Senior Home Care: Eat Healthier in Port Gibson, MS
Seniors who are overweight have a much higher risk of developing serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol. Carrying that extra weight can also put a lot of extra stress on their joints. But it can be difficult for seniors to lose weight as they get older. Limited mobility, changing hormones, and the side effects of some medications can make losing weight a real battle.
If you’re concerned about your senior parent that is overweight and you’d like to help them lose weight one way that you can do that is to encourage them to change their diet. Eating healthy foods is essential for maintaining a healthy weight. Some ways that you can encourage your senior parent to healthier foods are:
Get Senior Home Care
Senior home care provides many types of assistance to seniors that are living at home. One of the things that senior home care providers do is help seniors cook healthy meals at home instead of relying on take out or unhealthy processed foods for meals. With senior home care your senior parent will enjoy cooking healthy meals, shopping for healthy food, and making better lifestyle choices.
Talk About Good Nutrition
Your senior parent may be eating the same foods they’ve always eaten, but now that they’re getting older those foods are causing them to gain weight. Usually that’s because seniors are not as active as they used to be. The extra activity that they used to do probably offset the extra calories they used to eat.
You should talk with your senior parent about healthy ways to eat at the age they are now. Or, make an appointment with a nutritionist who can help create an eating plan for your senior parent that will be more appropriate for their current age and lifestyle.
Cook Together
Cook meals with your senior parent that you can enjoy together. Cooking together can be a bonding activity, and it allows you to introduce healthier ingredients seamlessly. Choose simple recipes that are easy to follow and make it an enjoyable experience for both of you.
Modify Familiar Recipes
Your senior parent may be able to lose weight eating the foods they like with some simple substitutions. Like, substitute a low-calorie yogurt for sour cream in a recipe. Use sugar alternatives in desserts. And use low-fat versions of dressings on salads.
Encourage Small Frequent Meals
Chances are that your senior parent doesn’t need to eat three large meals per day anymore like they did when they were feeding a family. Instead, try to get to them to eat smaller more frequent meals that are loaded with vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats like avocado. Your senior parent may be able to cut the amount of calories that they’re eating without even really noticing it.
Suggest Nutritional Drinks
When seniors are trying to lose weight it’s important that they don’t cut vital nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Low calorie protein shakes are packed with vitamins and minerals that seniors need and have a lot of protein to help your senior parent stay full longer.