My name is Vincent Corso and this is the story of how Running has changed my life.

"Skinny Vinny"

Never did I think anyone would call me that. I thought I was destined to just be a big person like everyone else was in my family. I was very unhappy with the way I looked and felt about myself. I was a heavy person most of my childhood and adult life, so I started to accept this, thinking there was nothing I could do to change it. After a routine checkup with my doctor, I was horrified with the results; It was a rude awaking for me. I wasn't just big, I was obese. At 27 years old I weighed 305lbs, I was slowly killing myself!

1) After taking a sleep apnea test, I was diagnosed as having it. The results came back that I stopped breathing over 25 times throughout the night. No wonder every morning I felt exusted, I never really got the right kind of sleep my body needed to recharge itself.

2) I suffered from chronic lower back pain. There were some days I just could not get out of bed. It hurt just thinking about getting up. It got to the point that I could not tie my own shoes, or walk up a flight of stairs.

3) After a checkup with the doctor he told me I had high blood pressure and Pre-Diabetes. If I did not make some changes in my lifestyle quickly, I was on the road to develop Type 2 Diabetes.

I'd never eaten healthfully my whole life and morphed into a really unhealthy person. My wife Danielle was also disappointed in herself. Having had success with Weight Watchers before, she decided to rejoin. I said I'd be supportive and eat what she made, but I really didn't want to join. I knew that I was overweight and I needed to do something about it, but what could I do? Then I agreed to attend one meeting and I can't tell you how glad I am.

In June of 2005 I joined Weight Watchers and it changed my life. I will never forget the first meeting I went to. Feeling just like the first day of school again, I was scared as I walked up to the scale. The receptionist weighed me in at 305 lbs and I could not believe that I weighed that much. Now what was I going to do about it? Run away and pretend that it wasn't happening? The scale must have been wrong. I had never weighed so much in my whole life. After accepting that I had a problem, I stopped making excuses for myself. I was ready to start the program. The receptionist told me that for my height — 5'10", that my goal weight was between 139 lbs. and 174 lbs. I looked at my wife and said, "I have not been at that weight since I was 10 years old!" So, at my first meeting, I already was making excuses and telling myself that it can't be done. This was my biggest obstacle, convincing myself that I could reach my goal if I set my mind to it. Each week, I became more and more motivated. My improved appearance and health just kept building me up. I identified what my bad habits were and changed them one at a time. First was cutting out the night time eating. After 8 p.m., the kitchen was closed. Another change was eating a healthy breakfast regularly for the first time in my life. With all of this knowledge in hand, my body started to change. When I reached my 10% goal of 31 lbs., I knew I could do it. After reaching this goal there was no turning back, I had the "Eye of the Tiger" attitude and nothing was going to stop me!

In August of 2006, I reached my goal weight of 155 lbs. A year and two months later, I lost an incredible total of 150 lbs. I work for Weight Watchers now part-time as a leader and I love every minute of it because it truly makes me feel good inside to help members with their weight loss goals. Everyone always asks me what the secret to my weight loss is, and what I say to them is that I believe in this healthier lifestyle with all my heart and soul. There are no shortcuts. You have to put in the time and effort if you want to attain your goals . This is not a diet to me, it's my new way of life. Sure, sometimes I fall of the wagon, but the next day I pick myself up again and go back to the Program. For the first time in my life, my outside matches my inside.

After going through this experience I realized that you can accomplish anything you want in life if you set your mind to it. Before joining Weight Watchers, I had a quitter's mentality. When things did not go as planned or became too difficult to deal with, I would give up. During my weight loss journey, I began walking, then eventually jogging, and then I began running. Basically, little by little, I realized running was like losing weight: one step at a time. The more I challenged myself, the more I realized the finish line was not out of my reach! Now, at goal, I am an avid runner who will never give up. And how do I know I can do anything? I just finished my first NYC Marathon this past November 2007! I pinch myself sometimes because I never thought I would be able to wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and like the person I saw!

For more information on my story please go to my website http://www.myspace.com/iamskinnyvinny

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Vincent Corso
AKA Skinny Vinny
"Carpe Diem - Seize The Day"
"Carp Viam - Seize the Road"