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Courtesy of In Utah This Week:

This week's Sexy in SLC says he hasn't always been sexy. Read how he went from a soft-shelled sweetie to hard-bodied hottie in the following Q&A.

We don't think you looked bad in your "before;" what made you want to change your body?

I was an athlete in high school and had been in pretty good shape most of my life, but somewhere between undergrad up till this last March I let myself fall into a rut of unhealthy eating and partying too much. I was always tired, unmotivated and felt "ugh" all the time. I also got random chest pains, and that scared me because I was only 25.

How would you describe the you in your "before" picture? In your "after" picture?

The me before can be described by the following list: Lazy, unmotivated, ate out four to five times pre week, drank way more than I should have, depressed, had just gotten out of an unhealthy relationship, didn't like the person I saw in the mirror -- inside and outside. Those were just a few things!

My "after" me is a total 180. I love life, am excited for the future, motivated, am in the best shape of my life, love what I'm doing, have a love of helping people.

How long did it take you to get in shape?

I committed myself to the P90X program. In 90 days, I lost 27 pounds and 12 percent body fat. I started on March 8, 2009 and haven't looked back.

What was your workout/diet plan?

I used the P90X program, which includes its own nutritional plan. I followed the nutrition plan semi-religiously and got awesome results. I wonder what would have happened if I followed it harder. The workouts aren't easy, but breaking bad eating habits is even harder. You have to really want it with P90X. It's serious, but fun!

Tell us how your life has changed.

My life has changed dramatically! Problems I used to have in the past went away as I started to get into shape. I used to have chest pains and back pains -- they're gone now. I used to be chronically fatigued, irritable, and moody (but wouldn't show it). Now I have more energy and the desire to do more and want more in my life. The program taught me discipline that I badly needed. I've been able to translate that discipline into other areas of my life and have had success because of it.

What advice would you give to someone who's feeling like they're not in shape?

Get off the couch and move! Find something -- anything -- that works for you whether it be biking, hiking, rock-climbing -- maybe it's P90X! It doesn't matter because when you start moving, you start burning calories and start telling your body to produce more energy. I find a lot of people saying they don't have the energy to workout. I felt the same way in my "before" photo. The key to having more natural energy now, I realize, is to give your body an excuse to produce more energy (i.e. workout) and feeding your body right (good nutrition). Finally, know that every day you choose to exercise and eat well, you're becoming more healthy, more energetic, more motivated, faster, stronger, more flexible, etc. That alone should be motivating enough. Health and wellness isn't a 90-day thing, it's a lifelong thing. Cheers to a New Year and hopefully, a new you!

Brian Hin is now an Independent Team Beachbody Coach and sells P90X, as well as other Beachbody programs.

The holidays are coming to an end, and I'd love to stay I stuck with my fitness program without missing a beat...but I didn't. I ate way too much on Christmas day and I indulged in one too many sweets. I tested a home made egg nog recipe and tried a vodka and tonic made with my husband's new carbonation device that he got for Christmas. I stayed up late eating cashew's and indulged in yet another cocktail. But knowing what I did, I awoke the following morning and hit that treadmill. I started the day with my Shakeology and ate like a pro. Sunday, I did more of the same.

There is no reason to beat yourself up after a bad day. We all have them. After all, none of us are perfect. But the reason why overweight people remain overweight is because they wallow in their condition. They figure, heck, I had a bad day yesterday, may as well have another today. This is why diets don't succeed as much as a lifestyle change does. Your body now knows, after you have been doing it right for month after month, that a bad day is just that...a bad DAY. Not a bad week, not a bad month, not a bad year. It is important that you see...that you REALIZE that it was a bad day and that the day will end...and in the morning, the sun will shine just a little differently. That is your clue to treat it differently. It is your clue that the bad day is over and now is the time to turn it around. Because the later you wait, the harder it is. It is this way for many obstacles that you face in your lifetime. It is better to start NOW to fix it than it is to wait. Waiting means you are weak. Waiting means that you are a procrastinator. Waiting means that in your own eyes, you are not worth the effort.

It is a new day. It is time to turn your life around. It is time to be the person you want to be. Because you, more than any other person in your life, can make this happen. You hold the key. You can begin your GOOD day today.

I know! The holidays. There is no other time when it is harder to watch your diet. The best advice I can give you is don't sweat it! Try a little of everything...but the key word is TRY. Don't indulge! Fill that plate just once with a heaping tablespoon of everything. Start with green foods and work your way to the brown foods...the more colorful, the better! Deserts? Split a cookie with a loved one. Opt for a sliver of two different kinds of pie. And enjoy a cocktail! Stay away from the colored liquors and have a vodka and soda instead. Even champagne is a great option! White wine or red wine is always a winner. Start with water so that your thirst is quenched and wait until the second hour at a party to start with the alcohol.

Walk when you have the chance! A quick jaunt around the block can do wonders. And if it is snowing, pull out the Twister game or the kids hula hoops, or walk the dog. Just 15-20 minutes of a heart engaging exercise will boost your metabolism enough to keep your indulgences from wrecking your waistline.

You are allowed to have fun! Just do it in moderation!

Merry Christmas and a happy healthy New Year to all my fitness friends!

If you have hit a plateau in your weight loss regimen, it is likely due to the source...your food intake. One of the best things you can do when you start a new lifestyle is measure your food. I know it sounds weird, but honestly, you have no idea what you are eating until it is laid out in front of you. America is known for overeating. In fact, there are more deaths in the US related to overeating than there are from not getting enough to eat. That says alot!

But what is a serving size?
Here is a good general guide.

Grains: 1 slice of bread, 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal, 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice or pasta (about the size of a 1/2 baseball).

Vegetables: 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables (about the size of a small fist), 1/2 cup of other vegetables or 1/2 cup of vegetable juice.

Fruits: 1 medium fruit (medium is defined as the size of a baseball); 1/2 cup chopped, cooked or canned fruit; or 1/2 cup juice.

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans and Nuts: 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish; 1/2 cup cooked dry beans; or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.

Milk, Yogurt and Cheese: 1 cup of fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt, 1 1/2 ounces fat-free or low-fat cheese.

I can’t possibly eat that many servings of vegetables, etc.!
Before you decide that you can’t eat as many servings of ANYTHING as suggested, think small fist, baseball, hockey puck and a computer mouse. These are all things that describe a “serving size.” The comparisons will help you eat more of the things you need and less of the things you don’t.

• One serving of raw leafy vegetables or a baked potato should be about the size of a small fist. A serving is a lot smaller than most people think.
• A cup of fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt, or a medium fruit should equal about the size of a baseball.
• A half a bagel is about the size of a hockey puck and represents a serving from the grains group.
• Three ounces of cooked lean meat or poultry is about the size of a computer mouse. Three ounces of grilled fish is about the size of a checkbook.
• A teaspoon of soft margarine is about the size of one die.
• An ounce of fat-free or low-fat cheese is about the size of six stacked dice.

Think about what you are served when you eat out. It is usually twice the amount you should be eating. Instead of polishing off your plate, do this:

Order and share an entree with a loved one.
Immediately ask for a box and pack away half for your lunch the next day.
Eating at home? Use a smaller plate! Choosing to use a salad plate rather than the standard dinner plate and filling it up once will cut your calorie intake in half!
Take your time eating! It takes a full 20 minutes for your head to realize that your stomach is full.

These are just a few small suggestions. Measuring and recording what you eat will help you realize at the end of the day what you put in your mouth. Try it! After a few months it will become second nature and you won't have to record it anymore!

I'm not much of a fashion diva. I used to be more into fashion when I was a career woman and was in the public eye on a day to day basis. But today, give me a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt and I'm a pretty happy person. Here in Minnesota, jeans are an essential for about 10 months out of the year, so I live in them. It is funny, but I had grown so accustomed to my jeans. I never really needed to buy new ones because my weight has not changed much within the past few years...until now that is. It finally hit me a week ago that I needed to buy a few belts. I haven't needed any of those either. My regular size Levi's can no longer be my "go to" jeans!

This morning as I went to put on a pair of those old "skinny" jeans, I realized that they are not my "skinny" jeans anymore! They no longer fit me like a glove. I can't even use a belt on them anymore without having them bunch up in the back. If I hadn't have put them on and looked at myself square on in the mirror, I wouldn't have believed it. So, I took a picture. After that, I went out and bought me some new "skinny" jeans. These old jeans can be packed away. Better yet, I'll give them to the less fortunate this winter. I know I'll never need "fat" jeans again!

Mocha Loco Shakeology - 1 scoop of chocolate Shakeology, 1 frozen banana, 1 tsp.
instant coffee or espresso, 8 oz water, splash of unsweetened almond
milk...blend 'til frothy!! Enjoy!

Daily Health Task Lists

Just like brushing your teeth, healthy habits should be cultivated on a daily basis. The following is a guide to daily tasks:

1. Activity should be a daily occurrence. Walk, run or jump for a minimum total of 20 minutes a day.

2. Protect your skin. Sun block should be applied on face, neck, arms and hands even in the dead of winter. It protects against climatic toxins too. Moisturize skin daily.

3. Eat fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy products and small amounts of protein. Avoid sweets and other processed foods.

4. Meditate or spend a minimum of five minutes daily in quiet time.

5. Find your spiritual self. Discover what inspires you, raises your level of consciousness, motivates you, and satisfies your soul.

6. Exercise your brain. Read, study, solve problems, and learn new skills. As does the body, the brain atrophies with lack of use.

7. Hug somebody.

Torch up to 60% more calories with every workout
By the editors of Prevention.com
1. Quench with Cool Water
Chill your water pre-workout for a bigger burn.
A fresh-out-of-the-fridge water bottle may energize you for hot-weather exercise, finds a British study. Exercisers who drank refrigerated water (39°F) worked out about 25% longer than those who consumed the same amount of warmer water—and they said their exercise sessions felt easier too.

Whether you're indoors or out, sipping chilled water both before and during exercise may help keep your body temperature down and your energy up for maximum calorie burn.


2. Swing Those Arms
Perfect your walking form.
Turn your walk into a calorie-torching workout by bending your elbows 90 degrees and pumping your arms as you stride. It not only automatically speeds up your pace but helps you burn up to 15% more calories every time you work out.

For proper pumping: Trace an arc from your waist to your chest as you swing. Your thumbs should come close to touching your waistband as your elbow goes backward. Also, make sure to keep elbows in and don't let hands cross past the middle of your chest (in front of your sternum). Too much side-to-side motion drags down your pace.


3. Pop in Your Headphones
Fight flagging energy with music.
Working out to your favorite playlist can help you to go up to 20% longer and burn more calories, finds a study from West London's Brunel University. Music blocks fatigue, produces feelings of vigor, and helps you keep pace by synchronizing your movements, says study author Costas Karageorghis, PhD.

For workouts set to music, go to prevention.com/podcasts.


4. Put on Some Weight
Slim down, not bulk up, with a little heavy lifting
To really rev your calorie burn, it is not about the number of reps, but the size of the weights. Even when exercisers lifted identical volumes (such as 10 pounds 10 times or 20 pounds 5 times), those using the heavier dumbbells burned about 25% more calories when they were finished. "Heavy weights create more protein breakdown in the muscle, so your body has to use more energy to repair and recover--that's how lean muscle tissue is built," says researcher Anthony Caterisano, PhD, of Furman University.

Bonus: Working out with heavy weights even for as few as 3 to 6 reps increased exercisers' sleeping metabolic rate--the number of calories burned overnight--by nearly 8%. That's enough to lose about 5 pounds in a year, even if you did nothing else!


5. Break Up Your Sets
Don't waste time waiting.
Instead of performing 2 or 3 sets of a single exercise before moving to the next one, do a circuit: Complete just 1 set and then immediately move to the next exercise, repeating the circuit 2 or 3 times.

When researchers had testers do either standard strength-training (3 sets of 6 exercises with 2 minutes of rest in between) or circuit-training (moving through a series of 6 exercises 3 times, with 30 seconds of rest in between), the circuit-trainers burned nearly twice as many calories postworkout as the standard-style lifters. "Because your heart rate stays elevated longer after circuit-training, you continue burning fat as though you were still exercising," says researcher Anthony Caterisano, PhD, of Furman University.


6. Head Outside
Trade the treadmill for trails.
Besides the fresh air and better scenery, heading outside can give your workout a major boost. Research finds that exercisers burn 10% more calories when they walk or run outdoors than they do on a treadmill at the same speed. "You use more energy to propel yourself over the ground," explains fitness expert Jay Blahnik, author of Full Body Flexibility, "and pushing a little against the wind or other elements burns more calories, too."


7. Crank Up the Incline
Walk uphill for better results
If bad weather forces you indoors, challenge yourself on the treadmill. Crank up the incline to firm up your derriere and rev up your calorie burn by up to 60 percent. And when you come back down to earth, walking will feel easier.

To safely take your walks to the next level, follow these guidelines:

Don't lean. Maintain an upright posture; keep your shoulders over your hips; your hips over your ankles.

Start easy. Do a 5-minute slow walk and then a 10-minute brisk pace before adding your first hill.

Go 5 and 5. Alternate 5-minute hills with 5 minutes of level walking. Repeat as often as you like. Cool down for 5 minutes.

Inch up. You may only be able to walk a 1 percent incline initially. The key is to maintain the same speed during the hills as you do with no incline. Aim for a 3.5 mph speed, and keep your hills moderate; a 5 percent incline is a great goal, and go no more than 7 percent. (Steeper inclines put too much strain on your back, hips, and ankles.)


8. Log at Least 12 Minutes
Add a burst of heart-pumping cardio
Any amount of cardio will burn calories, but to really fight off pounds, you need at least 12 minutes (beyond a warm-up) of continuously moderate to high-intensity activity (where you're breathing somewhat hard) most days a week.

That's the amount necessary to "create a training effect, which improves your body's ability to use oxygen and generate more fat-burning enzymes, such as lipase, so you can blast more flab during exercise and other activities all day," says Chip Harrison, exercise physiologist, director of strength and fitness at Pennsylvania State University, and coauthor of The Female Athlete.


9. Cut Your Workouts in Half
Pick up the pace for all-over fat burning
Introducing short bouts of vigorous activity can speed up weight loss and cut your workout time by up to half or more. Australian researchers found that women who alternated just 8 seconds of high-intensity exercise with 12 seconds of low-intensity activity for 20 minutes, 3 times a week, slimmed down faster than steady-paced exercisers who worked out twice as long. Those who did intervals lost up to 16 pounds, shrunk their bellies by 12% and their thighs by 15%, and gained, on average, 1 1/2 pounds of metabolism-revving muscle in 4 months--without dieting!


10. Don't Skip Stretching
Stay loose and limber for more effective workouts.
Stretching keeps your muscles flexible, helping to prepare them for exercise and recover from the effort afterward. Skip the stretches, and you won't get nearly the benefits you should from aerobic exercise and resistance training.

"Stretching helps you move freely during aerobic exercise, it enables your muscles to build more strength during weight training, and it helps keep muscles long and lean," says Sharon Willett, a physical therapist and sports trainer at the Virginia Sportsmedicine Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

The hardest thing in the world to do is to admit that you need to change your lifestyle. Of course, starting a fitness program falls into that category. The excuses range from "I don't have the time", to "I'm too old" or "I just don't have the energy". But taking the time, finding what your body CAN do, and getting the workout done will give you more energy than you can imagine! Forget about what you can't do, and instead focus on what you CAN do. Start small! Start light...start easy. Every time you see a change in your stamina, add a pound or two, or add 15 more minutes. No one said you had to start doing 15 lb. bicep curls on the first day! Honestly, now. When you make a change for the better, small steps are always the way to get it done. Big steps will just make you wobble and fall.

Taking the time to improve yourself will improve your life. Start today! Start now...

From Prevention Magazine: Burn calories instead of gas. If your errands are less than 1 mile away from each other, vow to walk them at a brisk pace instead of driving. Or park where you can run several errands within a mile instead of moving your car each time. Walk like this everyday and you'll be 13-17 pounds lighter next year!

Motivation. It is hard to come by. What motivates you everyday? Is your income valuable to the family? Is being a stay at home mom (or dad) necessary because of your circumstances? Are you motivated because you have to be in order to get things done throughout the day? That motivation should be no different when it comes to your health and well-being. Actually, your health and well-being will keep you motivated once it becomes an integral part of your day. So rather than think of it as a chore, think of it as a treat! Your new fit and healthy lifestyle is going to give you the energy and the motivation you need to get the other things done in your life. This is a mindset. You must believe that it is true, and I guarantee you that if you stick with it, your workout will become just as everyday as brushing your teeth. You ARE worth it! You are worth the hour it will take to get you fit. Your family is worth it. Your spouse is worth it. Don't deny yourself. Just do it!

I grew up despising green vegetables. In fact, there are still quite a few I will NOT touch. Thank goodness my daily Shakeology makes up for the few that I miss! Of course, I try to feed my family a balanced diet, and that may include some of those green veggies. However, it is the ones that AREN'T green that you and your family may be overlooking.

Bell peppers come in other color varieties besides green (although the green ones are just as healthy). Red, yellow and orange bell peppers aren't as bitter as the green variety and are available all year round. They are so versitile. Chop them up and put them on a green salad or add them to a sandwich. My favorite is to make a quick stir fry with the three varieties, some pork loin, snap peas, julienne carrots (they come already packaged in the produce section), lite soy sauce, rice vinegar and a few teaspoons of sugar. Serve it on a bed of brown rice and you have a meal the entire family will enjoy.

Regardless of their color, all bell peppers share a healthy dose of fiber which helps lower cholesterol and ward off colon cancer. They also offer a wealth of vitamin B6 and folic acid, thought to protect blood vessels from damage by reducing levels of homocysteine in the body. Plentiful A and C vitamins boost immunity and guard against a range of ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and risks associated with smoking such as emphysema.

So get creative! Add some peppers to your everyday diet. Your family will thank you, too!

I started this fitness journey back in April of 2009. To be honest, I always considered myself a relatively fit person. I walked 5 days a week on my treadmill for 50 minutes a day. But I never touched a free weight. I really tried to convince my husband to allow me to purchase a Bowflex. I had seen the ads on TV and was always intrigued by it. He was very resistant, however...and I continued to get frustrated because my weight would not budge. I'm 5'4" and weighed in at 128. Every year it seemed I would gain 1-2 pounds, yet I couldn't explain it. Like I said...I thought I was fit.

My dear friend and future BeachBody Coach was getting awesome results with this workout she was doing. So I decided I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. After all, if she could do it, certainly I could. To be honest, after the second week I was astounded. My body already started to change. My appetite started to change. A few weeks later, I took the plunge and added Shakeology to my life and for the first time that I could remember, I was regular! What a wonderful feeling! Plus, I was able to go off my anti-anxiety medication and sleep like a baby...everynight...for the first time in years! I go to bed at night downright exhausted and sleep comes very quickly.

After being on the program for 6 months, I can now say I have officially reached my initial goal...which was to be 118 pounds. This morning, it became a reality. I am proud, I am confident, I am happy! Granted 10 pounds may not sound like a lot, but since I started at 128, 10 pounds means that I have lost 7.8% of my body weight. Plus, my body fat dropped from almost 30% to under 18%! All that in 6 months.

BeachBody workouts give you all you need to take this journey for yourself. It is right there in front of you. Yes, you need to work for it...but after you see what you are capable of, you will never turn back. Please join me in my journey. I can help you reach your goals. I'd love to coach you with any of the BeachBody Products! Let's do this together!