The first statewide law enforcement fitness weight-loss competition ended last month with five Miami-Dade Police Department officers losing the most body fat and increasing their lean muscle tissue.

``The competition gave me the motivation not to overindulge. Thanksgiving was very lean and Christmas even leaner,'' said Miami-Dade Lt. Howard Ostlund, whose team, the Fit, Fun, Happy Guns, got a $5,000 check from the 911 Fitness program.

The program, which went from an individual contest to a statewide competition, equips teams with healthful eating tips and encourages police officers to be physically fit role models.

The Fit, Fun, Happy Guns team weighed in at the North Miami Beach Police Department on Dec. 19, along with 11 other teams, who were challenged by city of Miami Detective Jim Sayih to lose fat and increase their lean muscle tissue over a six-week period.

``I was aware I was out of shape. This competition provided me the opportunity to improve my health and assess my agility, strengths and weaknesses,'' said Ostlund, who in the past has worked out seven to eight times a year. During the fitness contest, he said he was motivated by his teammates to work out seven or eight hours a week during the competition.

Ostlund said he lost 11 pounds and gained five pounds of lean muscle tissue.

He and teammates Lt. Camille Munn and Officers Patricia Addison, Susan Bedal and Diana Lyons split the reward five ways, each getting $900. The rest of the money, $500, was donated to the Police Officers Assistance Trust, a charity that helps Miami-Dade County law enforcement officers' families in times of need.

Sayih, who is director of 911 Fitness, challenged teams from as far north as Orlando, but it was local officers who pulled their weight and vowed to stay physically fit. The second-place winner was the Miami Muscle Club of the city of Miami, and third place went to Fit N' Rich, another Miami-Dade team.