Weight/Strength Training in Phase 2??

**happymeals** · April 28th, 2012, 11:34 AM

I'm 20 days into P2 on this round (I have successfully reached my goal weight in my last two rounds, and each time have ended up putting the weight back on when at the mercy of a retreat's "healthy" cooking for a month or so).

I'm a runner and I've done weights and pilates in the past, but each time I've done P2 I've stopped those. This time I've been running 2 or 3X a week and doing light weights / high reps. I've been stunned at how much energy I have -- I'd assumed I should be hoarding it and it turns out that I have almost as much stamina as before. I'm not trying to push myself too hard and I'm probably doing about 2/3rds of what I could do normally.

I'm not giving up the fruit or the breadsticks, as I have a feeling the calories involved aren't as crucial as whatever nutrients they're providing. Likewise, I doubt that a little more protein would stall me -- at least that hasn't been my experience.

I'm puzzled by what to do about protein, and I'm experimenting. I always add some, but some days it's just more chicken and others it's protein powder. How much extra? Good question. Maybe 30 or 40 grams? Is that enough? Not a clue. I seem to be losing the same amount on the days I work out on the days that I don't.

**Kocola** · June 19th, 2012, 08:52 AM

Hey guys thanks for the helpful posts!! I'm completly new to the HCG( starting is on Saturday). But I'm no newbie to working out and lifting weights. So can I clarify with you guys?.... So you said instead of eating the fruits or the bread for lunch and dinner replace that with a protein shake? How much of the shake were you guys drinking? And I think I will start off with 2 days a week for the weight lifting and see how I do then. So if I do that, should I eat fruits the days I do not make the shake, or continue with the shake even on days I do not weight lift?

Sorry for the blan questions, jsut want to follow as much as possibe, but still add weights in there.Help..lol

**felicidad** · August 31st, 2012, 09:09 PM

Instead of watching TV all day Saturday and Sunday, I plan active weekends. I go to the park, take a walking tour, ride my bike, or row a boat.

**bigjoe** · October 27th, 2012, 02:33 PM

Thanks for the Info ... I think I like to start walking then hitting the treadmill.

**sakorox** · April 6th, 2013, 09:17 PM

I'm glad these threads are out there because this whole protocol can bring up crazy motivations (aka, lifting more than a fork!) and many questions along with it.

I have done many different rounds of this diet over the course of a year or more. I didn't start exercising until the last round (how cliché: right after New Years). I've been DYING for the motivation to get a gym membership & USE IT for more than a decade, and I noticed when I was on the VLCD I would have so much healthy energy that I began wanting to work out. Lets face it, we can lose a ton of weight but the skin and saggy muscles remain. I started a round after NYE this year and basically started working out the same day. I was nervous that I wouldn't have enough energy but was shocked to find I had a ton. I work out in the morning, SUPER early (4:30am). I began by doing cardio mainly, just to test my endurance and see if I would stall. Cardio didn't seem to have any effect on my losses or gains. When I started to lift weights, I noticed I was always hungry and definitely not losing... but not gaining either. I started to notice that extra layer of fat start to burn off and OH MY ....Muscles were forming! I strongly believe that working out, even if its just some cardio, will help to boost your loss in INCHES. I started noticing my pants getting looser. I finished the round with major loss in inches and still lost about 10lbs (which is a lot considering I've done a lot of rounds and don't typically lose as many lbs as I did in my first couple rounds).

I have had about 8+ weeks off the diet and have continued working out 5-6x/week. I've been able to MAINTAIN my loss a lot easier with exercise. I'm getting ready to go on vacation next month so I'm starting another round this week and plan to continue my level of activity. I've been doing some High Intensity routines and I think this is where I will notice a change in energy once I lower my calories. Ill keep everyone posted about my progress, as I'm really excited to see if I can lose that LAST 10lbs and continue to build muscle at the same time.... or at least cut the fat and make my new little muscles pop out more!

My advice: If you have been working out before the diet, continue. If you're starting up on both diet and exercise, start out the workouts slowly and see what happens! I would sometimes have a few scrambled egg whites after the gym and felt good until lunch. Either that, or any extra apple.

Happy toning!!!

**alystar** · April 14th, 2013, 09:17 PM

I'd love to hear more about people's (those whom are continuing a regime of exercise, even limited or lessened, NOT those starting a new one) stalls and losses?

Any more empirical data out there? SHARE!!

For me: This is Day 3 of low cal on my second round of HCG (with a two year stint between - I kept the weight off within 4 lbs over those two years but could never get more than 6 lbs below final HCG weight going paleo, speedwalking and weightraining!!) and as I'd been doing the Slow Burn Method of strength training for several months (highly recommended), I really want to continue. I just can't fathom giving up activity, even/especially leisure walking (5.5 miles yesterday - speaking of which, I saw a 1.5 drop after walking the 5.5, but don't yet know my normal daily loss) but I'm REALLY AFRAID of stalling or not being able to maintain in phase 3.

So lay your data on me!

Also, what brand protein shake are you using?

And I guess I need to research the carb portion more. I can't fathom eating refined white flour melba toasts, when the rest of my food is organic! Brown Rice Crackers, maybe.

**Sitori** · April 25th, 2013, 12:58 PM

Hey! I'm so glad I found this thread!! I've done SO many rounds I cant even count them. I've been doing HCG before anyone even really knew about it. lol. I'm pretty shocked at how huge its become. Anyway...I started out my first round needing to loose 15-20lbs. I lost 18 after my first 2 rounds and was good...until I would start gaining again..then I'd do another short round to get back down...and I've pretty much been doing that for years. I stopped for about a year and was fine until 2 wicked PMS months gained me 10lbs, and I've recently put on another 5. So I'm not back to the starting line again, trying to loose the 15 again.

I started my round 2 weeks ago..so I'm currently in the middle of p2. I've always exercised and ALWAYS find that light-moderate cardio helps in losses. Here's the thing, there's a fine line before you push too much and you end up stalling. I found in my previous rounds that if I jogged anywhere from 1/2 to 2 miles I would be good with the losses. I've always added extra protein, whether its extra chicken or extra fish or extra lean beef.

I started the Insanity program a month ago. I was pretty nervous about doing it over p2 because of the intensity of it. I'm almost positive my losses haven't been good due to that. If you burn too many calories, your body holds on to everything you consume plus the fat stores because it thinks youre going into starvation mode. Weight training will cause water retention which can also hold up your losses(but are usually not permanent).

I always drink 1-2 protein shakes a day for the added calories plus extra protein since these Insanity programs are geared to burn 500-800 calories per workout. Yes insane they are. lol. I love it though!

I'm still playing around with the workouts and figuring out which ones help me loose and which ones make me stall. I think today I'm actually going to go for a run instead of doing my program, and see if it gives me a loss tomorrow. Today I woke up to a stall after doing an intense plyometric cardio circuit yesterday.

So from my experiences....cardio will help in losses if it's not too instense and heavy strength training will make you stall.

Does anyone here use the Ketone strips to measure ketosis ?

**Sitori** · April 26th, 2013, 05:48 AM

Originally Posted by weightsnut

Hi all! I am considering replacing bread and fruit with protein, as I am lifting 5 days per week, 1 bodypart per day. I am extremely sore for at least 2 days so I know my recovery is lacking. Are those of you adding protein doing a whey isolate shake post workout? I read of 1 user adding protien before bed. Which would be better? Thanks in advance!

Buy a Glutamine supplement. I just got mine last week. It comes in powder form and you put a scoop in your protein shake or whatever you want to mix it with. It stops the lactic acid buildup in your muscle which is the soreness youre feeling...it stops muscle breakdown, boots immune system and is REALLY good for you. You can order it online. The second I started using it, I am no longer sore regardless of how intense my workouts are. Its great!!

**Sitori** · April 26th, 2013, 05:50 AM

Update....yesterday instead of doing my Insanity workout, I ran a somewhere around 1.3 miles, maybe 1.5. Today I am down 2.5lbs!!!!

So yes, my theory is proving to be correct. Too much intensity whether cardio or strength training will make you stall or gain. Just the right amount of cardio, or possibly light weights(not tried this yet), will give you a loss. =)

**elianam** · April 30th, 2013, 06:33 AM

I do powerlifting (and have been before I started this current round) and am trying to lose just this last bit of fat - apparently I have somewhere between 30-33% bodyfat at 130 lbs (I'm short), so I am on day 7 of p2 and this is my 5th round. I kinda scrapped the prescribed diet all together (after following it to a T for the past year!) because I now do powerlifting and need as close to 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. So for this round, my daily diet is:

12 oz. chicken breast (roasted in homemade chicken stock, no oil - 78g protein, 360 calories)
1 scoop protein powder in water (18g protein, 110 calories)
1 cucumber (2g protein, 45 calories)

For a total of 497 calories per day, and 98g of protein per day.

On lifting days I add another protein drink right after lifting, bumping me up to about 605 calories per day and 117g of protein. My recovery isn't great (DOMS still occurs), but I am still continuing to add weight to my lifts each time and I'm still losing pounds on the scale, so far I've lost 3 lbs in 7 days (although, not as fast as previous rounds, which I expect because I know I am gaining muscle.). I don't trust the scale anyway because my goal is to lose bodyfat, not bodyweight. At the end of this short 23 day round, I will do my measurements and check my bodyfat again to see how it worked, but my weight is not going to be an accurate gauge of fat loss because I lift such heavy weights.

I know this is off protocol.

But I am ok with that for myself, as I am very close to goal and I want to get stronger and gain muscle.

**jessica16** · May 2nd, 2013, 08:47 PM

what kind of whey powder are people taking?? im am starting R2 P1 on may 11th and do a 30 min circuit class (mostly lifting) cardio burst in between. 2x per week. plus yoga 2x i was going to stop taking the circuit class and do more yoga but see that a lot of people still lift!! so what do i do ? add more protein? or see how i feel after class! I ordered Slim replacement shake from triumph it has 8g protein per scoop and i can have 2 for a meal. will that be enough to rebuild muscle??!!

**Carolina** · September 12th, 2013, 02:49 PM

I am glad to have found this thread.

I started heavy barbell work a couple of months ago, and I am wondering about continuing the routine while on P2.

I have been doing compound lifts (squats, bench presses, overhead presses, bent over rows, assisted pull-ups, and deadlifts), 5 sets of 5 repetitions, rotating e exercises per workout, 3x/week.

I was thinking of continuing the routine, but doing only 2x/week, with lower weights, fewer sets, and more reps. That's what a trainer friend advised me to do.

Any ideas?

I don't plan on altering the food plan if I don't need to.

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