I am caring for my father who has Alzheimer's (Age 86). He is somewhere between the middle and late stage and has been living with us for almost 13 years. About five months ago, my wife and I decided it was time to place him in a home. However, we did not choose the right home. Before we placed him, he looked pretty good as far as his weight but within about three months of being in that home, he had lost a ton of weight. I was mortified so we pulled him out. I am now working on getting him to gain weight but am having trouble.
I am keeping track of his daily caloric intake (1500) but have found it difficult to reach. He can only eat so much at one time and the portions need to be small or else he might not want to eat it. I tried feeding him smaller meals frequently but that was not working out since the times I would need to feed him would not be good (really agitated or tired and would refuse to eat). He does go to a day care Mon-Fri from about 10 - 3 which is really helpful. But even those days can be a challenge to get the calories.
I'm at a crossroads because I am trying to achieve a certain calorie amount in order for him to gain weight. At the same time, I don't want to just be giving him stuff just because it'll help me reach the daily calorie goal (cookies, brownies). I've been giving him pancakes/muffins made with vegetable puree since they're easy to eat.
I don't know if what I am doing is good. I really want him to gain weight but maybe I should let it go and just focus on nutrition. If anyone has any advice, please let me know.
My mom went through something similar. I got her back up to 110 pounds from 80 pounds with adult nutrition drinks(sugar milk) and ice cream(frozen sugar milk). Grandma went through the same thing. The "professionals" wrote her off and said it was time for hospice house. I disagreed. I did the ice cream and nutrition drink thing for her too. She got over it. Both mom and grandma are both eating mostly normally again. I think a lot of elderly die simply because they starve themselves to death and no one steps in to push the calories. It's called the death spiral. They stop eating which makes them weak which makes them even less likely to eat which makes them even weaker. Break the spiral.
Give you dad anything he's willing to eat. At this point, there's no such thing as bad calories.
Best wishes to you and your dad.
I use the same shakes and add bananas and strawberries things light in sugar. Then a couple hours later give him a pb&j. He'll eat those all the time so I pair it with other foods he likes to help him eat. But it's a difficult decision to make cus their appetites changes often.
Hopen it works out for you.
Some days she can manage herself, most days she does not know what eating utensils are for. So staff, or one of us 3, try to feed her but without a lot of luck. We take her lots of things to tempt her, we do not worry about the empty calories, just giving her things she used to love. We find something she enjoys, but then the staff overdo it and she gets sick of whatever it is she is eating.
Most success has come from the common milkshake, strawberry flavour. Staff adds supplements, we get extra ice cream and malt. Once she starts she will not let go until she gas sucked the container dry. The problem is that she has forgotten how to suck, and often cannot guide the straw to her mouth.
Often she thinks she is being poisoned and refuses food, often she claims she is not hungry because she has just eaten.....wrong...., other times she has no money to pay the waitress.
Recently I was visiting her memory care unit, a number of residents were refusing their afternoon tea because they could not get to the bank, they had no money, someone had stolen their cheque book. Staff were getting frustrated, I asked for my tea and said I was shouting everyone as a Christmas treat. Not quite a stampede, but most residents then demanded their refreshments. Freebies always go down with oldies, must have something to do with the depression era they were born and raised.
Flowerpower567, I would not worry about empty caloried food. Just give your dad what he wants. Anything to get him into a regular eating pattern again. If he has been thrifty all his life, let him think he has won a hamper but he has to sample all the food before he can keep the basket. If alcohol is allowed, give him a beer everyday.
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/high-calorie-foods-for-seniors-168493.htm
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/pro-tips-sneaking-calories-nutrients-into-a-seniors-diet-208396.htm
I switched up my Husbands meals. He started getting a higher calorie, protein dense meal in the morning. I would have soup ready for him, I often would do cream of wheat and when it was partially done crack and egg or two to finish cooking (sort of like a grits and eggs breakfast but made with wheat same could be done with grits) If he was up to it pretty much the same for lunch. By dinner he was pretty tired but he always loved his desserts so I would have pudding, or he loved Key Lime Pie so I would make the filling for him in custard cups, no crust and easier to portion.
There are products on the market that can be added to increase calories. A friend gave me some but..
I tasted a bit, the taste was nasty and it is nothing but oil I could add better tasting "stuff" to his meal and get pretty much the same effect and he would finish the food.
If your dad loves desserts give him more of them, add the fruit or vegetable puree to the brownies, cookies and puddings.
there are protein powders you can add that will add more calories and nutrition
A side note here..there will come a time when your dad will refuse food. He will refuse fluids. Please resist the temptation to resort to tube feeding. When he decides, when his body decides that it no longer needs nutrition trying to get food into him can do more harm than good.
Also please watch while he is eating as aspiration can be a big problem. There will come a time when you will have to thicken liquids and puree solid foods.
After 85, I just want nature to take its course. I do not want to get to the point where my 93-yr-old mother and her aged, informed neighbors are. Yes, they are safe, but they have no quality of life.
I bake: cakes, pies, muffins, brownies. Their taste for sweet is the last taste to go. Give him all of the false calories he can eat, at this point it doesn’t matter. Gaining weight is the goal, however you can do it. Best of luck!
again don’t force feed
Family doctor is not a fan of Boost drinks in the containers and says it is not "real food". I think nutrition is even more important at their age but I also let her eat what she likes while also not buying her empty calorie food. I think sugar is hard on their weak systems although just my opinion. Not sure if any of this will help you but am wishing you the best with trying to get some added weight on your father.
Toward the end of my husband's life he lost almost 30% of his body weight and just wasted away. That's Alzheimer's!
- Ensure
- Ice Cream
- Protein Shakes