HOLIDAY HANDBOOK
Forget the milk and cookies on Christmas Eve. Leave a plate of fruit and nuts for Santa Claus this year. The jolliest man on earth is looking to drop some pounds and become a healthier, happier Santa, setting a better example for children and parents across the world.
‘The child obesity problem is huge,’ said Claus, an Incline Village resident formerly named Thomas O’Connor. Claus is publishing his ebook, ‘The Santa Diet,’ this month. ‘Who better than Santa Claus to set an example for [kids] and prompt them to make some better choices with food and exercise?’
Claus, a Christian monk, legally changed his name in 2005 and has used his famous moniker and white beard to reach out to children with a ministry of love, forgiveness, and wellness ever since.
Health for Santa Claus comes in three parts — body, mind, and spirit.
‘They’re all equally important — the emotional, spiritual, and physical parts,’ Claus said. ‘If one suffers, they’re all right behind it. If one improves, then the others tend to improve.’
Rather than provide a regimented workout plan and recipes, ‘The Santa Diet’ outlines general suggestions for improving one’s daily routines. Everything in moderation is a fundamental rule found in the book. Drink water; avoid carbonated beverages; eat colorful vegetables.
‘I mention the gifts and blessings that my creator has given me, developing healthy relationships, eating wholesome food, exercising, forgiving,’ Claus said.
Go outside and move, Claus suggests.
‘I’m well aware that our entire environment here is a cathedral,’ Claus said. ‘What a wonderful, spiritual experience we have here on the lake.’
Eating right and exercising are the first steps to a healthy Santa, but the final ingredient comes from the inside — love. As Claus writes: ‘I know for certain that we are here to love, that the opposite of love is fear, and that forgiveness is crucial to optimal health.’
‘The Santa Diet’ is a book geared for adults, but its message is one Claus hopes will be translated to the younger generations. Claus does incorporate his Christian faith and belief in God into his diet, but writes the book so that it can be applicable to adults of all religions. ‘
‘It doesn’t pass any judgment on anybody. It’s more of an observation,’ Claus said. ‘A gentle reminder. It’s not meant to be an earth-shattering, groundbreaking revelation. It’s more like we all know this inherently. And this is a little reminder.’
~ Info: thesantadiet.com. Comment on this story below.
