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.
