to try it and see how YOU feel. Go light at first, watch the intensity until you get a sense of how you feel doing it. The first week or so I went really light on weight and modified a bunch of movements, but then after that, my energy has been crazy and my WOD's improved.

Hi Jenny!!
OMG Thank you SO much for your reply... you have brought my confidence level up enormously. I LOVE LOVE crossfit, I can actually say I am addicted and proud I have been doing it for about 4 1/2 months and my weight has stayed the same, I even tried Paleo and still nothing. I've been on IP for about a week and a half now and still went to crossfit last week (3x) and felt absolutely fine. I also added an extra packet (not restricted) and my crossfit coach knows about my diet so he watches me carefully. So far I have lost about 7 lbs and this is the first time my weight has finally budged since my year long plateau! My favorite thing about crossfit is watching my body transform. I definitely want to be smaller but I love the muscle definition that crossfit is helping me pursue. I would love to hear more about your xfit journey and IP. Thank you so much for sharing!

I'm like Jenny.
I don't xfit, but I do intense bootcamp exercise 6 days a week. I had some soreness and tiredness the first couple of weeks, but after that I got the ketosis high and never really had any issues with intense exercise. I had been doing it for a few years before.

Once the fat went away I was pretty happy with how much muscle I had gained during those heavier years. I consider it an extended bulking phase lol...

Listen to your body. My friend who used to work out with me found the combo of ip and exercise caused intense hunger and decided to forgo the gym for weight loss. She's back at it now.

I have been doing Crossfit for almost 4 years. I love it! I am truly addicted as well. Before I found Xfit, and even IP for that matter, I had been running, cycling, etc... I have done marathons and triathlons. I had changed my diet, eating very healthy, cut out fried food, soda, sugar. Added nuts, veggies, fruit, greek yogurt, protein shakes, ezekiel bread. My weight NEVER changed.

Yes, xfit helped build muscle and shape my body, but I never lost weight. And I still had a layer of fat around the muscles I had built. The doctor I see is a sports and health doc and he is the one who has IP at his office. And goes to the same box as I go to. He is the one who actually thought IP would be a great fit for me. He knew that I was really frustrated that no matter what I was doing, even going to xfit 6x a week, no matter what I ate (or didn't!), I just could not lose weight.

He told me about IP and thought I would be a great candidate for it. So he got me started, told me to always make sure I had an additional unrestricted packet post WOD and closely monitored me.

One thing I noticed in my time on P1 is that I actually lost more on weeks that I exercised than on weeks I didn't. There were several instances when I was on P1 that I couldn't exercise for one reason or another, and those weeks are the weeks I lost the least. When I would resume my normal exercise schedule, I would have a good loss.

Since you have already been experimenting and you are already noticing drops in weight with IP + Xfit, then I would say continue. I think that the combination is working for you, like it did me. Plus once you get to goal, you will really notice the changes in your body.

Wow. This is an extremely naive response to a potentially serious issue.

Your advice to take it easy during WOD is a very good one because it is very easy to injure yourself doing Crossfit without being on a highly restrictive diet. I'd say you were lucky or have an excellent Crossfit gym that teaches great form.

My coach actually recommended crossfit to me. She said I have to wait until I finish my first month on the program and have an extra non-restricted item with me at the gym to consume immediately after the work out.

Hi, I am glad I found this thread. I started IP in May 2011 through Sept 2011, I lost 45 lbs. I stopped for a bit (lazy etc) and then in May 2012 started CrossFit. I wasn't losing weight b/c I wasn't following any type of diet. I just completed a Paleo Challenge through my box (gym) and lost 12 lbs (so I am back at a 42 lb loss). Although I lost weight on Paleo, I know IP works better with my body. The Paleo challenge was 9 weeks, so it wasn't a tremendous loss. I have a little concern b/c when I started IP last year, I was not active what so ever and that was fine, but being extremely active now, I am wondering how I will be in Phase I and staying active with CrossFit. I am going to add an extra packet after my wod's and go from there. I CrossFit 4-5 times a week. I am also going to talk to my coach about it and keep them in the loop, so I can be safe. Thanks for all the advice here!

Hi jennydoodle! So glad to hear there is someone here who has tried CF and IP. I've been on paleo for the last year and a half and doing CF for the last year 3-4 times per week. I decided to try IP to lose the last 40 pounds to get to my goal weight. My coach instructed me to give myself one week without CF to see how I felt and said I could return to my workouts depending on how I felt after the week. She didn't mention anything about adding an extra packet, but she did tell me to scale my weights and not do prescribed weight anymore. Do you still do prescribed weight? I definitely don't want to risk injury, but want to see progress and want to be toned without excess skin.

I don't do Xfit but I do bootcamp classes which are comparible to Xfit (I did Xfit for a while previously). I took the first 3 months on IP off from working out for fear of slowing my weight loss but now I am within 20 lbs of my goal so I have started back...At first I did find myself feeling dizzy and weak so I did some research and have now adopted a WOE called Targeted Ketogenic Diet...which simply means that I have a small carb snack 30 min before working out. They recommend 25-50g of carbs but I chose to only have 15g (toast) and it seems to be working great! I have plenty of energy and I feel strong throughout the workout. As far as I can tell I haven't been out of ketosis (no weight gain due to water/glycogen stores). I have a BMI scale and so far,watching the trends,it is showing me I have lost fat and gained muscle while remaining the same weight. I know that these scales aren't super accurate but I have been tracking the numbers since I started IP so I have a pretty good idea that my new plan is working for me...

Not sure if anyone has the answer to this but maybe John will jump in, would starting CrossFit on P3 be a high enough caloric intake to manage. I'm not sure that it really matters as I would probably be on P3 for a week at most (starting Sunday and haven't even talked to the local CF people yet). I just read an article about another guy with MS who's been doing it and seems to help quite a bit - http://www.crossfitkop.com/downloads/Multiple.pdf - and figured now that I have less weight to haul around I ought to try pushing or pulling a different kind.

I started a program similar to Xfit three months into IP. I added 6 oz of lean protein for lunch and an extra non restricted. I have plenty of energy and I feel great. I just finished my 12th week and I'm loving the results.