If your elderly loved one is living independently, maintaining healthy eating habits can be a challenge. Without the need to cook for multiple people as they might have in the past, many seniors lose motivation to prepare balanced meals for themselves. This is where home care assistance can make a big difference.
By providing support with meal planning, preparation, and cleanup, a home care assistance team can help your loved one maintain healthier eating habits and rediscover the importance of mindful eating.
Why Do Some Elderly Stop Eating Well?
The reasons are plentiful and complex, but here are some key reasons the elderly population is more likely to fill up with unhealthy food options.
- They believe healthy foods are too expensive.
- They believe healthy foods require too much work.
- They are eating by themselves, so they don’t think it’s important to have a well-rounded meal.
- Home-made, fresh foods require more energy than they have to prepare and clean up.
Luckily, with a little help and some guidance in redirecting their eating habits, you can help your loved one begin to eat healthy again.
If preparing meals and cleaning up afterward are two of the top reasons why your loved one struggles to eat well and be mindful of what she’s eating, consider having a home care assistance team who can help with meal preparation. A home care assistance team can take into account any medical dietary needs she has and help with not only preparing the meal but with shopping for ingredients.
Four Tips to Encourage Healthier Meals for Your Senior through Mindful Eating
When food just becomes a quick way to alleviate hunger pains, your loved one loses much of the joy that comes from mindful eating. When she can slow down, think about what she is eating, and thoroughly enjoy it, she will be encouraged to make better food choices.
- Use mealtimes just for the meal. That means no television shows are being watched, or heaven forbid, she’s not squeezing a meal in while driving to the store. By focusing on all aspects of the meal, from the looks of the food to the smells and especially the taste of each mouthful, she’ll be able to enjoy each part of it.
- Eat slowly. Eating slowly helps your loved one listen to her body as she eats and understand when it’s full and when she needs more calories. Chewing food thoroughly helps with digestion as well.
- Think about each item on the plate. Instead of just eating the food, your loved one should think about where it came from and what process did it go through to get here. What are its ingredients? If your loved one doesn’t know what the ingredients are for an item, this is a good time to learn about what she’s eating and what’s in it.
- Create an eating location that reflects the importance of the food being eaten. Encourage your loved one to fully set the table and use real dishes, glasses, and silverware. She might find some nice instrumental music playing in the background will be calming and make eating more enjoyable or a nice view out a window can bring calm to mealtime.
With a little practice and perhaps some help from a home care assistance provider, meals will become more mindful for your loved one, and she’ll find herself making better meal choices that will improve her overall health.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Assistance in Leesburg, VA, please contact the caring staff at Cardinal Home Care today! (703) 934-4610
Cardinal Home Care provides exceptional home care services in Arlington, Alexandria, Leesburg, Reston, Herndon, Manassas, Ashburn, Falls Church, McLean, Fairfax, Virginia, and the surrounding communities.
Cardinal Home Care launched in 2019, with the purpose of providing quality non-medical home care to seniors wishing to remain in the comfort of their homes.
Cardinal Home Care provides exceptional home care services in Arlington, Alexandria, Leesburg, Reston, Herndon, Manassas, Ashburn, Falls Church, McLean, Fairfax Virginia and the surrounding communities.
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