No alternatives!!!

What are my options??? That is a question that we ask quite frequently. We are living in a day and age and a society that is BIG on alternatives...Options...choices. You could be on the airplane getting a meal and there is going to be someone that doesn't like what they are being given and they will say, What's my alternative??? Resturaunt menus are filled with OPTIONS for all the different eaters.

There is a vegetarian section, gluten free, low-carb, fat free... People want OPTIONS!!! People want ALTERNATIVES!!!

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Everyone wants to hear an alternative to what they should do. Someone Is diagnosed with cancer and the first thing they will be told is, their OPTIONS!!! A girl gets pregnant and people will tell her, these are YOUR OPTIONS!!! There is alternative music, alternative thinking, alternative schools, alternative educations, alternative lifestyles, alternative religions, alternative marriage there is EVEN alternative meat for vegetarians!!!

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What really perturbs me is when people think of living for God as just an option. That alternative thinking seeps into our everyday living. But there has to be a time in our life that we decide when it comes to living for God, there are NO ALTERNATIVIVES!!! There are NO OTHER OPTIONS. If things don't turn out the way I planned, OH WELL, I'm gonna KEEP ON LIVING FOR GOD!!! Fixed! It bothers me so much when I hear people say, "I ALMOST backslid!"

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I don't say that to sound holier-than-thou, I say it because it is worrisome to me. It means that somewhere in their mind backsliding IS an option in their life. We can't live in a way that says, well I WANT to live for God, buuuuuuuuut if it doesn't work out, I guess I'll jus go back to the world! I have a dear friend that I was extremely close to. I watched as God picked them up from a life of NOTHINGNESS and miraculously changed their life for the better, buuuuuut they NEVER could get it out of their mind that GOING BACK TO THE WORLD, wasn't an option.

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There is a bumper sticker that says, "Try Jesus, if you don't like Him, the devil will always take you back!" We can't live with that mentality, we can't just TRY Jesus!!! We have to BURN all of our bridges of alternatives and options in our life till we can say, I can't go back, BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO GO BACK TOO!!! We have to say, THIS IS IT!!! This is my ONLY OPTION!!! There is NO PLAN B!!! I have NO ALTERNATIVES!!!

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I can honestly say that the thought of backsliding does NOT enter my mind! You know WHY??? Not because I'm ultra spiritual, buuuuuuut BECAUSE I have NO OTHER OPTIONS!!! Its like what Peter said to Jesus, "Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." (John 6: 67:68)

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Yes, there are times that its HARD!!! Yes there are times that there is sin in my life! Yes there are times that I need an attitude adjustment!!! Yes there are times that I'm confused, bewildered, frustrated, sad, mad, devastated, heartbroken... Buuuuut its like Peter says, TO WHOM SHALL I GO???  I have no alternative for myself outside of a life devoted to living for my God!!! WHAT ELSE IS THERE??? I have NO other plans! I have NO other options!  

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 LIVE FOR GOD???

I have NO alternatives!!!

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed:  I will sing and give praise" (Psalm 57:7) 

♥Mary Frances :)

A Mary Thought!!!!

Sooooooooo the other day I was having this very random, MARY THOUGHT!!! I was thinking about the fact that everyone always say I have really good self-esteem...BUUUUUUUUUT...I was thinking...

What if I really don't have good self-esteem????

What if I REALLY AM... 

JUST BEAUTIFUL???

 AHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! ;))))

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyy!!!

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I ACTUALLY asked my brother that VERY QUESTION last week and he was just like, Wow Mary, WOW!!! I gotta keep things stirred up and flowing ya know?!?! Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut THEN I had another VERY RANDOM MARY THOUGHT!!! I was like, OMW, WHAT IF I'M REALLY NOT PRETTY??? WHAT IF I JUST HAVE GOOD SELF-ESTEEM??? I pondered this very thought for about 10 seconds, Then I was like, 

NAWWWWW!!!

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Hmmm...

We were reading this Proverb on Sunday, " He that hath knowledge spareth his words..." Annnnnnnd I thought, Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllll...

 Guess we all know from that scripture WHO...

NEVERRRRR got her college degree!!! Hee, hee!!! 

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!

This is TRUE...buuuuuuuut... I would like to say that EXCERCISE is ACTUALLY NOT THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED antidepressant... Prayer and The Word is THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED ANTIDEPRESSANT!!! This week, when your feeling down or stressed out, PRAY, READ YOUR BIBLE, then exercise, THEN after all that go get yo self a LITTLE TREAT!!!! (My suggestion is Fruity-pebble FROYO from zoyo, with fruity pebble cereal on top...YUMMMMM!!!)

Happy MONDAY!!! Have a GREAT week my peeps!!!! "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Sunday!!!

Lets have us SOME GOOD CHURCH TODAY!!!!

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122:1)

♥Mary Frances :)

Maryness #48573939393931111

I REALLY do LOOOOOVE surprises...buuuuuuuut rarely am I ever surprised because i'm VERY INUITIVE to EVERYTHING...I notice it EVEN THO I act like I don't!!! BAHAHA!!! IF I know that there is something amiss...I will DO EVERYTHING in my power to find it out and then be THOURGHLY disappointed when I DO find it out!!! LOL I want presents to be a surprise, they don't have to be elaborate, buuuut I LOVE to NOT know what I'm getting, YET I will try with EVERYTHING IN ME to figure out what it is...I know...it makes NO SENSE...buuuuuut then again, this IS ME!!! AHAHAHAAAA!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

That's WHY we're friends!!!

Sooooooo tonight at church, when Denae and I see each other, we look at each other and without thinking, at the very same moment, we point to each other outfit and say, THAT'S CUTE!!! Then we're both like, THANK YOU!! We both start laughing then Denae says, that's why we're friends and AT THE VERY SAME TIME AGAIN we both say, 

WE COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER!!! 

Then we really start laughing!!! Get it you guy's, WE COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER!!! As in, compliments buuuuut ALSO, complement, as in we go good together...GET IT??? WE COMPLI(E)MENT eachother!!! Heeeeeeeeeyyyy!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Coolest compliment!!!

So I post this before and after picture of myself on my family Groupme and my brother gave me one of the coolest compliments everrrrr!!!

He said, referring to my before and after picture "Same Self-Confidence though, not very many people can say that!" And I thought, that's just about THE COOLEST COMPLIMENT I've gotten during my whole weight loss journey! No, no, THAT IS THE COOLEST COMPLIMENT I HAVE GOTTEN!!!  Although, I would HAVE to say, that I think what my brother ACTUALLY meant is "Same SELF-ESTEEM" Because self-esteem is overall how you view and value yourself as a person, self-confidence is how you feel in your ability to do something.  Because one of my biggest fears with weight loss surgery, which I will go into more details in another post, was that in the process of losing weight, I would ALSO LOSE ME!!! :,( 

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I talked HERE about my over all self-esteem from a legit mental health test I had to take before they started the weight loss journey process!!! The phsycholgist said he had NEVER had a client score as high as me..bahahahaaaa 

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For example, my confidence may be high when it comes to public speaking or writing because I KNOW that these are strong areas in my abilities, buuuut when it comes to math, my self-confidence may not be very high, not because I think lowly of myself as a person, BUUUUT because I know this is a weakness of mine, HOWEVERRR, self-confidence can improve with learning and studying...soooo if anyone out there wants to tutor me in math...HEEEEEEEY...LOL Anyways, soooo in certain areas, my self-confidence HAS gone up with weight loss when it comes to being able to wear certain clothes because they look better now and in physical activities because with weight loss has come increased ability to become better in physical activities!!! 

However, my SELF-CONFIDENCE, which is what my brother was ACTUALLY referring to, IS THE SAME!!! And TO ME that is THE COOLEST COMPLIMENT EVERRRRR!!! Because ultimately what that means is this, I'm STILL THE SAME ME! ME has NOT been lost in the midst of MY WEIGHT LOSS!!! Believe it or NOT, that was LITERALLY my biggest fear OVERALL with having weight loss surgery, I didn't want to LOSE ME...I LOVE BEING ME!!!

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I still know what I knew BEFORE weight loss, I am a child of God, my heart, my life, my being belongs to Him! I was made by Him, and FOR HIM! I am beautiful BECAUSE He created me in HIS IMAGE! I am HIS handiwork! His masterpiece! HIS DESIGN!!! My outward appearance may have changed, BUT WHO I AM HAS NOT, I am STILL God's girl...I am still my hilarious, warm-hearted, quirky, fun-loving SELF!!!

I AM SITLL MARY...

I AM STILL MAR BEAR!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!

I hope everyone is having a great beginning of the new year!!! As for myself, I'm striving to clear out and organize my life, which is going great thus far, I'll go into more details in the near future and ultimately striving for a closer walk with God, which of course is most important of all!!! Hope you all have a great week walking with The Lord!!! God bless!!! 

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

♥Mary Frances :)
P.S. If your part of the AIO club, listen to this months adventure...I WAS CRYING at the end!!! ♥

Happy Single Saturday!!!

Seriously, tardiness is one struggle I do NOT struggle with!!! I consider myself to be a pretty prompt person and strive to USUALLY be about 5 minutes early...In fact, IF I am late its usually cause I planned it and didn't want to be the first one there...OR I GOT LOST!!! BAHAHAHAAAAA!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

#Biblegoals

With it being the beginning of the year, I thought I would to a Bible reading push with a reposted blog written by a question Bishop Abbott asked us in his preaching one time!!! Buuuuuuuut before I do that repost, I thought I would also share with you all something really neat that Bishop Abbott did with us recently at church...
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He read with us the last two chapters of Revelations to finish up his Bible reading for the year, HOWEVERRRRR, this was a very significant moment he shared with us because it was his 50th time reading the Bible through in his life and he wanted to complete his 50th time, WITH US!!!

#Biblegoals

I thought that was superrrrr cool and just wanted to share that with you all!!! Its very inspiring to push us to strive and be better with our Bible reading. I've read the Bible all the way through two times now, my sister completed her first time this year!!!

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My personal tip for completing Bible reading is this: I started reading it like I would any other book, in the sense that I stopped using a Bible reading program and started just reading it straight through and book marking it when I stopped for the day! I always got so frustrated if I got behind a day and then I would just give up for the year when I got TO FAR behind and couldn't catch up, buuuuut I thought, when I'm reading a good book, If I missed reading it one day, do I just STOP READING IT??? NO...I just start reading it again right where I left off and when I started that, that was when I ACTUALLY read my Bible ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!!

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One thing that PUSHED me to ACTUALLY read my Bible all the way through was from a story Bishop Abbott would tell us in his preaching growing up. It was about a man that was fighting something in court to do with his religious freedom and the judge asked him, Sir, Have you ever read your Bible all the way through and the man had to say NO he had not and because of he had never read it through the judge couldn't grant him favor, That story stuck with me, I've always thought, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO ANSWER NO!!! Even tho I never read my Bible through til I was an adult, that story was the inspiration that ALWAYS pushed me to read it through!!! In a year??? NO, but ALL THE WAY THROUGH??? YES!!! 

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It's never too late to start and you may be saying, OH i'm THIS OLD and I was raised in church and I still haven't read it all the way through, don't beat yourself up, just START NOW!!!

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Annnnnd now THE REPOST...

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What is MORE important...???? That is the question that Bishop Abbott asked us one day while he was preaching.

What is MORE important praying or reading your Bible?!

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He said, that so often we think that prayer is MORE important than reading your Bible and he said that while prayer IS indeed VERY important,  JUST REMEMBER, when we pray, it is, US talking to God, (OR with God)THE BIBLE is ALL GOD TALKING TO US!!!

NOT that God can't or doesn't talk to us while we pray, BUUUUUT praying still involves us talking, while the Bible is THE WORD OF GOD, and ALL OF IT IS GOD TALKING!!!  I think that it is pretty safe to say that they both go hand in hand and work together for the GOOD!!! The WORD of God will be enlightened even more to us when we pray.

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 Yet at the same time, We will find the very answers to our prayers IN THE WORD OF GOD!!! Furthermore, the Bible will even begin to show us WHAT we need to praying about!!!

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 Quite awhile ago, I was havin a conversation with fellow Apostolics,  and in the group someone stated, "oh I just wish there was a book that told us ALL the answers to the questions in life." I'm standing there thinkin ummmmmmm HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO....So I'm like not wantin sound like a halier-that-thou-self-righteous-NO-IT-ALL...but I'm just like, well there is, its called THE BIBLE!!! (Like ...ummm...DUH!!!)Sometimes we think that life is soooo complicated that we need something MORE instructional that the Bible...buuuuut NO, the BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD TO US!!! Every single part that you read has the annointing of God on it! It is the INSPIRED WORD OF GOD...imagine, THE BREATH OF GOD breathing down your back...READ YOUR BIBLE...IT HAS THE ANSWERS!!! 
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 Get your Bible and begin to read...JUST THNK, Today, YOU have the opportunity for God talk to you!!!! Start your year off THE RIGHT way...

PRAY AND READ YOUR BIBLE!!!

Mary Frances :)

I WONDER...

So my pastor was doing announcments one evening at church and this came across the screen, he starts to announce it, then just pauses and says,

Hmmmm I WONDER WHO made up THAT FLYER??? 

Of course the whole church just busted up laughing!!! I was like, I HAVE NO IDEA, buuuuuuut isn't it just THE CUUUUUTEST flyer everrrrrr??? 

♥Mary Frances :)

Pick a struggle!!!

When I see this meme it always makes me laugh...

It reminds me of something my mom would always say to me!!! Whenever she would tell me to do something and I didn't want to do it OR I was doing it but only half-heartedly, resulting in a SLOP JOB, my mom would say to me, "Don't be FAT AND LAZY!!!" I would always just kinda be like, Okaaaaaaayyyy...liiiiike kinda puzzled...buuuuuut OKAAAAAY MOM!!!

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Well one day she says this to me and I look her, then kinda slowly I'm like, buuuuuuut MOM, I'm ALREADY FAT!!! Without missing a beat and very matter of factly, she was like, WEEEEEEEEEEELLL, then DON'T BE LAZY!!! I was like, OH OK!!! 

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It all clicked for me, I already had ONE STRUGGLE, she didn't want me to add another to my list and be LAZY too!!! It may seem like she was being harsh with me to say something like that, buuuuut I know she was only trying to help me with a fault I had a tendency towards, LAZINESS!!! To this day, when I'm not wanting to do something or not putting my heart into, it I'll say to myself, Come on Mary, do a good job, DON'T BE FAT AND LAZY!!! "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

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Sometimes when we have faults, we tend to say, WELL, this is JUST ME!!! Like it or lump it!!! Buuuuuut, the other day I was talking to one of my friends and I was telling them about how I was superrrrrrr nervous about doing something and they were like just be YOURSELF don't OVERTHINK IT, just go and BE YOU!!! I was like, yeah buuuuuuuuut, part of BEING ME, IS OVERTHING STUFF!!! They laughed and then were like, well that is true, so let me rephrase that,  go and BE THE BEST YOU!!! . 
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I actually read the other day an article about the top personality types to have a tendency towards being overweight!!! Would you be shocked if I told you all that my personality type ENFP was top on that list??? WELL IT WAS!!! Buuuuuut even tho my personality type is prone to struggle with this, I can't just excuse it, I have to WORK on OVERCOMING MY STRUGGLE!!! My personality type has a TENENCY towards certain struggles, buuuuut by the grace of God, I will strive to overcome my struggles...til I reach heaven!!! 

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Even though we all have tendencies towards certain faults, depending on our personality type, that doesn't mean that, that is THE WAY we are SUPPOSED TO BE!!! We may have struggles, because of WHO WE ARE, BUUUUUUT GOD has given us the power to overcome our faults

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Soooooooooooo my friends, PICK A STRUGGLE and instead of just struggling with it, PICK A STRUGGLE AND WORK ON IT!!! 

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 15:57)
♥Mary Frances :)

Wish I had thought of this!!!

Duuuuuuuuuude...this MAKES ME WANNA get REBAPTIZED!!! 

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 

JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUST KIDDING!!!

I'll never forget that day, 6-years-old, baptized in JESUS name...

IN THE ABBOTT'S FREEZING COLD SWIMMING POOL!!!

I remember it was soooooooooooo COLD annnnnnnnd I remember as soon as I came up outta the water I started running out of that pool and Bishop Abbott was like, Wait a second girl, YOU NEED TO WORSHIP JESUS FIRST for filling you with the Holy Ghost!!! I'm gonna have to say that was one of THE SHORTEST and most UNSPIRITUAL worship sessions for me!!! AHAHAHAAAA!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

November/December End-of-the-year Weight loss update!!!!

First of all my friends, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

Well here it Is, my end of 2017 progress photo...as of December i hit my 100 pounds lost since surgery mark!!!

In actuality tho, I've lost 152 pounds since my highest weight of 408 in my early 20's! You guys have NO IDEA how overwhelming my weight loss felt to me at this point. It just seemed like I was in this huge black tunnel trying to fathom how much weight I need to lose, knowing that IF I LOST 100 POUNDS, I would still be OVER 300 pounds...It all seemed IMPOSSIBLE!!!

Buuuuuuuuuuut NOW, now even tho I'm still in that weight loss tunnel, NOW I"M FINALLY BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL...I can see it, it's NOT IMPOSSIBLE, slowly, but surely and by the grace of God, I'm GOING TO GET TO THE END!!!

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This past year i lost a grand total of 42 pounds, an average of 3.5 pounds a month! Now that I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel, i figure that at the end of this year coming, 2018, I'll be in the low 200's, at this point, I'll reacess and if i think i need to, im just going to keep going and push to be in the 100's! 3.5 a month doesn't seem like a lot but slowly and steadily it all adds up!!!

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A few things I've learned this year

~It's not as important to lose weight quickly as it is to lose it steadily and PERMANENTLY!!!

So I think compared to most of my fellow bariatric surgery peeps, I've lost weight A LOT SLOWER!!! There are people that were already at 100 pounds lost by 6 months after surgery, I got there a year and a half after surgery, buuuuut what matters, IS THAT I GOT THERE!!!! 

~ Diets don't work!!!

Ok, don't get me wrong, THEY DO, buuuuuut they only last if you plan on eating that same exact way FOR LIFE!!! Part of the reason WHY my weight loss has taken me A LOT LONGER than other people is because I never really stuck to the diet they gave me!!! Now I'm NOT a doctor OR in the medical field at all, sooooo I can only speak for myself, I HAD to do what was RIGHT FOR ME!!! The reason WHY I never stuck completely do their diet plan is because losing weight has to be PERMANENT for me and diets are NOT PERMANENT and when you go off them, YOU GAIN!!! For me, I've had to learn to eat in a way that I am going to do FOR LIFE!!! For me this mean implanting, calorie count, portion control and HEALTHY CHOICES THAT I ENJOY!!! I continually educate myself on food and recipes, learning to enjoy new healthier foods, new veggies, EVEN FISH now. Buuuuut I never cut anything COMPLETELY out...the downfall is that its taking me longer, the benefit is that I'll NEVER just gain back a bunch of weight because all of the sudden I added in a ton of food that I couldn't eat before! 

~Exercise only lasts if its something you truly enjoy

Find something you like and it won't be a chore but something you look forward to, for me, THATS HIKING!!! I know it's exercise, buuuuut I LOVE IT!!! I just feel so relaxed and enjoy it SOOOOO MUCH!!! I like trying other things out for fun for a little bit, like Jabz boxing, I wanna do that another month this year, I wanna try Orange Theory for a month, I'd like to try cross fit, I like doing the races, weight training is fun buuuuut with those things, its just something I do for a little bit and then get bored, buuuuuut HIKING...I just ADORE IT!!! 

~ Pray MORE than you exercise! 

At one point during the summer I was really frustrated because I had hit a 3 month platau so I was just excercising like crazy and it was to the point that I was ACTUALLY excercising more than I was praying...Nothing is as important as our prayer life...PRAY MORE than you exercise!!! It's better to go to heaven fluffy than to hell...HOT...cuz you only gonna get HOTTERRRR THERE...jus sayin!!! 

~Enjoy the weight loss journey!

I Hear a lot of people say they just want to hurry up and get skinny and be done with it. While I DO want to get to my goal, I've learned to enjoy this journey that I'm on. To not be satisfied where I am but still contented with getting there slowly! I could say I'm going to push myself to be at my goal weight by the end of this year but Instead I plan to be there within the next 2 years. If things go as planned, another 30-40 pounds lost this year and i'll be around 220, I know I want to get down to at least 208ish (That'll be 200 pounds lost since my highest weight in my early 20's) and at that point I'll evaluate myself and see if I think I should keep pushing to get into the 100's...IF my BMI is right, I'm NOT going to push myself to be in the 100's, but I don't know yet so I just have to wait and see!!! In the mean time,  I'm just going to keep taking it slow and steady and enjoy my life! There's no reason to be in a rush for something you want to last foreverrrrr!!! 

6 more pounds and this sista is going HORSEBACK RIDING!!!!😎👐

♥Mary Frances :)

P.S. I decided to do a separate post on GOALS!!!