If your elderly family member isn’t as excited about eating as she used to be, there could be a wide range of reasons for that. It’s always important that she’s getting the nutrition that she needs, so troubleshooting might be something you need to work on together.
Bring in Some Help with Cooking
Cooking, as well as the act of gathering food to get started cooking, takes up a lot more energy than you might realize. Your senior might find that cooking is not something that she enjoys at all and if she’s exhausted afterward, she might not see it as a good return on her effort and her time. When you bring in home care providers to take over meal preparation, that gives your senior a break and simultaneously ensures she’s getting healthy meals right on time.
Add More “New” to Foods
Sometimes food just gets boring. The same old spices and the same old techniques just don’t seem interesting. If that’s the case for your elderly family member, having home care providers doing the cooking for her can help partially. Something else that can help is to try new recipes or to add new ingredients, herbs, and seasonings to the rotation. Branching out can sometimes be just what she needs.
Rule out Potential Health Concerns
Your elderly family member may have other health issues that are causing her to have difficulty eating. Sometimes these situations establish themselves so slowly that your senior might not be fully aware of what’s causing her to have trouble enjoying meals. Talk to your senior’s doctor and see what might be at play. There could be physical issues, such as dental problems, or medication side effects that are hindering your elderly family member’s appetite. All of these avenues can be addressed.
Look at What Might Stimulate Her Appetite
Once you have more information, you and your senior can work together to stimulate her appetite again. Her doctor may recommend a light exercise program or help you to determine whether adjusting medications is the right way to go. Regardless, once you find the right combination, your senior might be surprised to find that food sounds tasty again.
One way to try to keep track of all of this is to use a food and symptoms journal. You and your elderly family member can both record any information that seems pertinent to what’s going on. Her doctor can use that data to help figure out what’s going on, too.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering home care in Englewood, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare today. Call us at (303) 756-9322.
