Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
B
Bemomiller Asked July 2013

What can I do to get mom to eat? She has decided she just isn't hungry unless its ice cream.

Eyerishlass Jul 2013
Let her eat the ice cream. Smoothies are a good idea too. No sense in trying to force broccoli and chicken down her gullet if she refuses. She won't starve to death, her body will tell her when she needs to eat. I'm not suggesting you give up, just try not to worry about it. I'm sure you've tried everything to get her to eat and if she just won't, except for the ice cream, don't stress yourself out over it.

Bemomiller Jul 2013
I've actually been making her smoothies for lunch and she loves them.

ADVERTISEMENT


JennyM Jul 2013
Ice cream can be a fairly reasonable diet -- try to add fruit for vitamins and ground nuts for protein.....

sonswife Jul 2013
Ice cream or baby food, I'd pick ice cream for sure. I agree with AlisonBoBalison regarding nutrition vs calories. You could always add a serving of fruit to the ice cream. Some drugs alter the sense of taste or give you a metallic taste in your mouth so once loved foods don't taste good anymore. You might want to have a conversation with her pharmacist regarding her eating issues and ask if it might be related to medications.

Bemomiller Jul 2013
Thank you. That is exactly the discussion I'm having right now with the family. I've tried everything to get her to eat, she has lost all want for anything she loves except ice cream. I see no point in trying to force feed her and argue about it. Someone mentioned baby food might be something she would eat, has anyone tried that?

AliBoBali Jul 2013
I remember these days from my 103 yr old GM's life. She very literally lost her appetite for just about anything but ice cream. And thankfully, in my situation, a hospice nurse told me that it was just fine for my GM to eat whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted... that her days of being concerned about nutrition were over, and now it was just about calories, period.

So then I guess what you need to ascertain is - Where is your mother at with regard to needing nutrition vs. calories? I would ask her doctors that question and go from there.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter