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Ten finalists, who'll earn hairstyling and skin treatments, plus an array of additional prizes, also will beannounced. To win, contestants must pen a 300-word essay explaining their transformation and submit it tostatenislandslimdown.com by 11:59 p.m. April 10.The competition, which lured participants ages 18 to 81 -- 65 percent of them women -- officially ends April8.For Dr. Benimoff, 64, a geology professor at CSI, the changes have been nothing short of seismic. InJanuary, he returned home from a trip to Hawaii and noticed that in all of the photos of himself, he wastrying to hide his stomach. Weighing 210 pounds, the 5-foot-5 Willowbrook resident decided to dosomething about it after learning about the Slim Down.By early February, he was snacking on Brussels sprouts instead of chicken wings. "I watched the Super Bowlwithout one beer," he said, noting he tried many of the diet suggestions on the Slim Down's website. Now185 pounds, he's preparing to hike 2,500 feet up a mountain this summer.Dr. Benimoff turned up faithfully for the Slim Down-organized weekly Sunday morning walks in the StatenIsland Mall. But those were tame compared to what the fitness-focused bunch encountered last night.While Elaine Gil, owner of Bubbles Playhouse, had the crowd shaking and twisting to classics like "Rockin'Robin," Slim Down co-founder Tony Books Avilez of Staten Island Boot Camp, had the crew doing jumpingjacks and pushups to tunes like Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe.""Whatever's working for you, just keep doing it!" he shouted, as his Slim Down co-founder, Dr. MaureenBecker, director of clinical education for CSI's physical therapy doctoral program, cheered on the crowd.The enthusiastic group was all smiles as he instructed them to partner up and jump facing one another andslap each other's hands. Minutes later, he told them to squat facing each other and give one another highfives.Partnering up is the key, said Raena McCarthy, 34, of Rossville, who looked forward every week to theSurprise Fitness Night at CSI. She gained weight when she became pregnant with her son, now 4, andhadn't started to shed it until now. The mother knew the Slim Down was the right thing for her after readingabout it. She had been losing her breath just walking around the Staten Island Zoo with her son."I want to be able to be active with my family," said Ms. McCarthy, a social worker, who has lost 20 poundsand a size and a half since starting the Slim Down. "I'd like to kick the soccer ball with him. I feel like it willkeep coming off slowly. You feel good after this."Page 51 of 179