How to Convince Your Elderly Loved One to Eat More

Home Care in Perth Amboy NJ

It’s never a good feeling when your elderly loved one isn’t eating the way that she should be. Try some of these ideas to encourage her a bit.

Offer Plenty of Water

For some elderly loved ones, being even a little bit dehydrated can be enough to suppress appetite. If your loved one doesn’t drink much water, try increasing her water intake. Make sure there is plenty of water available both during meals and in between as well.

Switch up the Meals

If your loved one isn’t excited about eating, seeing a full plate three times a day can be even more of an appetite killer. Try switching things up and rearrange variables such as meal times and meal sizes. Offer a “buffet” of sorts that allows your loved one to have more control over portion sizes or even when she eats.

Add Some Calories

Because your loved one already isn’t eating as much as she should, you already know she’s not getting all of the nutrients and the calories that she should. One way around this is to add some nutritionally-dense calories to the foods that she does eat. This could mean adding protein powder to pudding, for example, or making a smoothie or milkshake with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Go for Taste over Other Attributes

If your loved one isn’t eating as much as she should, what she does eat should taste pretty good. Try going back to some of her favorite recipes and see if those help to inspire her to eat a little bit more. If your loved one is on a very strict diet, you may need to adjust slightly to accommodate those requirements, but try to err on the side of taste.

Give Your Loved One a Choice

One reason that your loved one may feel more reluctant to eat more is that she feels that she doesn’t have as much control over her meals as she used to have. There may be some very good reasons for that, but it doesn’t change how she feels. Try to work around this by offering your loved one as many choices as you can and keep her involved in making up menus and finding recipes.

Talk to your loved one’s doctors and home care providers about other ideas that may fit your loved one’s exact situation a little more readily.

If you or an aging loved one are considering home care in Perth Amboy, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care of New Brunswick today. Call (732) 607-8870.