have you had a history of sneak eating? here are seven steps to help you stomp out sneak eating: 1. examine your eating habits. what are your sneak eating rituals? how do you sneak eat? what kinds of foods do you choose? when you’re done overeating what do you do with the wrappers or evidence of sneak eating? when are you most likely to curtail your eating because you feel you’ll be judged? what triggers send you flying into your secret sneak eating rituals? look at the last time this occurred to you and seek out the connections between trigger and reaction. late-night eating has a particular air of sneakiness. it’s dark out no one’s around just you and your sneak food. how do you feel at that time? make connections. 2. write it down. the best way to look at patterns and make connections is to journal it. just whip out a computer or spiral-bound notebook and with absolute honestly write down what you eat when and under what circumstances. reading your journal usually is a real eye-opener. 3. savor don’t sneak. if you feel like you’re sneaking food you’ll scarf up food so fast you’ll get whiplash. stop. ask yourself: “what was i thinking before i decided to sneak eat? ” make connections between events emotions and actions. you’re not going to truly savor and enjoy food you need to eat behind others’ backs. instead you’re reacting to something that has occurred in your life. the goal is to savor every morsel of food not to secretly stuff it into your mouth and feel nothing but remorse guilt and shame. 4. focus on your strengths. here’s where we do lots of body image work. look at your body. you have tremendous strengths there and you need to take pride in them. write down your strengths. what can your body do well? the next time you feel bad about your body whip out your laundry list of positive things you love about your body and neutralize the negative thoughts that send you into a sneak eating binge. 5. optimize your healthy lifestyle habits. to improve your body image you need to do the work to eat healthfully as well as stay physically active. living a healthy lifestyle lays down the foundation for the elimination of sneak eating. be patient. people who’ve been sneak eating for a long time will have to be patient with the process of eliminating this habit. old self-destructive patterns take time to be replaced with healthier progressive lifestyle habits. 6. make a commitment. if you feel that you’re about to sneak eat you probably are. eating should not be accompanied by guilt and shame. make a commitment to spend the next 24 hours eating healthfully and fight the urge to take food into a secret place where you eat sneak foods. start out with a healthy breakfast and eat every 3-4 hours after that. make certain you’re eating a balance of high quality protein carbs (veggies fruit whole grain) and fat. stop eating by 8 p. m. each night. get physical activity. if you’re feeling stressed and anxious seek other ways to alleviate the angst. these include activities that do not involve sneak eating or self destruction (meditate breathe yoga read a book call a friend take a walk). write down your commitment and take it day by day. each successful day is a powerful experience that will help you to build a strong foundation for healthy living. 7. get help. since sneak eating is associated with body image issues sometimes we need to get help and guidance with understanding how to come to peace with our body. there are licensed social workers and psychologists who can provide the expertise you’ll need to achieve your goals. sneak eating is an outward manifestation of inner turmoil about your body and yourself. gift yourself with the daily patience and practice to resolve this challenge. come out of hiding. you deserve to sit up proudly at the table and savor your food and life. you can stomp out sneak eating once and for all.
how can i stop sneak eating?