By NewsChannel 3 and azfamily.com staff

Tammy Baker

Tammy is the general manager for the Dairy Council of Arizona. As part of her Dairy Council responsibilities, she has developed numerous nutrition education materials and speaks on a wide variety of nutrition and fitness topics.

Tammy was a media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association from 1994-2003. She has completed more than 1,000 interviews nationwide. She has served as president, media representative, editor for the newsletter and public relations chairman for the Arizona Dietetic Association.

She received the Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year award for Arizona in 1990, as well as Arizona's Outstanding Dietitian of the Year award for 2000. She is a long-distance recreational runner and has completed five marathons, including the Boston Marathon.

Tammy earned her master's degree in nutritional science from the University of Arizona. She has a bachelor's degree in dietetics from Loma Linda University.

Areas of expertise include calcium, eating on the run and eating to stay young, among others.

Scott Keppel

Scott Keppel is owner of Body By Scott, Inc. He is an ISSA certified fitness trainer with over 10 years of experience. Keppel was the No. 1 trainer in Arizona for Bally Total Fitness in 2002 and 2003. He was voted personal trainer of the year in 2003. He also trained the winning contestant for NewsChannel 3's Weight Loss Challenge for 2004. Keppel is a natural body builder and has placed in the top 2 five times and earned one fifth place finish. Keppel has trained several people for natural physique competitions with 8 out of 9 placing in the top 5. Keppel specializes in weight loss, pre/post natal training, physique comeptitors, weekend warriors, youth fitness and sport specific.

Contact: (480) 220-1874 or www.BodybyScott.net

Beth Jungmann

I am single and 29 years old.

I have a great job, I have great friends and a wonderfully supportive family. I love to laugh, and to make other people laugh. I love life, and want to experience it fully. I want to do things like rock climbing and scuba diving.

“So what’s the problem?” you ask. The problem is I am overweight, and it inhibits me in so many ways, including physically and emotionally. But most importantly, my self-esteem is at an all time low.

I have been overweight most of my life. My first diet was in fifth grade. I have tried just about every diet out there, from Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig, from the Cabbage Diet to Atkins. They all seem to work momentarily, but they don’t last.

In September 2002, I weighed 225 pounds and was ready to change that, but I was struggling with finding exercise that I liked. I have never been very athletic and I was always too scared of the ball to be good at any sports. I have tried running, walking, swimming, bike riding and hiking. I once even had the crazy idea to try roller hockey. A few of my friends had been playing regularly in their garage. I borrowed a pair of blades, tried it and didn’t do too bad. What a workout! So, I went straight to the store to buy my own pair of blades. With lack of better judgment, I opted for the cute pair that happened to be expert level blades instead of the safe beginner pair. To make a long story short, on my first day out on the new roller blades, I ended in the hospital with a severely broken arm.

In January of 2003 the cast was off and I had the motivation I needed. My sister and I decided to train for the Rock-n-Roll half marathon coming up in 2004. We started running, which was a big deal for me, considering the last time I’d run was in junior high P.E. (and that was only because they made me). I cried the whole way and had to go to the nurse afterward to rest on the paper covered bed. Oh brother! Needless to say this new running routine was a big step for me. I learned what it meant to push through the pain. I also started Atkins. In March 2003, I ran a 5K! I ran 3.3 miles without stopping to walk once! It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I felt so powerful and strong. But through unforeseen circumstances (i.e. surgery on my arm), I wasn’t able to continue with my training and didn’t run in the marathon. The surgery was in September 2003 and I haven’t really done any running since. I gained back the thirty pounds I’d lost and a few extra for good measure.

Now I had the old weight back on with the new weight added. About four months ago I looked into having bariatric surgery. I went as far as making an appointment and meeting with a surgeon. Through the entire meeting all I could think was, “I still have fight left in me. I haven’t been defeated by this yet. I know that if I had help, I could do this without surgery.” So I decided to find help.

I recently started seeing a counselor to help me deal with the emotional issues behind why I am overweight. I think this is a HUGE aspect of why most of my diets haven’t worked.

I now realize that I can do this. I have the power inside myself to beat this. I just need a little direction-someone to point me down the right path. I’ve made bad habits for myself for far too long, and that is going to change starting now.

So let’s get started! Please cheer for me while I change my life, lose weight and win this competition!