I think if exercise still feels like a chore you’re not really ready for it. If you’re really not willing to wait until you can’t stand the thought of sitting still (it actually does happen!) then I would be really careful to just do gentle movement like walking or a gentle stretching/yoga routine rather than focused exercise. I think one of my biggest takeaways from Matt has been to LISTEN to those signals the body is sending (like cravings and resistance to exercise). When you do start exercising I think I remember reading you should monitor body temps closely the day or two after to make sure you haven’t done too much and spiked your temps through stress hormones rather than metabolism boosting.
I do understand the fear of gaining weight and apart from just accepting it as part of the process I don’t really know what (if anything) can be done to mitigate it without compromising the process. I know I’ve gained a lot, I just happen to have timed my recovery journey along with a pregnancy so people expect me to be gaining weight and taking things fairly easy. I am VERY curious to see what happens after I’ve had the baby (due in a week, SO READY).