As an elderly care provider for your aging loved one, you may have noticed that as she ages, she seems to be given smaller. While you and every other middle-aged adult that you know is fighting the bold, your aging loved one seems to be disappearing at a rapid rate this is a relatively common symptom of aging. Various medical conditions, medications and cognitive challenges can lead to serious, fast weight loss. It is important to remember that even people who are overweight should not lose weight at too rapid a pace. The body needs a certain amount of nutrients in order to function, and losing weight too quickly can cause serious deficiencies in these nutrients.

If you notice that your aging loved one is losing weight too quickly, a critical element of your elder care services should be helping your loved one gain weight and then maintain a healthy weight for the long term. This can be quite a challenge, particularly if your aging loved one suffers from cognitive challenges that make it difficult for him to recognize hunger, or uncomfortable for him to eat. There are several ways, however, that you can utilize innovative elderly care to boost your loved one’s body weight while still protecting his health.

Consider some of the following tips:

• Keep a food journal for several days and take note of the items that your loved one was willing to eat. Keep track of the characteristics of the food. It may not be the food itself, but a particular characteristic such as color, texture, temperature or food group that your loved one is willing to consume. Prepare as many meals as possible centered on this type of food.
• Offer protein shakes throughout the day. Often used as meal replacements, the shakes make great snacks for those maintaining their weight or dietary supplements for those attempting to get more calories into their day. The additional protein in the shakes is also beneficial to supporting healthy muscle tissue.
• Boost the fat and calorie content of these protein shakes by adding extra scoops of protein powder and using whole milk.
• If your aging loved ones becoming bored with the same flavors of shakes every day, don’t hesitate to pour the protein shake into a blender and add frozen fruit. Not only are they getting the nutritional benefit from the fruit, the variation in flavor can help stimulate a stronger appetite.

The caregivers at Great Care are available to talk with you and your family about all of your senior care needs. Great Care is an elderly care agency providing quality and affordable home care in Carmel, IN and the surrounding areas. Call (317) 595-9933 for more information.