50? Maybe not, thanks to my Easter saboteur

It must be stated first: My mother is the BEST mom on Earth. Love, love, love her. She gives like no other.

Having said that, was she the best person to spend 24/7 with for the two days before my final weigh-in with Jackie during which I hope to hit a 50-pound weight loss? Nosiree.

In her defense, it was a holiday weekend, and on holidays, my mom is fueled only by the drive to make her family happy. How do moms do that? Food. And hugs, but mostly food.

Exhibit A: Saturday, on a high from a good morning workout with the plan to walk later, I say, "Hey, how about I make tacos tonight?" Subtext: So that I know what exactly I'm eating and how many calories are in it. Mom: "No, honey, we're taking you and your sister out to eat." Friday's is where we ended up, with only a preliminary scan of the online menu's limited nutrition info before we went.

Exhibit B: Snacks on Saturday night. Hot Tomales, Milky Ways, giant sugar cookies from Barns & Noble, and kettle corn were highlighted items. I managed to steer clear of all except for a bag of Smart Pop Kettle Corn. After my mystery dinner at Friday's, I didn't need the calories.

Exhibit C: I take my dog for an hour-long walk Sunday morning, and when I get back, mom had a 280-calorie fruit and yogurt from Kwik Trip with a fountain pop waiting for me. Oh, and, "I found those honey mustard pretzels you like, and I bought M&M cookies so we all have enough food if your sister's boyfriend brings her brother." There on the counter were 12 cookies, a giant bag of the pretzels, and various confections for the non-dieters' desserts.

Exhibit D: Lunch. Ribeyes, twice-baked potatoes, potato salad, deviled eggs, fruit salad, green bean casserole and Hawaiin rolls. Sighhhhhhhhhh.

I managed to weasel out of the angel food cake for dessert, but who knows what was in the eggs and salad and potatoes? I tried not to eat too much of it, but then, of course, there's mom with things like, "Did you get an egg?" "I already had one." "Well, you can have another one."

So, yeah, I walked for half an hour this morning with the pup, and I plan to eat super, super light today before I weigh-in with Jackie at 4 p.m. (which is the 16-week mark exactly today, by the way. Crazy!) But I doubt all those mystery calories will just dissipate before then.

We'll see! Love you, Mom! ; )