She waits until I leave the room and she goes into the kitchen and gets snacks. She eats 3 meals a day which I prepare and I give her an afternoon snack. When I have to leave the room to get laundry or go to the bathroom she goes into the kitchen and hides food in her pockets or a napkin and when I am not watching she eats it. She thinks I don't notice but I do. I haven't said anything to her as I don't want to upset her. The reason for the concern is she is spending more time in the bathroom and I know it has to be upsetting her stomach. Can anyone please tell me how to handle this?
My dad got most of his calories from the snacks he used to sneak. I totally approved of it, because he had so little left in his life to enjoy. I would put his preferred snacks on the table in the dining room and put ice cream treats for him in the freezer. He could get them whenever he wanted. In my father's case, however, he did not have a good appetite for heavier foods served at dinner. It is why I appreciated him getting some extra calories and nutrition from snacks.
You mentioned your Mom's stomach might be upset from the snacks... it could be from the snacks itself or from the stress of having to sneak the snacks. If your Mom is lactose intolerant it would be best to stay away from milk chocolate made snacks. Little Debbie carries a nice variety of products.