Un drastic change that overwhelmed his body and mind, forcing him to redefine his image of himself. Costantino Vitagliano51 years old, was a guest in the studio de The good timethe Rai 1 afternoon program hosted by Caterina Balivo, to tell the story of the last year and a half of her life. A period marked by a rare autoimmune disease which affects blood vessels. A pathology that has radically transformed the physique of the man who, for years, was the undisputed king of the tronisti of Men and Women.
Costantino Vitagliano: illness and shock in front of the mirror
Costantino’s story focuses on the hardest moment of his journey: returning home after forty days of hospitalization. «When I came back and saw myself in the mirror, I said: “Oh, who is that?”»the former model confessed to the presenter. During his hospital stay, in fact, the cortisone-based therapy – taken in massive doses of one gram a day to slow down the progress of the disease – had completely blocked his stomach, depriving him of his appetite. The result was a shock weight loss of 38 kilos. «My clothes no longer fit – he explained – and to wear my old clothes I had to wear two thick sweaters under my jackets to fill them up».
The new stem cell therapy: «Tour with the syringe»
The turning point for Costantino Vitagliano’s health came with the radical change in medical treatments and the interruption of cortisone, a the drug which, in addition to his appetite, had also taken away his regular sleep. Today, the former tronista faces the pathology thanks to a innovative treatment with stem cells. «Before entering the studio I was brought my beautiful syringe of stem cells who give me very important help”, he revealed with extraordinary frankness. This new therapy allowed his body to react: Costantino finally started eating again, managing to recover 30 kilos.
Returning to the gym and accepting the new body at 50
Rebuilding muscle mass after such severe organic wasting requires time, targeted nutrition and a specific training protocol. Costantino explained that walks alone were no longer enough to reactivate muscle tone.
For three months, thanks to the support of doctors and a personal trainer friend, the former model has been returned to training in the gym. The healing process is also leading him to a new emotional maturity and the acceptance of a physique that is inevitably different from that of the past. In fact, the interview ended with a moment of great self-irony about its current form, linked to a recent photo shoot: «I made a shirtless advert and wore bacon!»Costantino joked. And faced with Caterina Balivo’s reassurance that at 50 years of age it is a completely normal condition, he responded with a melancholy smile: “Eh, but I was used to having abs, right?”.
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