THAT AWESOME MOMENT...

When the shirt that didn't fit you a MONTH AGO...

NOW FITS YOU!!!

SCREAMING!!!

Sooooooooo I had been shopping at a thrift store with my friend Kimmy Kat about a month or so ago, and I really liked this black shirt...buuuuut it like DIDN'T really fit!!! So Kim's like, do you want it? I'm like, naw, it doesn't fit!!! Without even hesitating Kim says, "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT IT WILL!!!" I was like, you think??? Kim's like MARY, YES!!! Your joining JennY Craig, and thats one thing about you, once you make up your mind you'll do it... I was like TRUE! Soooooooooo I BOUGHT IT annnnnnnnnnd...

KIM WAS RIGHT...

It NOW FITS!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

I MADE IT!!!

Sooooo I decided at my lunch today that I would have a lil thinly sliced piece of the chocolate fudge cake that my sis got for my mom for Mother's day...annnnnnd it was AMAZINGLY GOOD!!! Annnnnnnd I was like thats it I will NOT eat other desserts the rest of the day!!!

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Well after the Filipino service, my brother had cupcakes and cookies to celebrate for all the moms!!! I was like NOOOOOO!!! buuuuuut I made it!!! THEN after the evening service at our church they had MORE CUPCAKES annnnnnd MORE COOKIES to celebrate all the graduates!!! I'm like REALLY??? Like NOOOOOOOO!!!! WHY are you all doing this to ME???

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUT

Thanks to my iPhone, my blog, self-photography ANNNNND THE MIRROR...

I MADE IT!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Instead of eating cookies...

Instead of eating cookies I will look at pics of myself and admire my outfit!!!

Will NOT...

I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!
I will NOT eat cookies!

Spaghetti squash!!!

Sooooo I'm trying to explore new things... Any ideas for HOW to cook a spaghetti squash?!?!

♥Mary Frances :)

Thank's God!

Soooooo last night at the gym, as I said in the previous post, I kinda had to give myself a pep talk into going. Buuuuuuuut then even while I was there i'm doing wall ball crouches annnnnnnnd after the first two rounds I was like MAN i'm soooo tired I should just go home!!! Buuuuuuut THEN, I got a text from my friend Lorraine saying that my working out was paying off and that she was really noticing a difference in me at my party and that I was looking good!!! I was like, REALLY??? CuZ honestly, I didn't think I was noticing a difference!!! Soooo I texted her back and said THANKS I really needed to hear that!!! Annnnnnnnnnd I felt motitated to do more and went over and started doing the circuit workout...

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Then when I was almost done with that, this other lady in the gym that had been doing the treadmill came over to me and motioned for me to take out my ear buds (Put Gordon Mote on hold) and she said that she hadn't been to the gym in about a month or so buuuuuuut when she saw me tonight she noticed such a HUGE difference in me!!! I was like AWWWWW!!! She was like, no really, YOU LOOK AMAZING!!! (She said it NOT me!!!;) She was like, yeah i've always noticed you here (Noticed ME??? Wow...stalker!!! HAHA!!!)  but sometimes its when you don't see someone for awhile that you really notice a difference!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!! I was like, Oh wow!!! Thank you sooooo much!!!

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Then when she walked away I was like, MAN GOD, you KNEW JUST WHAT I NEEDED TONIGHT!!! Encouragement makes such a big difference and can be soooo motivation annnnnd last night i really NEEDED IT!!! He knows EXACTLEY WHAT WE NEED!!! Isn't God just sooooooooooo AWESOME LIKE THAT!??!?!

THANKS GOD!!! :)

P.S. Lets ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER IN THE LORD!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Pep talk!!!

Just had to talk myself into going to the gym!!! It's after youth service annnnnnd I sooooo did NOT feel like going!!! I was like, Mar Bear, get your fluffy self up and go make your fat cry!!! Then I purrrrrred at myself for doing the right thing!!! (:

♥Mary Frances

That MOMENT!!!

First push up!!!

Soooooo I was SUPER EXCITED the other day cuz I did MY FIRST everrrr push up at the gym!!! I text all my friends this pic below!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Anywayz, I was soooooo excited about it I showed my personal trainer it, buuuuuut she was like, she was proud of me annnnnnd said that it wasn't QUITE a push up!!! I'm like okaaaaaaay WHATEVERRRR!!!! In the FATTY WORLD...that was soooooo a PUSH UP!!! LOLOL!!!

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She said I got an E for effort tho!!! HAHA!!! She said she she is a total sticker for push ups being EXACTLEY right...like when you go down nose TO THE GROUND!!! I'm like okaaaaaaay cool....buuuuut aparently NO THERE is like no one that says they do there push ups quite that way!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Work out CUUUUUUTNESSS!!! ;)

Soooooooooooo I like HAAAATE going to the gym to work out and I like look all DUMPY!!! If there is one thing I hate is lookin like a FRUMP!!! AHAHA!!! Buuuuuut how does one accomplish cuteness when doing something that is work!?!?! I'm thinkin okaaaaay, how can I combine, sporty, feminine, cute and MODEST all together???

Weeeellll it IS POSSIBLE!!!

First of all, I bough some colorful converse sneakers!!! I'm a huge All Star Converse fans....THEN I needed a new skirt to work out it...SINCE my personal trainer was holding up my skirt from falling down while I was doing mountain climbers...LOL...She was like, UH SHOPPING TIME!!!

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Sooooo I headed to Wal-Mart to buy this long black skirt that I had seen, buuuuuuuut they were all out, I was kinda bummmmmmed buuuuuuut THEN I found this black jumper annnnnd I realized it was perfect cuz even if I lose weight it won't fall off!!! HAHA!!! Then I figured I could wear my different colored shirts and shoes with my accessories and they all match my black jumper!!! Plus, I like the jumper cuz its really lighweighted and very long!!!

 

Soooo between my different colored sneakers...hair accessories...I'll keep you all posted...

More CUTENESS to come!!! :)

 

♥Mary Frances :)

Woot! Woot!!!

20 pounds off since joining Jenny Craig! I've completed 3 full weeks so far and started week 4 today!!!

Obviously I'm very excited!!! Haha! 

Btw: I do hav the My Fitness Pal App on my phone if anyone wants to connect to me! :)

♥Mary Frances :)

Jenny Craig...

Soooooo I KNOW that I had told you all that I was going to join Medifast...buuuuuuut after like researching and talking to different people about it...I wasn't SURE...my mom was like NOT thinkin I was gonna like the food! I was tellin Hanna and she was like, MARY thats like a really big deal that you need to think about because your a REALLY GOOD COOK and your used to GOOD TASTING FOOD!!! I was like Awwwww...THANKS for the compliment...annnnnd YES this is TRUE what if I HATE THE FOOD??? Annnnnd it was all like just add water...ahahahaha soooo hmmmm...

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I was thinkin about it, I was looking up other programs because you see there were TWO things that I was DESPERATLEY looking for with what I wanted in a weight loss program, STRUCTURE AND ACCOUNTABILITY!!! I am a person that has NO STRUCTURE in myself buuuuuuut absolutely THRIVES within it from others!!! Annnnnnd I NEED accountability!!! Like ONE ON ONE...face to face...EYE TO EYE...LOL!!! Like I really liked the Weight Watchers program annnnd IF you stick to it works GREAT!!! Buuuuut for a person LIKE ME...theres just to many loop holes...HAHA...annnnnnd the group meetins always kinda ANNOYED ME!!! They weren't personalized for ME and what I NEEDED annnnnnnnnd there was always ONE person that like dominated the group thats like FREAKING out cuz its Halloween and there is CANDY and its Christmas theres cookies...yada, yada, yada...LOL

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Well I was at my mom's and I was talking to her about LOSING WEIGHT and i'm like MOM I really want to do something!!! Like, I do NOT want to be like this, I really, REALLY want to be a healthy person annnnd sooooo my youngest brother Abe was like, well i'm not doing it BUT there is this guy at my work that has lost a lot of weight with Jenny Craig maybe you should find out about that...I was like Oooooo...I've heard they're food is really good to!!! Soooooo I researched it, went in and learned about the program, tried the food and like it  ALOT...
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I mean, IS THE FOOD as good as MY COOKING??? Then answer to THAT question is NO!!! HAHAHAHA...Can't LIE people...Buuuuuuuuuuut... MY COOKIN is WHY I'm AT JENNY CRAIG!!! Well its been almost two weeks now and i'm doing GREAT annnnnnnnnnnd LOVING IT!!! I'll talk more about it to come!!! :)

 

♥Mary Frances :)

Super Excited!!!

Okaaaaaaaaaay you guys...I'm SUPER EXCITED because, TODAY I met with my Personal Trainer annnnnd I haven't met with her in a WHILE...I mean I've been going to the gym FAITHFULLY every night...buuuuuut I go like LATE...cuz thats when I'm free to do it!!! Soooo the kids are on spring break this week and I had a TON (9) of sessions piled up so I made one for every day this week!!!

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Sooooo I knew when I saw her that I was gonna get a HUGE lecture!!! Annnnd she was like, OH YES girrrrrl thats right your GOING to get THE SPEECH from me!!! LOL She is like WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??? Im like Oh jus chillin!!! LOL Then im like, No I"VE been coming to the gym EVERY NIGHT, just NOT whith YOU!!! So she kind of looks at me like, Yeah right...buuuut then she looks at me again and she is like, Well you do look really good! I'm like, oh yea THATS RIGHT WOMAN CHECK ME OUT!!! AHAHAHA!!!

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So we're doing all of the old excercises and she is like, Whoa you've moved up on EVERYTHING!!! Like she said my planks need to be moved further down and she was moving my weights up higher...she was like ok I can see 30 pounds is like NOTHING for you so she moves it up ten pounds more and when I'm done she was like I can tell that needs to be moved up to 50 pounds...she is like you are sooooo STRONG!!! Then she says, seriousley your strong as ~*&%#@  which i thought was pretty funny!!! Oooo and she knew when the weight was ENOUGH for me cuz she said I couldn't TALK cuz I was concentrating!!! LOL If I could talk she was like, yup, you NEED MORE WEIGHT!!!

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THen she says, okay lets go do the ball slams! So we're doing them and she is like, okaaaaaay you need the heaviest medicine ball and then when we were done she was like, MARY you play sports don't you?!?! I was like, uh NOOOOOOOOOO!!! She is like, well you are REALLY athletic!!! You just did 40 ball slams and then you just like look up like, Heeeeey!!! No big deal! She says, I have clients that arent as overweight as you and could NOT do what you just did!!! She's like, what that means is that your actually HEALTHY and in really good shape...we JUST gotta get the EXTRA WEIGHT off you!!!

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Annnnnnd I know she wasn't just saying that cuz she is NOT all flattery like that!!! Sooooo THEN she says, this just means that I'm gonna be making your workouts a lil more intense for you!!! I'm like duuuuuuuuude!!! She's like, THATS RIGHT!!! Soooooooo who knows, maybe by this summer time EVERYONE will be begging for ME to be on their VOLLY BALL TEAM!!! AHAHAHA!!! you NEVER KNOW!!! Of course, I still have to get my COORDINATION down...LOL...buuuuut that would be soooo fun to be all over the court and then SPIKE it, heh, heh...I would NEVERRR SHUT UP if that happened!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

My GOAL WEIGHT!!!

Guess WHAT everyone!?!?! I FINALLY found out WHAT my goal weight is!!! I am soooooooo EXCITED!!! Sooooooo i've kinda been stuck in a rut with the whole weight loss thing for a while now!!! I've been working out like BIG time...I mean I FAITHFULLY work out at the gym 5-6 days a week annnnnnd I mean like I really like WORK OUT!!! Like dripping sweat...buuuuuuut I'm just feeling like I NEED extra help with the whole FOOD PART of it all!!! I mean, I really need A LOT of structure AND accountability in my life!!! Soooooooo I went to check out Medifast today...I mean i've heard really great things about them and you meet ONE ON ONE with a dieticitan that counsels you on weight loss, eating right etc!!! Annnnnd I'm like YES...I need this because OBVIOUSLEY I HAVE ISSUES AND NEED HELP!!! AHAHA!!! Okaaaaay they say the first part is admitting and realizing you have a problem and the second part is that you ACTUALLY do something about it!!!

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Okaaaaaaaay soooo back to my goal weight!!! They asked me WHAT I would like to see myself weighing annnnnnd I thought about it really long and hard...and I honestly thought in my mind that that I would like to weigh 208, because that would mean i've lost 200 pounds since my highest weight!!! Now when MOST people hear 208 they think thats still like A LOT... buuuuuut I don't know...WHENEVER I would read the charts they would say like 165 for my height and for a woman with big bones annnnnd i'm just like OKAAAAAY I weighted 175 in 4th grade....I mean I was TEN and  yes I was chubby...buuuuuut that was a LOOOOOONG TIME AGO!!!

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Soooooooo they put me on this thing and you hold onto it and it only takes like a minute but it measures your fat, your height, your mucsle mass, and your bone structure annnnnnnd it turns out THAT to be healthy I NEED TO WEIGH...

 205!!!

Soooo I was basically RIGHT ON!!! The lady was like kinda surprised herself cuz thats NOT what most girls would think of as their goal weight!!! Buuuuuuuuut I'm NOT most girls!!! Heh, heh!!! Sooooooooooo she is reading the chart and she is like, OH, you have an abnormally large bone structure...turns out I have a 40% larger skeletal structure than the NORMAL female!!! Go ME!!! (: Buuuuut then again we already knew that if you read THIS POST!!! LOLOLOL!!!

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Sooooo yes i'll always be a BIG girl...but I'm cool with that...I mean God made me BIG...he coulda made me like my Irish grandma Rita (Mary) Ginty, that I was named after...who was a petite little thing, that STRUGGLED her whole life to keep at 100 pounds ...buuuuut NO he chose to make me with the structure of my Italian grandfather, Joe Mangino, with big bones, broad shoulders, I don't know WHY he chose ME to have that frame buuuuut HE DID...so long as i'm HEALTHY...I'll just rock my big frame!!!

 

OF COURSE...this does mean that I'll have to put aside my life-long dream...

 of being a ballerina...

Buuuuuut I THINK i'll make it!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ooooo annnnnnd I DID decide that I AM gonna do Medifast...I'll let you all know as SOON as its OFFICIAL!!!



♥Mary Frances :)

How much spagetti???

So I was reading this article by Dr. Oz and he was talking about portion control and how you don't always have to measure everything EXACTLEY!!! He said that you can just use your own measuring devices in case your somewhere that you don't have it with you...HE said for example if you want to measure how much UNcooked spagetti you can have, just see how much you can fit between your thumb and the finger next to it making a circle that closes on the first indention of your thumb...he said that the variation will vary slightly from person to person according to their frame and build...he said thats okay though because you can eat according to your body frame and structure and not talking about your actual body weight but you know your structure size...big bones, little bones, medium bones, extra large bones, petite bones...etc...weeeeeeelllll...

APARENTLY Dr. Oz has NEVER met...

ME!!!

Annnnnnd MY HANDS!!!

 

I decided to try this out myself annnnnnnd managed to fit the WHOLE entire package in my circle!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!! AND it was NOT a tight fit either!!! LOLOLOLOL!!!

 

 

I could be wrong....buuuuuuuuuuuut something tells me that I shouldn't eat the whole entire package of spagetti!!! BAHAHAHA!!! Ima stick with ACTUAL measuring devices Dr. Oz!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

New favorite machine!!!

Sooooo I like loooooove this machine at the gym!!! I don't know what it's called buuuuuut it's pretty funnnn!!! It's like kinda slanted and your like crouched down and then u push yourself all the way up! It's kinda intense but FUNNNN!!!

Havin Diabetes!!!

Sooooo in my mid-20's I was diagnosed with Diabetes, which totally BUMMMMED me out!!! I mean EVERYONE in my family history has it, like BOTH of my mom's parent's, her mom's dad,  my mom's brother, one of my brother's, my sister, my dad's mom had it,  soooo it was pretty much bound to happen sooner or later...buuuuut I was preferring LATER!!! 

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However, due to my extreme overweightness, I got my diabetes EARLY!!! At first It wasn't too bad and was being controlled by just oral pills, but since I wasn't losing weight, excercising and changing my eating habits it was getting worse! My sugars were getting higher, sometimes even in the 4 and 500's! My doctor kept increasing my medicine to a higher and higher dosage and she said that if I didn't get it under control my next step would be taking insulin shots!

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Now, i'm NOT scared of needles...buuuuut I did NOT want to get on insulin...I just DID NOT WANT IT!!! I knew I could get a handle on this if I made up my mind! Weeeeelllll...for the last two years I've kept my diabetes in the low 100's and 90's annnnnd MY FRIENDS, that is WITHOUT taking any kind of medicine at all!!! 

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Yes, THIS March it will be TWO WHOLE YEARS that I have been off of any sort of medicine for my diabetes!!! I'm sooooo happy annnnnd in a humble way...VERY PROUD OF MYSELF!!! ;) How do I do this? I maintain a very, very low carb diet! I mostly eat meat, cheese and veggies with OF COURSE my occasional splurge days...which I like to do about once a week...usually Sundays or I plan it for a day thats like something fun is going on, or a Holiday and I KNOW its gonna be good food.

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I'm NOT saying its EASY!!! I LOOOOOOVE CARBS!!! Especially being ITALIAN...I LOOOOOVE MY PASTA!!! PIZZA!!! BREAD!!! CHOCOLATE!!! CAKE!!! DONUTS...LOL...you get the picture...HAHAHA.... Buuuuuuuut I ALSO LIKE LIVING...ya know???

 I'm also REALLY into vitamins...LOL...Two things that I take that help with diabetes sugar levels is cinnamon capsules, which are also "Supposed" to help curb hunger and garlic capsules which are also good for YOUR HEART!!! Buuuuut yeah...my MOM has been my biggest inspiration...she says that things never really clicked for her till recently about her eating habits either, but she says I can learn NOW, while I'm YOUNG!!! 

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It feels GOOD to me knowing that...

MY DIABETES does NOT control ME!!!

I CONTROL MY DIABETES!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)