CLEVELAND -- Even at her heaviest, Fran Lausin always had a smile on her face. But how she felt inside was a different story.

Lausin said, "I used to feel so bad. I mean, I was the joker always because I guess I had to compensate for feeling bad."

Lausin's sister, Rina Catena, had accepted what she thought was her fate.

"Just face it, you're always going to be fat and you're always just going to be by myself," Catena said.

But one day, Lausin got tired of struggling to walk across the room.

And on another, Catena had a health scare and cut a deal as she was whisked away in an ambulance.

Catena said, "All I could do was breathe and think, 'God, if you get me through this, you know, I will never put anything in my mouth that doesn't belong there.'"

That was two years ago.

Today, Lausin and Catena are a total of 330 pounds lighter.

Lausin shed 190 pounds, and Catena lost 140.

Lausin said, "Now I have more confidence in myself too, and I'm like, I can help somebody change their life."

They already have.

Lausin and Catena operate Mama Catena in Euclid. It's a family restaurant where their transformation is as big a draw as the homemade Italian food.

"One guy came in the other day, too, and he's like, 'Where's Fran?'" Lausin said, "I'm like 'Hey, it's me, Rod. What's the matter with you?'"

But what all their customers really want to know is, how did they do it?

Catena said, "I've actually figured out which foods make me lose more weight or keep me at the weight that I am. I actually have learned to listen to my body."

Lausin and Catena Fran both enlisted the help of a University Hospitals endocrinologist and dietician and followed their suggestions.

"They gave us the tools and we made them work," Catena explained.

The sisters have used the plan to create whole new dishes and snacks which they now offer to their customers.

Catena said, "The food that we eat is very satisfying. You are not hungry. It's high protein, lean protein, it's very low-fat, very low-carb. And you know what? You're not hungry."

The sisters don't skip meals, especially breakfast. They smell forbidden foods. They don't taste them. And they've vowed bread, chocolate, and pasta will never cross their lips again.

"There's no trying. You just have to get off your butt and do it," Catena said.

Lausin added, "I always thought, 'No, that's never going to happen to me, it's too hard. It's not going to work for me.' But you can do it!"

Lausin and Catena said they couldn't have done it without the support and understanding of all of their family and friends.

Related links:

• Endocrinologist Dr. Gregg Faiman
• Recipes courtesy Mama Catena Pizzeria & Ristorante:
  711 Babbitt Rd, Euclid , Ohio

Bacon and Cheese Wraps

• 2 strips of turkey bacon (Oscar Mayer)
• 1 wedge of Light Laughing Cow Cheese (onion, garlic or regular)
• Place paper towel on top of a microwave safe dish. Then place the two strips of bacon on top of paper towel and microwave for one minute. Remove from microwave and immediately place cheese in the center of the bacon and roll the bacon around the cheese. Enjoy as a snack or as part of your breakfast. You can have up to four per day.

Bacon Flavored Crisps

• 4 Strips of Turkey Bacon (Oscar Mayer)
• Microwave one minute per slice of bacon
• Place paper towel on top of a microwave safe dish. Then place strips of turkey bacon on top of paper towel. Microwave for four minutes or until bacon looks like it's almost burned. Remove from microwave and let it sit for 3 minutes. The bacon will become so crispy that it will feel like you're eating bacon flavored potato chips. Enjoy!!!

Frittata

• 6 egg whites
• 1 to 2 cups of your favorite green vegetable ( broccoli, green pepper, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, artichoke)
• Pam
• 2 Tbsp of grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
• Heat the skillet. Spray with generous amounts of Pam. Add onions. Cook onions till golden brown spraying with Pam as necessary. Add one or two different kind of vegetables. (Vegetable combinations: onions and tomato / green pepper and onions / broccoli with mushrooms and onions.) Cook vegetables till tender. In a separate bowl beat egg whites with 1 tablespoon of grated cheese add salt and pepper to taste then add to the vegetables already cooking in skillet. Cook for about three minutes on both sides. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Enjoy!!! This is equal to three servings of protein and one vegetable serving.

Baked Lemon Chicken

• One whole Chicken ( Oven Roaster)
• 2 Lemons
• 1 Onion
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Pam
• Make sure to wash chicken with cold water completely inside and the outside. Cut one of the lemons in half and squeeze lemon all over the outside and the inside of the chicken. Then take the same lemon and place it inside the chicken along wit the cut up onion. Spray chicken with Pam and sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper. Then bake (350 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes) until skin is a dark golden brown. Make sure to remove all of visible skin and fat. Slice the breast and remove meat off of the bones. Layer chicken in a casserole dish. Cut second lemon in half. Start layering with the chicken first, then squeeze with lemon and sprinkle with salt. Repeat this till you've done this with the rest of the chicken. Serve hot or cold. It's yummy.