Weight Loss- Belly Off Holiday Diet Success Story  

SANTA'S TIPS

Have visions of vegetables instead of sugarplums. "It's what we eat that gets us into trouble."

Sign on for the long haul. "You're not going to change your eating habits for a week and lose weight--you have to stick with it."

It's never too late. "We have people who come to the fitness center who are blind or on oxygen. We even have a 97-year-old just starting to get into a program."

Name Rich Holland  

Home Laguna Woods, CA

Age 69  

Height 6'0"  

Job Retired miner, mall Santa, philanthropist

Weight before 225 lb  

Weight after 196 lb

THE GAIN

Blame Holland's chimney- busting midsection on Mrs. Claus's cookies. "I bake practically every day, and I make everything from scratch," says wife Connie Holland. A typical meal included a hefty portion of red meat, something fried, and chocolate cake. "I've always been quite active, but the weight kept crawling up and crawling up," Holland says.

THE CHANGE

Holland's cholesterol hit a dangerous 245. Pills are costly, and, he says, "I wanted to make the change myself." He cut back on desserts (even Christmas cookies). Connie swapped olive oil for butter in her dinner recipes, skim milk for cream in their coffee, and fish for beef at dinner. "I haven't cut down on the amount of food I eat, just the quality," Holland says. He started hitting the weights at the fitness center and walking the mile there and back, a smart way to warm up and cool down, while burning an extra 200 calories each workout. (Walking 1 mile burns 100 calories.)

THE REWARD

The naughty-to-nice diet dropped Holland's cholesterol into the 180s, shrinking his waistline (sans stuffing) from 37 to 34 inches. "If you look good on the outside, you feel better on the inside," he says. The only problem: finding a Santa costume that fits. "Those things only come in three sizes: big, bigger, and extra-big," he says.

THE LIFESTYLE

 Holland tends his garden, rides horses four times a week, and walks 5 or 6 miles every day. Mrs. Claus still bakes, but now uses her culinary talents to create nutritious homemade breads instead of high-sugar cakes.
"I went back to my old, old cookbooks and found out that years ago, people made fruit breads with less shortening," Connie says.

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