I am worried sick about my 79 year old granddmother, she went to her heart Dr today and everything was fine with that, but she has lost another 6lbs, which puts her at 82lbs, could someone please suggest some things for her to eat/drink to gain weight or just not lose anymore weight. The Dr. did say Ensure and she does have some but is there anything else anyone could suggest? I love her so much and just hate seeing her waste away. Thank you so much for ANY suggestions you may have.

Christine

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TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

I honestly think that as we get older we just can help but to loose weight and if she was small to start with it makes an even bigger difference. I don't know if you can get her to eat any MORE, but the Ensure and other high calorie things are a good start. How about taking her out to dinner once in a while? I know for my Grandfather he couldn't be bothered making a big meal for just himself to he would just have soup or something like that. They need a reason to eat if you kwim?

Good luck! As long as she's feeling well and is still active that's half the battle!

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

Peanut Butter? it's very dense high calorie protein nutrition. I know they give out ration packs of peanut butter to starving children in Africa before anything else.

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rhapsody112@gmail.com

You really need to catch her in the mood for something-am having the same problem w/ my 16yr. old son, who is undergoing medical treatment, and at 6'4" is only 140lbs. He does like the Carnation instant breakfast drinks. I totally load butter, sour cream, cream cheese, cheese, whipped cream, and whole milk into everything he ingests.

Do they know why she losing weight? I know when you get older you tend to eat less, & less and will get thinner.. I think Ensure will help her get her calories in for the day..I would have her B-12 check ....as people age they stop absording this vitamin and weight loss can be one of the signs of a defiency..

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Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.

when my granny started losing weight we would make her milk shakes and add
a banana and some protein powder and loads of ice cream she loved them

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Tim
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We had a neighbor that put ice cream in his Ensure to add calories.

Does she live alone? You may want to look in her refrigerator. I was a hospice and home health nurse for over 20 years. You would be surprised what you can learn about a person's general health by checking the refrigerator. A lot of seniors are too tired to prepare a meal. And, people in the 80 year old range have different definitions of a nutricious meal. Hotdogs or sausage links and beans is not a nutritious meal. Most seniors are protein poor. Either they do not spend the money on protein or they do not understand the importance of a well balanced diet.

My guess is that she has gotten out of the habit of eating. A lot of seniots nibble on junk all day but do not sit down and eat three meals. Like everyone else has said, consider "calorie packing"- not just mashed potaotes but mashed potatoes with cheese and sour cream, not just meatballs but meatballs with a thick, calorie enhanced gravy, etc. Also, who does she eat with? You may need to help with meal preparation and have family members stop by her house to eat with her. I would also date all containers in her fridge. Food intake is not a quick fix. It takes a lot of monitoring and gentle suggestions.

I had one patient who was on a VERY limited income. She would buy food and her grandson would come and eat all the food in her fridge in one setting. She made a pot of potato soup which had to last for two weeks.

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Lyn Clarke

Thanks everyone for your replies.
Yes...she does live alone but me or my mom go everyday and take her something to eat.
She does not like to eat alone, but she loves "junk" like dark chocolate, goldfish, cookies.
We thinks she drinks too much ginger ale, I wonder if that could be bad?
She also tells me as you get older nothing tastes as good
I will try everything you all posted.....and we will also see if she needs some B-12

Thanks again

Christine

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TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

If she is drinking ginger ale, I wouldn't worry about it. Would I choose ginger ale? No, but I would rather see her hydrated then not and at least she is drinking calories. One suggestion- I would ask her to put a little (1/4 tsp) of sugar in each glass of ginger ale to release part of the bubbles. Sometimes, the bubbles will make a person feel full-especially one who will only graze on food rather eating a meal.

If you are cooking, then you can pack every serving with as many calories as possible. Make small servings though or she will feel overwhemed.

Also another thing to consider, if she tries Boost or Ensure, I would start her with 1/2 Ensure or Boost to 1/2 milk with ice cream. And make sure the Boost or Ensure is very cold. The biggest complaints I heard about either product is that they are too sweet, taste awful unless cold, and start with 1/2 can a day until you see what happens. Some people get loose stools from these products. Start slow.

Lastly, if you and your mom alternate between going to see her- go during meal times and be prepared to sit and have a snack with her. All of these steps sound time consuming, but they will take less time then visiting her in a nursing home or an assisted care facility.

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Lyn Clarke

Thank you so much...My aunt ( her Daughter) from out of town is spending the weekend with my grandmother. so my mom, my aunt and me are going to have a talk with my grandmother and use the suggestions everyone has given.
Thanks for the ginger ale tip, it may be keeping her full so we try the sugar in it.

Do you know anything about that new "Special K protein water" it has ( I think) 5 grams of protein in it.
Do you think that would be good for her to drink, too?
And do you have any thoughts on meals-on-wheels?

Christine

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TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

If you could get her on meals-on-wheels, that would be great. She would have contact everyday with the person delivering the meals and she would have meals all ready to eat. Also, try Carnation Instant Breakfast if she doesn't like Ensure or Boost.

My 87-year old grandmother died in August. Prior to that she was losing weight as well. She was just not remembering to eat. She lived alone and had been in fine health up to that point - even driving. But, she started getting thinner and thinner.

My dad signed her up for Meals on Wheels for lunch. For dinner, at first my dad would make dinner for he & my mom and make extra and then he took her dinner to her every night. That got old because she lived 7 miles away (and he went to check in on her during the day as well). So, he made a deal with a neighbor who was a friend of my grandmas (she lived in a apartment). He made dinner for both of them Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, and the neighber made dinner and ate with my grandmother Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

It worked out so well - my grandmother had someone to eat with every day (except Sunday) and the friend loved it because she didn't have to cook 3 nights a week. My grandma started gaining weight and all was well (until she caught Pnuemonia and coudn't get over it).

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I lived with my grandmother for 2 1/2 years till she died at 90 in June
If I was right there with her eating or I would get take out, she would eat alot
But otherwise she didn't want to i guess besides boost
Having some company there helped alot
I had a baby monitor set up upstairs in her house where i lived and could tell she got soo lonely
she wouldn't even watch t.v. just sit in her chair and sleep
which is very sad

Suzanne

Lisa and Suzanne


I went today and visited with her and my aunt, she agreed she would have a milkshake everyday with an ensure in it, if she keeps losing weight she will go and live with my mother, she DOES NOT want to live with my mother so I hope she will begin to gain/maintain her weight, I spend alot of time with her and love her more than anything in this world, she could come and live with me too, but she says I keep my house too cold, lol, I even told her I would turn up the heat for her and get her an extra heater for her room.
I'm going to check on meals-on-wheels just to see if that would help.....Gosh it is so sad to get older

PS. I'm so sorry you both lost your grandmothers.


Thank you
Christine

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TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

Assuming your grandma is not on a restricted diet due to cholesterol or diabetes, all of the suggestions are great. My grandma is 86 and has super high cholesterol and diabetes. Her choices are so limited that it is amazing that she eats at all. She still lives alone and cooks for herself. She is willing to try new foods which is great.

Perhaps your grandma needs to see a nutritionist, they can give you guys ideas on high calorie healthy meals and let you know how many calories she needs per day.

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#3 Gone To Race In A Better Place...

Make sure she is eating them! My dad would make chili, veggie soup, etc. - all the things you can make and freeze so she only had to microwave them - she would forget they were in the freezer and still not eat them! I had planned to make a bunch of foods to giver her for Christmas (she was so hard to buy for - she had everything!) and put them in plastic freezer containers so she would have variety of easy stuff. My dad said it was a great idea, but didn't figure she'd eat them. She died in August so I didn't get the chance, but I believed what my dad had said. She had always been so very sharp. It was so hard to watch her deteriorate. We had found her an assisted living facility that she was supposed to move into - but she never came home from the hospital. I wish you the very best of luck.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I noticed that older peope tend to lose taste buds. If you go to a nursing home, even those with good food, you might notice that many will eat their desserts first. Sugar is a taste that appeals more than savory foods. Try putting a little sugar in tomato based soups and chili. Not enough to make it cloyingly sweet but enough that she can taste it. Put sugar in the water for most vegetable when you are cooking. Carrot and corn are particularly good with sugar, but it does not hurt the flavor of some of the other veggies either. Sweet potatoes instead of white, topped with brown sugar and butter. Ice creams and puddings.

Try making an ice cream float with that ginger ale. I think that would be good. My mother had ice cream every day of her life for her last 7 or 8 years. Make some hearty muffins with nuts, carrot, zucchini and/or corn in them. They can be frozen and she can take one out whenever she wants something to munch on. Those high fat muffins with the sugar, lots of oil and veggies are not good for most people but are a great vehicle. to keep weight on someone who likes sweet flavors. Something like Miracle Whip is sweeter than mayo and may make a chicken sandwich more appealing. You can always add a little more sugar to it and let her see if she likes it that way.

Make sure she has real butter in the house. That will taste better on those muffins and on the slightly sweetened veggies. Keep those little individual cups of ice cream on hand so that she doesn't have to scoop. That is hard work and the cups just have to have a lid removed. If there is a flavor she prefers, then you can take the square cartons, cut off the paper, use a long knife and cut the ice cream into serviing size pieces and wrap each in waxed paper and place in a freezer container so she can serve herself easily. I know this is long but I hope it helps. Been there, done that, so I speak with some experience.

The Carnation Instant Breakfast can be made in a container so its there for drinks all day long or the Ensure can be mixed with some ice cream and whipped up in the blender for a shake.....

How about bringing over to your house for a dinner once or twice a week???? Maybe she just needs conversation etc...

I would also look for a cause of loosing weight....