What Can You Do to Get Your Senior to Eat if Her Appetite Is Gone?

Older adults often run into difficulty maintaining an appetite. There can be a variety of different causes for your senior to experience loss of appetite. Some of those might even be related to existing health conditions or medications she takes to treat those health issues. What’s really important is finding a way for you and her elder care provider to get nutrients into her diet every day.

Elder Care Franklin Lakes NJ – What Can You Do to Get Your Senior to Eat if Her Appetite Is Gone?

Routine Makes a Big Difference

Routines are incredibly helpful for your senior in every aspect of her life. They’re especially important when it comes to meals, though. Regular mealtimes ensure that you’re encouraging her body to expect food at those times. Your elderly family member may not feel hunger in the same way that she did in the past, which contributes to the appetite problem. Setting times for meals and snacks works around that problem.

Smaller Portions Also Make a Difference

A full meal may be intimidating to your senior. When she’s got the opportunity to enjoy smaller portions of nutrient dense foods, that can be a lot less worrisome for her. Foods that are high in good fats, like avocados and walnuts, as well as foods that are high in protein, like hard-boiled eggs, are good choices. They’re also easy to eat in a small portion.

Encourage Grazing throughout the Day

If you keep plenty of nutrient dense snacks on hand that are tasty for your senior, she’s going to be more likely to graze on them throughout the day. Some options might include cheese that’s cut up into cubes or slices, yogurt cups, cottage cheese, pre-cut fruit and vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs. When these food choices are easy to grab and go, your senior may spend less time thinking and fretting over what to eat.

Keep a Log of What Works and What Doesn’t

It’s also a really good idea to keep track of what’s working for your elderly family member and what isn’t. There may be some really fantastic solutions you put in place, but if your senior just doesn’t enjoy those foods or that idea, she’s not going to do it. Keeping a food log also helps you to see whether her appetite seems to be improving or not. It’s also a lot of data you can use in doctor’s appointments.

It can also help if your senior has an elder care provider with her throughout the day. This is especially the case if you’re not able to be there with her and make sure that she’s getting nutritious foods into her diet during the day.

If you or a senior family member are considering hiring Elder Care Services in Franklin Lakes NJ, please contact the caring staff at Caring Solutions Home Care LLC. In-home senior care servicing Bergen & Passaic Counties. Call today at (973) 427-3553.