??? lbs.

Hey Everybody!

I am starting this...yet again.

I'm not sure what my current weight is. I need to buy a new scale when I get paid. I have started working out slowly but surely. You can do diet after diet, but I found that you can lose weight, but not look skinnier. I'm going to try this whole "running" thing.

Went for my first run last night. By first run, I mean that I got into my workout clothes and I went on a run for myself. Not because of gym class or any requirement, this is literally the first time in my life that I've ever just gotten ready to go for a run, and I plan on running every night from now on. On Monday, I also started doing 20 sit ups, 10 push ups and 1:00 minute of planks a day. It doesn't seem like a lot, and it isn't. However for someone as out of shape as I am, its a struggle. I am working on it.

This year for some of my new years resolutions, I gave up even more of my favorite things. Here they are:

1. No Soda. I know I gave that up last year, but I continued that this year too.
2. No Fried Food. This one has probably been the hardest for me.
3. No Candy. Second hardest.
4. No Drinks Bigger than a Medium. No more 1,293 calorie Venti Frappucinos for me!

That's it. They have been difficult, but necessary steps on the road to getting healthy.

Thank you for reading. I am going to try to post everyday.

Musically Yours,

Mario

315.6

I'm back...again!

Well I'm back down to 315.6 which isn't my lowest since I've started the blog, but it's lower than before. First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I haven't had a blog this year, so cheers to that. I have a couple of new years resolutions that I have been doing very well on! Here are some of them:

-Don't Drink Soda.

(and I haven't had a drop since New Year's Eve!)

-Only take the stairs.

(this has been harder, but I can honestly say that it has been less than 10 times since January 1st!)

-Be more proactive.

(I feel that I have been! Singing a lot a lot a lot.)

...aaaand the rest are for me to know and you to find out later.

This year has already become eventful. I have been able to do lots of fun shows, meet tons of new people and still share the great times with my awesome friends. Pitch Slapped A Cappella is the group I'm in here at Berklee, and we just won the Northeast Semi Final for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA's) and we will be heading to New York in April to perform in the Lincoln Center! Wish us luck!

I want to dedicate the rest of this post to my friends. I'll keep it short and sweet, but I definitely want to give a "shout-out" to my loved ones!

Mom-I love infinity squared. Ha. I win.

Dad (Jr.)-I can't wait to see you out here for showcase. If I do well, I want a big TV. haha.

Michelle-I miss you and love you more than you know. Summer couldn't come soon enough.

Andy-Keep me in the loop, hoe! Never think I'm too busy for you to call. I'll always have your back.

Piper-We need to see each other more. I miss/love/admire you everyday.

Derek-You're the best. Next semester, don't schedule every damn day at 9:00am. Dumb. lol.

Meg-Sunshine soulmate. You're beautiful and I love you so much. Don't forget it :)

Hannah-Oh mah lawd. It's scary how much we're in sync...by in sync, I mean N*SYNC. I love you

Rick Niebel-You're too funny. Next year is going to be a blast.

Max-Tranforming...........................................HIGH FIVE......................Transforming.

Sam-I am so glad to have you around all the time. You always make me smile.

(Mahal Kita adobo punsit lumpia binagoongang baboy.)

Matt-Sorry I've been never-there-roommate. I really enjoy chilling with you and we should do it more often...I mean, we live together right?! haha...

Gick Noldston-So glad I im-ed you that one random night. haha. You've really got you're shit together and I admire that. I hope we stay friends for a long time.

Fame "Shu Po Ya"-Pong si ding now, shing po-po ling-ling to wao. (That means you my ninja and I think you're swell. Keep on keepin' on.)

Kristen-YOU HAD BETTA PLAY THEM DRUMS! You have such a positive light around you constantly. I love it/you.

Darsell-I know you can't read, but I love you. Get Jake to read this to you. lol.

Mario-WHAAAA GWAAAAANN. When I grow up, I want to be just like you. I honestly look up to you and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for you. MARIO'S for life!!

Cynthia-You hung up on me, but I forgive you. haha. Thank you for being awesome all the time.

To all the Pitches-I am constantly reminded how great it is to share the stage with all of you. Each one of you brings something amazing to the group and I thank you for making my College experience so fun. ON TO NEW YORK!

To the rest of of the readers-I hope that in some way, I have put a smile on your face. I think that is what I was put on earth to do. To make people smile. I wake up everyday and I can't wait to sing, socialize and be around people. I hope that whatever you go through, you know someone is out there watching over you. Not in a creepy-stalker-ish way, but in the way that you don't have to worry about falling without someone catching you.

Anywho, not to get all preachy, but just remember that life is great. Until next time...

Musically Yours,

Mario

318.4

I'm back!!

Well Im back in the bay area and I'm blogging again! I am back up to 318.4 from my low of 315.4 and that sucks. I wasn't watching what I was eating...well I was technically. Watching it go from on the plate into the abyss
(aka my stomach). I'm like the David Blaine of cuisine.

"Now you see it, now you don't!"

My plan over this Christmas break is to really watch what I'm eating in terms of being healthy. I'm going to be more active, only take the stairs and make sure to get more sleep. I think that will help out with dropping some weight.

This semester at Berklee was absolutely amazing. I got to work with Don Was who was the producer of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" and tons of other stuff, I was in the Singer's Showcase with 8 other fantastic vocalists and I was back with some of my best friends. I kinda lost track of how many shows I did. It seemed like I had a show all the time. I was constantly performing, which is great! I had BETTA perform all the time...I'm a performance major. Lol.

I think that with each year that passes, life gets more exciting and enjoyable. Of course we'll all go through the bad times. I do have depressing days where I feel like anything I do isn't good enough, but I am constantly reminded how lucky and fortunate to be where I am, mostly by my mother, but often I'm reminded when I'm around people I love.

This semester, I made some amazing new friends and I got even closer and tighter with the ones I already had. I can't wait for next semester. All of the music we'll play and the memories we'll make.

Thank you to all the readers and friends who have constantly supported me in all I do. I love you all. Happy Holidays to everybody.

Musically Yours,
Mario

315.4

So it's been a while...

To be completely honest, I went off the diet a few days. I had In-and-Out, Taco Bell and was really stupid. I was so embarrassed to post things on this blog about how I was "cheating" on the diet, but I realized that I need to come clean and be true to why I'm doing this. Its for me to keep track of myself and what I do, regardless if its detrimental to my weight loss journey. I feel dumb for doing that. I had fun with my friends, but it was working against what I've been working hard to achieve. It was a waste of money and time.

I'm now at 315.4 which is 13 pounds lost from when I started the blog. That's pretty good, but I can do better. If I had not had those tacos or the burger, I would have been that much closer to my goal.

Since summer school has ended (thank God), I've been relaaaaaaxing. The reason I put so many "a's" in relaxing is because I have been relaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaing. I'll stay up really late, get up really late then go to work. I feel well rested and more energetic which is a good thing.

I've been catching up with my friends and trying to stay in the loop. I'm glad I have been because summer is drawing to a close. ALREADY!!! I can't believe it. The older and older I get, the faster and faster life seems to go. As I look back on this summer, I feel like I could have done more. I did work and catch up with my amazing friends, but I wish I did more with music. I didn't have any gigs and I didn't write as much as I wanted to. I said at the end of last year I was going to come back with a book full of new songs. I have maybe 2. That's not a book...That's a pamphlet.

I'm hoping to break the 300 pound mark before going back to Boston at the end of this month. I need to buckle down and work hard to get there. It'll be hard, but it's what needs to happen.

I haven't taken a part of my blog to thank my readers (friends). Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! I didn't think that people would really be into this, but I've gotten a great response so far. All of the feedback I've received has really motivated me to keep going and I can't thank all of you enough. Thank you, thank you very much.

Musically Yours,

Mario

322

It's been a couple of days. Sorry for keeping you hanging. I'm now at 322. That's a 6.4 pounds since last Thursday, so I guess I'm on the right track. Hopefully it will keep going down.

I'm in my last week of summer school and I can't WAIT for it to be over. It's been a long 6 weeks and now I'm two classes closer to finishing college. Psychology was a cool class, but I must say...Art History was the biggest snore fest of all. I literally fell asleep in every class of art history. Sorry that I didn't find wall paintings with horses interesting, I'm so shallow. I'm just glad that I got those out of the way.

This summer has been pretty fun, but I feel like it's flown by. I remember like it was yesterday when I missed my flight in Boston then flew into CA on mother's day. My mom was so happy with me. Lol. I've had some good times this summer, even though it felt short. Here are some pictures of things I did!


I spent mother's day in San Francisco with my Mom, Dad, Aunt and Grandma. We went to this bomb-ass breakfast place in the city. If you have not heard the stories about my grandma, I'll have to tell you later. She's a hoot.


Robin Thicke and...


Jennifer Hudson in Concert!! It was such a good show. I wouldn't mind being like Robin Thicke. A white boy (or in my case, a Filipino/Italian boy) with soul. Jennifer said she had a cold, but she still sang her face off. It was awesome.


I watched my little brother Chewy sleep...


Had some good ice cream with great company :)


I worked a lot...and I still am.


My dad and I washed my 4Runner.


Auditioned for FOX's new beauty contest, American Idol.


Saw the midnight premier of HP6. Best HP movie so far.



Missed Paula's show, but got to hang out anyways. Had a blast!!



And in most recent news, saw Kathy Griffin's stand up show. Super funny.

I can't believe I'll be back in Boston in about a month!! I'm excited!!

My schedule is pretty bomb. I don't have class on Monday until 4:00pm then I have class Tuesday through Thursday and no class on Friday. I have a three day, almost four day weekend every week!! Holla.

Wow. Long blog. Thanks for reading. I appreciate it so much. I'll end with a quote for the day:

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift; that is why it is called the present."
-Master Oogway
Kung Fu Panda

Musically Yours,
Mario

326.4

I just bought an app for blogging, so this is my first blog from my iPhone. Woohoo. Blogging on the go!!

I went off track a little bit...I'm up 2.4 pounds from my last blog. I want to say it was worth it because I had Cheesecake Factory, some bomb ass breakfast at some place in Fresno and my parents and I had In-and-Out last night, but yet again, it was just ok. It was great while I ate it, but I felt the same way always do after I eat. Fat, sluggish and non-energetic.

I think another misconception about "heavy-set-heffas" is that we have no energy. Now let me clarify. I'm not saying that the first thing I want to do is an intensive hike up a mountain or go for a run, but I like to be out and about. Sure, I enjoy a night in, watching movies, hanging out with friends ot whatever, but that's pretty normal and perfectly healthy, fit people do it too. However, the problem is that some people equate obesity to laziness, which is not always the case. Again, let me clarify that I have my laaaaaazy moments, but they do not out "weigh" (haha) my liveliness. I consider myself energetic and full of life which is great because life is too short to be cooped up in a room all day playing World of Warcraft. Lol...sorry to my W.O.W. playing friends...

I used to go to weight watchers meetings with my mom. We did that diet for a bit, while seeing a personal trainer. At the end of each meeting, the extremely perky leader would end with her favorite saying:

"Lighten Up!"

I laughed the first time I heard it. I was like..."are you kidding?" Then I thought about it. I should lighten up, literally and metaphorically speaking. I can't constantly beat myself up and I can't stay unhealthy like this...

I need to lighten up. I need to enjoy life, get healthy, do music, sing my face off and kick ass. That's the plan.

Watch out world, there's a new kid in town.

Musically Yours,

Mario

324

Well...I guess we're off to a good start!

This morning, I weighed myself and I weighed in at 324. That's a 4.4 pound weight loss since yesterday! Holler.

Yesterday was interesting. After the phone call, I didn't even want to speak to my mother. I went to work, where I didn't sell anything (which was annoying), but hey, that's life. I got home and saw that my family had cooked spaghetti, which is bad because my family is Italian (and Filipino) and my Mom makes some gooooood spaghetti. But then it hit me...

How good will that spaghetti really taste? Will it really be as good as my mind is playing it up? After being on several diets, I know now that it is never as good as you make it seem in your head. After you eat a whole plate of it, you look back and think "did I really need all that? Was it worth it?" Well let me tell you...it never is.

I think most people who are in shape or have been in shape their whole lives don't understand that food is an addiction. You can't just tell a chain smoker to put down the Camels, and you can't tell an obese person to drop the donut and go run!! I grew up in a Italian/Filipino household. I think Italian and Filipino people have some of the best food and they all associate eating with socializing (well, at least that's how I was raised). It is hard for me not to say "hey, let's go get something to eat and catch up," because that is just what I'm used to doing. I need to change that mind set.

After the "spaghetti challenge" I faced, I watched So You Think You Can Dance. My two favorite dancers went home!! I was pissed. They we're so good! I'll make sure to take them on tour with me...lol.

Following that, my friend Andy came over and we played Mario Kart Wii, my newest addiction. We started at 11:00pm and played till 3:00am. I kicked his ass the first game, then he kicked mine. The following 3 circuits, I killed him. Then I suggested we'd do a shorter game. He then switched it to 32 races a circuit...I don't think he understood what I was saying, but I went with it. I was so tired while we were playing and I kept falling of the edges of the tracks. We called it a night after that, and he said he was the champ....pssh, please.

Which brings me to today! My parents and I are heading down to Fresno to see my good friend Paula in her Improv show. I can't wait!! Then tomorrow night, we're seeing Kathy Griffin's stand up show!! So stoked!

Well, that's what's going on with me. I'll keep you guys updated!!

Musically Yours,

Mario