If your aging family member is telling you that she doesn’t feel like eating lately, there might be a lot that she’s dealing with in terms of her health.
Not eating on top of that just makes the situation worse. As her family caregiver, there are some ways that you might be able to make the situation better for your senior.
Eating When Sick, or Just Not Well, Isn’t Easy
Your senior may not be officially sick, but if she’s not well, either, food and eating can be a tricky subject. She may have no appetite or find that food just isn’t enjoyable for her anymore. That might lead to other issues, like malnutrition or dehydration. It’s important to take that into account when you and your elderly family member talk about what she’s been eating.
Cooking May Be Impossible
When your senior isn’t eating, that means she’s not getting the calories she needs and she may be weaker than normal. If not eating is compounding another situation that is causing her to have trouble cooking, then preparing meals may well be impossible for your senior to do on her own. Having help is really the best option.
Solutions Are Available
The good news is that solutions are available. If you have time, then you might be able to cook for your elderly family member. But that can be tricky, too. One of the best options is to hire elderly care providers to handle meal preparation for your senior. This gives her someone who can help with meals and snacks, who can tailor those foods to your senior’s needs and wants.
Keep Track of What Works and What Doesn’t
It’s a good idea to encourage your elderly family member to keep a food diary. This can help her to track what’s working, what foods and meals she enjoys, and what isn’t working for her at all. From there, you can tweak the system to ensure that your elderly family member is getting what she truly needs in terms of nutrition. The food diary doesn’t have to be complicated, either. A simple notebook with dates, times, and what your senior ate can be really helpful.
Make sure that you talk to your senior’s doctor about how to keep her as healthy as possible. Some dietary changes take a long time to see big results from, so don’t give up once you get her back to eating healthy meals again.