Hi I'm 32, a mom of 2 (3 yo and 9 mo), I work full-time out of the house and am married.

I started IP 7ish weeks ago 7/3 and have lost 23 lbs to date.
+I've lost 50 lbs total since I had my 9 mo.
+I am now able to fit into all my pre-pregnancy clothes and am a size 16 (from an 18/20).
+I like eating vegetables now!
+This is the longest I've maintained a diet my entire life.
+This is the first time in my adult life I am certain I will lose all the weight.
+I'm a few lbs shy of my lowest adult weight.

I have 40 lbs to go and am quite excited to get there this year yet. I was having issues with cheating (a few crackers, a bite of ice cream, a nutrigrain bar). I was able to get by with it for a few weeks, but now I can't, so I've been pretty good on plan (ok occasionally I have an extra IP meal in a day, and occasionally it's an R food - but I'm working on it!).

Since I've been over weight my entier adult life and I've had two full-term babies (8 1/2 lbs and 9 1/2 lbs) I've got that apron of lower belly skin. I didn't realize how bad it was until I started to lose weight! It's annoying! I wondered if anyone had experience with it getting better over time?

Has anyone done any form of exercising? I was thinking about joining a yoga studio. I was also thinking about running a few days a week - like 2 - 3 miles only. My coach said I could run, just to add another packet. Has anyone done so?

I was introduced to IP when 3 co-workers did it over the last few years. They lost 40 - 90 lbs. One has kept most of it off and two gained 1/2 to most of it back. It's sad for me to see them have gained it back and worrisome too. My major concern is for that to not happen to me!

I've not started exercising yet (still in the beginning stages of p1 and have a long way to go so im not looking to get too crazy with exercise) BUT for abs yoga and Pilates would be the best choices....

As for your co-workers who gained back 1/2 the weight they lost, they just didn't learn that they would never again be able to eat as they did before they lost the weight. All of us here became over weight for one reason or another, and one of the biggest causes for the majority of us i would guess is b/c our eating was out of control...If you consider this a "life style adaption" and are able to continue on with the phase 4 rules the "majority" of the time you shouldn't see 1/2 the weight you lost coming back on.

I am in week 2, and am a dedicated spinner. My coach discouraged me, but I do it more for my sanity than anything else! When she realized I was going to ride 1x per week for the next 2 weeks (before I go back to 3x per week) she told me to have an IP packet within 30 minutes after finishing so I wouldn't lose lean muscle. We'll see how it goes, but I am going to keep on spinning!

Honestly, I would discourage high intensity exercise in Phase 1. I did exercise in P1, but it was a weightlifting class 3x/week (Bodypump) and walking 2-3 miles at a leisurely pace (walking w/my son to the park), nothing that got me huffing, puffing. I jumped the gun and took up running in P2 and it was awful, got dizzy, couldnt focus my eyes, had a stall out (see my stats, usually you continue losing in P2). Phase 3 is when you should really bump up the intensity. If you are looking to "tighten up" I would think weights, yoga, or Pilates would be great.

I timed workouts to have my extra IP beforehand and dinner soon afterwards. Once I hit goal I was able to REALLY exercise, I ran a half-marathon in under 2-hours (a long time dream), and was starting to get pretty cut from Crossfit....of course I am now 37 weeks pregnant! Still exercising during my pregnancy.

i waited till i was done P1 to get serious about exercise. I think that a good way to do it because you can follow the diet exactly and don't have to add extra packets.

I have been exercising now for almost two years. I started before I went on a diet. When I was on IP, I continued strength training, but abandoned cardio. I am generally doing Jillian Michaels 30 min a day 5-6x a week. But even on IP, I never had less than 1100-1200 calories. I was doing Body Revolution Phase I, which is not too intense. I ate extra packages.

There is ample experience that you will slow down weight loss (I am not sure about inches) when you work out on IP. I just made the personal decision that being in shape and looking toned is more important to me than loosing scale weight. So, I adjust diets as I do not want to loose the muscles I gained. If you go with the 800-900 cal IP version, you will not be able to build muscle, though. So, if you have not exercised before, yoga, maybe pilates, swimming and walking are probably best. I think adding some daily exercise activity that you then can escalate once you are at goal will be helpful for maintaining weight loss.

Have been on IP since Jan 10th, that's just a tad over 7 months now. Began exercising around the 8th of April. I had lost 31.6 pounds at my weigh in on April 4th. Now registering a total loss of 63.7 lbs.

My exercise is not intense..but has helped with toning and mindset this is a daily ritual. I do light cardio (recumbant bike 5 miles in 30 minutes) 3 days a week and a weight and strength circuit training the 3 opposite days. Sunday I take the day off.

65x65 are you on P1? Congratulations on your terrific success!

Thank-you...yes I am!!

My initial goal was to hit 65 lbs off by my 65th B-day which is 8/26...so I'm hoping to lose a tad more than 1 lb this week to make that! A few more lbs before going into maintenance is also desirable. I've lost over 40 inches and went from a WP 16-18 to a size 2P now. Obviously things are slower on the scale readings now...but I've not had a week that I didn't lose something .....and at only 2 or 3 weigh-ins it was under the 1 lb. mark.... AND...........go figure it.......I'm an oldie!

Have many auto immune processes in my medical Hx including hypo-thyroid for over 35 years and a gluten sensitivity (both of my kids with full blown celiac). This diet's low glycemic threshold really works for me. Counting calories did not...I gained on WW and Jennie Craig .... plateaued on just about everything else tried in the last 15 years. It matters where my calories come from, and this has been easy for me because it is not hard to do something that works!!

I can do this long term. I like the veggies on the select list a lot... and salads. Always thought I ate a lot of salad...but now eat 2 heads of romaine a day...by myself!! I will be going on P2 soon...traveling a lot in September but it will be with family. P2 is easy and so similar to P1 and I've had great success with doing that in the middle of this whole thing. Dealt with a lot of family/aging parent issues and 2 long distance weddings, and a few trips with our own kids and grand kids. Always lost after every trip... Keeping that other meal to about 100-120 cals. allowed me to test my will power when others are eating things I won't be eating, like pizza and burgers. Being Gluten free for years already helps.

Good Luck to you! Once your head gets there..it's not hard to get the rest in line esp if you have struggled with other diets. My husband is amazed and would walk on his hands to get me my romaine these days!

Thank you for sharing your experience, I love your comment from your husband on another thread that he felt he was having an affair... It is nice to have an appreciate mate, great job!

Thank you thank you everyone!