I dropped 45 pounds and gained a good amount of muscle over the course of 12 months using a simple no-gym-required regimen: Weight loss phase For the first 6

I dropped 45 pounds and gained a good amount of muscle over the course of 12 months using a simple no-gym-required regimen: Weight loss phase For the first 6 months or so I walked at least a mile a day - usually I just got up from my desk and circled my office complex at midday. It only took about twenty minutes. During this phase I ate lightly - small bowl of cereal every morning, dry garden salad at lunch, mid-sized dinner. Drank mostly water and black coffee (a few cups a day) with rare exceptions. I was heavily informed by BripBlap's "101 Thoughts on Losing 100 Pounds" here. [1] Muscle building phase For the second phase I added more protein to my diet and started exercising regularly: 3-4 bodyweight strength exercises on Monday/Wednesday/Friday with walking or tabata squats for cardio on off days. [2] The bodyweight exercises (and the walking for that matter) were key to helping me stick with the workout regimen. I could pull it off without needing to commute to a gym and often I didn't even have to shower afterwards so I was able to pull off a 15-20 minute low-intensity strength workout during work hours. The hokey-looking "King's Court" exercises peddled by Matt Furey helped me out here. [3] I also purchased a $20 pullup bar that I installed in my home to add a fourth bodyweight strength exercise to the King's Court. Maintenance phase Here is where I've rather screwed it up. I got overzealous about the strength conditioning and began eating more and more to cover the calorie / protein debt I was building up by doing so many pullups, pushups, and squats. I had visions of huge muscles! Unfortunately I came through the holidays in 2009 with a larger diet and a steadily shrinking exercise regimen. I'm now up to 190 pounds, walking a few miles a week, and only able to do 3-4 pullups in a single set. I'm resetting my goals now and just aiming to keep my weight down with a little bit of strength work where I can fit it in. I'd love to be chiseled but I am not quite able to give up the simplicity of my earlier diet and low-impact workout phases. // Edited to add the grim realities of the maintenance phase // Bottom line: At age 27 I dropped from 220 pounds to 175 and I built up from 0 pullups and 5 pushups to 40 pullups a day and 30 pushups a day without a gym or a complicated diet. [1] http://www.bripblap.com/2007/101-thoughts-on-losing-100-pounds/ http://www.bripblap.com/2007/101-thoughts-on-losing-100-poun... [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nRgSFShqOU&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nRgSFShqOU&feature=relat... [3] http://www.cbass.com/Furey.htm http://www.cbass.com/Furey.htm