When you start to notice that your senior isn’t eating well or as often as she really should, that’s a situation you need to get in front of. Proper nutrition helps to keep your senior as healthy as possible, so it’s important to help her figure out why she’s not as interested in eating.

Make Meals Smaller and Less Intimidating

Large meals or a full plate can be more overwhelming than you might realize, too. All that food at once might seem like an impossible task for your senior and that could put her appetite off altogether. Simplifying meals and offering much smaller servings can help meals feel like less of a chore for your elderly family member.

Choose Foods that Are Nutrient Dense

When you’re looking at much smaller serving sizes and fewer actual meals, you really need to start looking at the nutritional content of your senior’s foods. She may be eating fewer calories, so they need to count. Adding fruits and vegetables to homemade sauces, smoothies, and other recipes can help. Look into what your senior’s doctor recommends for her nutritionally and experiment to find a solution that works.

Make Sure She’s Got Options

Options are huge for older adults, especially if your senior feels as if life is removing her options before her very eyes. Your elderly family member may feel more in control when you give her options in her meals and her snacks. When she realizes that this is an area in which she has lots of choice, she may be more enthused in general.

Make Sure She’s Got Plenty of Water

Dehydration can interfere with your senior’s appetite. When she’s not getting enough water, she may have a more difficult time determining when she’s hungry, thirsty, or both. Offering plenty of water can help your elderly family member to get used to feeling properly hydrated, which is an important part of being able to digest her foods.

Track What She’s Eating So You Can See What’s Working

As you’re making changes, it’s important to understand what’s working and what isn’t. The best way to do this is to start tracking your senior’s meals and paying attention to things like serving sizes, time of day, and how much she actually ate. When you see patterns, you can start to adjust based on either supporting or changing those patterns.

Your senior’s eating habits and encouraging her to eat might all be more complicated than you want to handle on your own. Having experienced mealtime assistance from elder care providers can help you to spot potential issues that you didn’t know could be contributing.

If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Elder Care in Seminole, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.