Hi All,

I am so glad to have found this site! Dedicated, committed and caring people sharing great information and support --love it!

I have been on IP since the beginning of December and have lost 17lbs. This past week was the toughest as we had a lot of social outings with my worst temptation of all -- booze (oh, how I love my wine!). I allowed myself a glass on NYE and another NY's Day -- but other than that, have stayed the course and kept OP during the holidays. Whew! Glad they are over. ;-)

I need some clarification about exercise and am hoping some of the IP vets here can help me out. Is exercising permitted while on Phase 1? My coach is discouraging any form of cardio or resistance training (weights) during this Phase. I am really concerned about not exercising for several months --this totally goes against everything I have been taught about good health and wellness. I am by no means a workout freak, but my husband I do enjoy hiking with our dogs daily and I cannot give that up. I find that my strength and stamina have been affected since following the IP protocol.

Any suggestions or advice?

Thanks!
Kiera

Every coach is different I have found out (even in the same town) Mine says walking only and do not work up a sweat because your body will start producing sugar and burn that isntead of fat.

We have been lifting some weights and walking. My friend at work, her coach told her she could still run 2-3 miles a day and do Hot Yoga. She does not eat anymore than what I do because her coach didn't tell her too... well she isn't losing much. Not sure if because she isn't eating enough or what.

I am sure many others will have more to tell you, I am sticking with the no excercise because I didn't do it much before because of hip and ankle problems and so far I am losing consistantly each week.

May change in the future when I lose less, I was told on Phase 2 I could start exersising more.

Here's the scoop:

When you're on IP, you have no glycogen stores from which to draw energy. And you are operating on a pretty significant calorie deficit (600-900 calories per day on average).

For most people on IP, exercise at anything other than a non-heartrate-raising rate is too much without supplementing with more food. ANY form of exercise (light walking, light yoga, housecleaning, yardwork, etc) should be followed up with an extra packet within 1/2 hour of the activity, to give your body that extra fuel it needs to aid in muscle recovery.

That said, some who were active prior to IP were able to exercise at a higher intensity level and just balance it with additional food - 1/2 a restricted before exercise plus an extra packet afterward, maybe an egg or two. You really should NOT do a strict phase 1 with no extras and exercise intensely, you will deplete your body.

If it makes you feel good to be active, there's no reason not to try adding back in light to moderate exercise - just listen to your body, be sure to give your body additional fuel, and pay attention to what happens after you've done it for a week or two. If your weight loss stalls, you are overly fatigued/dizzy, or you just don't feel right it might be a sign to back off a bit.

Thanks, Calisto and Scorbett, for your responses. The info has been very helpful. Since I have been active, I don't want to give that up. So, I am going to follow your advice and supplement with an add'l packet. Will see how that goes.

My husband (who is a lifetime athlete and fairly knowledgeable about nutrition) advised that I should up my calories/protein with additional packets. He also suggested I ask about following another Phase or Alternate Plan. I don't want to do that right now as my results have been so good up to this point. May consider that later.

Will keep you posted. Thanks, again!

Take this with a total grain of salt because I'm new to this diet too, but I re-upped my exercise program at the same time that I started the diet. My coach seems to be fine with exercise, but suggests weight training over cardio. I've been swimming, running, cycling, doing yoga and weight lifting. I was a fairly experienced, if slow, endurance athlete a year ago, but have been couch sitting (or desk sitting) for the last year. With the exercise, I.... Feel... Awesome. I've been feeling stronger than I have for awhile, and running faster (Not that I was fast to start with). My usual cardio is 40-75 minutes, and I try to work out 4-5 days a week right now. I usually have 4-5 packages on those days, and am looking for a good sub for one of those packages to save money. I've started including an egg after the longer cardio.

First week, lost 1.6 pounds, second week, lost 4+ pounds, Christmas had a melt down binge for two days - gained 2 back, this week I think is gearing up to be another 3-4 pound loss. I'm not losing fast, but I can see the inches come off. So, just my personal experience - it wouldn't suprise me if you lost weight faster by not exercising, but I feel so much better and less stressed when I am exercising and getting stronger.

There is an athlete's protocol, which may be worth looking into if you notice a stall in losses by just adding packets to the regular protocol. There are definitely options for you to find that happy medium between the diet and exercising!

Ditto what Scorbett said. My coach told me absolutely no exercise in the 1st 3 weeks of P1, but after that I could incorporate walking...nothing strenuous and no weight lifting.

I used to exercise alot before IP and I am feeling tight since I don't regularly exercise. The times that I have tried to increase my workouts, I have felt terribly lightheaded and dizzy and hypoglycemic during/after.

I plan to start training for a 5K once I reach P3.

I'm relatively new to IP, but I'll add my experience in here just as a data point for you. I was pretty sedentary the first two weeks on IP. I had been used to biking at a medium intensity for 30 minutes 3-5 times per week, and fairly frequent scuba diving. I started diving in my third week on IP and was completely exhausted the first day after two hour long dives. I started adding a protein bar between my two hour long dives and then ate lunch within about an hour of the second dive. Sometimes I'll split the bar and have half between the two dives and half after the second dive. I feel terrific! I'm honestly less exhausted in the afternoons than I used to be after diving. I think part of it is that my body is actually getting more nourishment even though I'm eating less (there are no chips, no beer, no wine, no breads, etc. in my diet any more), part is that I'm taking vitamins routinely, and part is that I'm carrying around ten less pounds on my body.

I think the key is to listen to your body. You'll know what you need to do to adjust the diet to your needs.

Oh, I'm envious of you! In my younger days my exercise came from playing sports, but after various knee and wrist injuries, it is just mind-numbing machinery for me. I started swimming because i found that I have to concentrate more on form and technique or else I start breathing in water plus I only need to be motivated to keep going at the end of each lap.

My coach told me that I could keep up any exercsie that I was already doing..so I continued to do cardio the whole time on IP...however adding packets would be a good idea if you start getting symptoms.

Give it time! It gets easier and easier over time. Also, if you have open water near you during the summer, I highly recommend that. Swimming in lakes, rivers, and oceans makes the endless laps a lot more entertaining This is coming from someone who 4 years ago didn't like getting deeper than knee high in open water, and who was never a swimmer as a kid. Just keep at it

Thanks to all for the feedback and suggestions! It does make sense to me that you need to be careful about strenuous workouts while on this program since it is so low carb/calorie, however, I cannopt accept not exercising at all.

I didn't follow what the coach said and have been keeping up with my exercising and daily "hill walking" (that's what my Irish family calls hiking) -- and have done just fine so far. So my motto is to stick with what is working! ;-) For those longer, more strenupus weekend walks, I will be sure to add an extra packet or take along a bar. Thanks, again!

I second keeping doing what you are already doing! Listen to your body and a bit of additional fuel (packet, egg, protein powder) will be good if you feel necessary.

I am a runner, hiker, snowboarder and gym rat. I continued doing what I was already doing when I began. I certainly noticed the difference during the first week, but now I feel great! If you are already active, I can understand not feeling very well when you AREN'T exercising! I get very grumpy and short when I haven't been running or to the gym!

I have a much longer journey than most, so I have not added exercise yet. I have noticed though that I feel so good that I want to do exercise.

So, with my doctor's and coach's clearance, I am starting on just 10 minutes of walking a day and up to 15 minutes of very light yoga, nothing to raise my heart rate too much. I was told that if I feel weak or tired or hungry, have egg whites and more unrestricted veggies instead of an extra packet. They are an unrestriced protein and a good carb and will help. I also make sure to get lots and lots of water.