8 Ways To Get Mom And Dad To Eat!

My Food Loving Dad Was Struggling With His Appetite. We Were Concerned And Worried. | Mom And Dad

I have such wonderful memories of eating out with my Dad. His love of good food and restaurants is still reflected in my enjoyment of going out to eat. Lunch, brunch and dinner plans are big hit with me! When his appetite began to wane in his 80’s it was hard for us to understand and believe it. Where was our food loving Dad? Large portions that used to excite him now intimated him and his enthusiasm for certain dishes was gone. When he had his open heart surgery, all bets were off and he had no desire to eat much of anything. After checking to see if there was dental or health issues causing it and finding none I began my campaign to get him eating again and came up with various tricks and tactics that helped improve his appetite. Try these 8 tips I came up with to help stimulate and encourage your loved ones to eat. Make meal time something to look forward to.

1. Portions. Don’t pile a lot of food on their plate. A small portion of a little variety is much less intimidating and more appetizing. Large portions can be overwhelming and cause them to have a negative reaction. Make the portions manageable and colorful.

2. Eat with them. Sitting down and socializing while having a meal can stimulate their desire to eat and make the whole experience more pleasant and relaxed. It’s fun to eat with friends and family and rather than feel pressure to eat, they enjoy the company and eating becomes more natural and inviting.

3. Check the Meds. Check the side effects of their medications for loss of appetite and then discuss the options with your doctor. It may be possible that the dosage could be reduced or the medication could be switched out either temporarily or in the long term. It’s extremely important to partner with your doctors and pharmacists about medications and know what the medications’ side effects are.

4. Discover favorite foods. Find out if there are things that they enjoy or if they have favorite snacks or foods. While variety is of course always the best, if you can lock down something that they will always like, who cares if you serve it often if it’s a hit!

5. Make it appetizing. There was a time when My Dad needed to drink ensure at least once a day and we added ice cream to it! He always loved milkshakes so this was perfect. If sugar intake is an issue be cautious and try alternatives. We also added some stronger spices and herbs to things to give them a stronger or more pungent taste. Again, be careful with sodium intake and hot spices as they may be harmful or upset the stomach. Use new things wisely and always ask your doctor but try and think outside the box.

6. Routine and snacks. We went back and forth with this one. Routinely eating at the same time worked for a while with good results for both my parents and then snacking off and on was better at some point. Most people do respond well to eating at the same time every day and it does help create a pattern of eating success. However at some point, you may need to resort to snack eating at various times of the day with nourishing high caloric food depending on the person. Try both and see how they respond remembering that things can change as conditions worsen.

7. Make eating a calm affair. Although my Mom and Dad used to love eating and watching TV, as things progressed eating with no distractions or noise made a difference so they could concentrate. Again, eating and snacking with them added a nice atmosphere.

8. Let your doctor know. Discuss the situation with your doctor and see if he has recommendations or appetite stimulants. There are over the counter supplemental drinks and powders that can be used to make sure they are getting their caloric and nutritional needs met.

Loss of appetite is common. Don’t give up. Experiment and make meal time a pleasant, social and appetizing experience.

Most importantly, be patient and take heart. In the case of my Dad, we were lucky and his appetite did come back eventually when we made adjustments and consistently applied the tools above. My Mom presented much more of a challenge but in the long run, she did respond better when we made eating a calm, family affair. You are not alone facing this challenge and these changes in appetite are a normal part of aging and the caregiving experience in general. In addition to these suggestions, experiment and when you find something that helps use it! Good luck!