How to stop sneaking food and crashing

Those nasty squirrels! My 16-year old daughter and I stand with hands on our hips gazing at the toppled bird feeder. The squirrels got in again. And then she quips "If those squirrels are so smart that they can continually get past obstacles and get into our bird feeder, why aren't they smart enough to not run out in the road and get struck by a car?" That's my Amelia.

But it makes me think...those squirrels are pesky creatures. They sneak their food. They are relentless. They have other good food, but they want what they can't have, or shouldn't have. And then, they're dumb enough to run out in traffic and get run over. Kind of like a person trying to lose weight. Sneaking food, feeling out of control towards food, and wanting what they can't have, or shouldn't have. Then crashing and wondering what happened.

Do you ever sneak food?

I mean, be honest, do you ever eat things when no one is looking? That private time, maybe after everyone's in bed, maybe something you grab from the cupboards and eat in your bedroom or somewhere where it is just you. Just you and the food you shouldn't have. Junk food. Packaged food. Candy, sugar, foods loaded with high fructose corn syrup. Just a little bit to get you through. A little bit here and there. No one knows about it, so it's okay. And you just need a little bit, so it's okay, it's not like you are binging or anything.

Except...

Except for the fact that you keep crashing. You are stuck. You are unable to lose weight. You are doing everything you are supposed to be doing - or let me clarify - you are doing what you think you need to do to lose weight. You are counting calories, you are working out. But the weight's not coming off. And the body's not changing.

Reality meets the road when I ask a new client to write down everything they eat and drink for two days. I tell them to be honest. Most are. They are embarrassed, but they are honest. And most say the same thing - I didn't realize how much junk I had until I had to write it down. That's a starting point.

• We can't just sneak food when no one's looking and think it doesn't matter. 
• We can't just sneak food and pretend it doesn't matter. 
• We can't just keep crashing, stalling, and thinking that it doesn't matter. 

It does matter. 
It does make a difference. 

Don't be that pesky squirrel who sneaks around and then gets run over. Face your reality. If your reality is a food addiction, then face it. If your reality is an emotional attachment to a food, then face it. If your reality is a broken relationship masked by food, then face it. You can change this habit. It takes work, but you can change it. You can stop sneaking food and you can stop crashing. I'm here to help you...