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Mom is 88 yrs. old, still lives in her own home but doesn’t cook anymore. She only eats breakfast and lunch, no supper because she claims she just isn’t hungry. She has probably lost at least 50 pounds in the last 18 mo. and is getting weaker. Breakfast is always a bowl of Cheerios and lunch varies. Sometimes she will eat what my sister & I bring her but there are days she just has an apple or popcorn. Looking for solutions to ensure she has a more balanced diet.

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Get her some ice cream and ensure (if she can eat those things). If diabetic, you can probably sub sugar free icecream and another product...I think it's called glucerna or similar to that. You can blend them together like a shake and it tastes pretty good. See if you can get her to eat those things to keep calories going in. If she's lost that much weight, she may be skipping meals. You might also take her to have some tests run to be sure there isn't an underlying reason for the weight loss.

If she is on medicare, have her doctor order home health with some physical and occupational therapy. Tell him you don't want them to run at the same time, but to alternate one with the other. It keeps the therapies/exercise going for a longer period of time. If they schedule at the same time, you only get a couple of months and then get cut off for a while.

Maybe if she was exercising more, she would be a little more hungry. You should also plant the seed that if she keeps losing weight and getting weaker, living alone could soon come to an end. Might encourage her to do a little better on the eating. If you can set up the meals on wheels, great. Otherwise, maybe you and sis can prep some things to put in the frig and freezer: meals and some snack type trays with fruit, cheese, crackers, etc.
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Can you bring her Supplimental drinks for fill in nutrients? They sell cases at Sam’s Club... (their brand is called 'Premier' I think... the chocolate is very good IMO ). I'd tell her to drink one every night... at least for now, since she lost so much weight... I agree with another post here... That's way too much weight to loose in 18 months. You can get it in all flavors. Tell her it's a shake...Just a thought... My dr told me to do this when I also lost way too much weight in a short amount of time caring for my mother due to her being in and out of the hospital... It's very difficult to start putting the weight back on... I thought this was a good suggestion... I still even have them once in a while ... like tonight.
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Google Meals on Wheels for your Mom's area. My Mom didn't qualify because her income was too high.
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After checking with MoW for my parents, I was told that they did not qualify because of their financial status. Maybe this was not true, since none of the posts mention qualifying for the meal service?
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schrist586 Jun 2022
Here you can qualify by agreeing to pay a little bit monthly.
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GramDeb6: My late mother signed up for the noontime delivered MOW. Initially, she thought it was 'good,' not classified as fabulous. However, as time went on, many of these meals remained uneaten by her as they were very much subpar/lacking taste.
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There is no St. Clair, Colorado for a start.
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My parents used to get Meals on Wheels but they didn’t like them. I think their complaint was that a lot of the same. I think they were paying about $10 each but that was several years ago.

More recently I ordered a meal delivery service. The company is called Moms Meals. (Kaiser patients get discount, I think it was about $8 a meal). I don’t live close but my brother does, so he would go over and take in the box and put the meals away). Then when he would go over in the evening to fix her something to eat he just had to grab one and warm it for her. He said it was very convenient. Mom would always say “I don’t want that” but when he warmed it she ate it.

They have several options to cover many dietary requirements. Good luck.
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My mom is a driver for MOW and my dad is a receiver for it. (And no, my mom does not deliver to his house ha ha.)

My parents live in a different city than I do so I had to do some Googling to find the MOW in my dad's area when I was looking for him. It wasn't as simple as just looking up "Meals on Wheels." Apparently, it's different in every city. In his area, I recall it being run by a ministry. And it took a while to get approved. I want to say over a month or two. Anyway, he seems to really like it.

My mom seems to like being a driver for it. She has her requested route and her favorite clients. In addition to the extra nutrition, they are also getting checked on everyday. My mom, a cat person herself, was telling me about her "cat lady" client, who is supposed to be having gall bladder surgery soon. So in other words, she visits with them as well.

I think it would be wonderful if you could arrange MOW for your mom. Just start Googling and even if you live in a different city, it shouldn't be an issue to get it set up for your mom.
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MOW in our LO's area has a one year waiting list so checking with the aging facility in your area asap is recommended.
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Speak to her doctor. My dad was on elderly Ensure to help with protein and nutrition.
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Just call Meals On Wheels. They will start delivering .. simple questions to answer over the phone .. she lost 50lb!! sounds dangerous unl as she is as obese … I’d check for any underlying medical disease …maybe you could cook meals for her in individual portions for her to freeze & take out each day … good luck …
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Have you had her doctor check her? My father lost 30 pounds and claimed he wasn’t hungry for over a year ….and we found out he had lung cancer. I’m not trying to scare you, but appetite loss / wright loss can have serious underlying causes.
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Call your local state agencies (Counsel on Aging, Alz.org) and they will tell you what food delivery is I. Your area.
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Meals on wheels is available in Colorado. Do a Google search on Meals on Wheels and the name of the county that your Mom lives in.

By any chance, could your Mom just be forgetting to eat? 50 pounds in 18 months is a considerable weight loss.

Good luck!
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My mom loves Mom's Meals. They coordinate dietary needs with mom's doctor. Very reasonable prices , variety, and good quality. Meals can be selected according to preference. Call and get her started with a few to see how she likes it.
They do offer full breakfast meals too. Delivery is scheduled.

Shipt and Instacart deliver from local grocery stores and are a lesser price. You can order online and check the nutrition labels yourself. We have had good luck with Smart Ones, Lean Cuisine & Heart Healthy brands.The portions are smaller and perfect for elderly.
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I'd take your mom to a doctor to address the weight loss, to see if there's an underlying reason for her lack of appetite. My dad, who had COPD, had Meals on Wheels in Georgia. They delivered 1 meal a day around the same time. This was a long time ago, so I don't know what the program is like now. Like others have said, each Meals on Wheels program is different, in terms of when they deliver the food, the quality and taste, etc. My dad's meals were fine on both counts. It was arranged through our local Area on Aging. Some other programs in other states would deliver a week's worth of meals at once. (I'm not sure if they came frozen or not). This service made it easier on my mom, at least for 1 meal a day. Good luck.
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Meals on wheels varies a lot. I work for a company that coordinates delivery of MOW in our county. A social worker will assess her and check insurance, etc. Our service provides lunch and dinner if insurance ( or other programs) covers. Some people get only one meal. They can opt out of certain meals if they don't care for them. We do not provide a weekend meal but if there is a holiday we'll offer the option of having a frozen meal predelivered. There are 2 caterers for our county and one is tastier than the other but you don't get a choice as it depends on where you live.. We are also slowly reopening our in person dining which provides socializing etc. Contact the local county aging agency and they will provide more info for you on cost and availability.
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A lot of elderly lose the motivation & energy to prepare food, and often they grab what's easy. Meals on Wheels is a great option. Every day she will get fruit, milk and one hot meal which she can have for lunch or dinner. You can always freeze what you don't want to eat that day. On Friday, they deliver an extra meal for the weekend. Your Mom will get to know the delivery person and will like the "visit". If she doesn't answer the door, they will ring her phone to make sure she is ok - and even further will call you if no contact is made. If I were you I would definitely try it, you have nothing to lose., and can cancel anytime if it doesn't work for you. One last thing: They do ask for an optional monthly "donation" which I gladly paid - but it's not mandatory.
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Just a FYI. where I am, in my county in upstate NY, the meals are great. At my mom's, different county, prepackaged, convenience store-like stuff. Yuck. We stopped it after a week or two.
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Talk to her primary care doctor. Let them know you either need a social work referral to help get that process started. Conversely you can call the 'Area, Agency On Aging" or 'Health And Human Services " in your area to get information and start the process.
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Contact your local Council on Aging and they will direct you. If there are any senior centers nearby they should also be aware of where meals on wheels are located.
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Call your local agency on aging. They will know if Meals on Wheel or another similar service is available in her area. I used to deliver Meals on Wheels and also had my father receiving Meals on Wheels. Unless referred by a hospital social worker, they will usually send out a social worker to evaluate her living situation which is also helpful. Unfortunately not every area has this service but it is a lifesaver to many. Also, at 88 I would forget about the balanced diet issue and just concentrate on calorie intake and get her to eat whatever she likes best. My dad at 100+ basically eats candy bars. There is nothing balanced about his diet and the doctor is happy as long as he keeps his weight up. Also, keep a supply of Boost or Ensure for her to drink a couple of times each day. There is no preparation and she'll get calories and protein which are imporant.
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PenelopePitstop Jun 2022
That must be common. My 95 year old MIL snacks throughout the day mostly on cookies, dates, and other sweet things. When we cook big meals, she only eats very tiny portions like less than what a child would eat. The doctor basically said at her age it didn't matter and she can eat whatever she wants.
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Welcome to the forum.
Losing 50 lbs over 18 months can be good or bad but it all depends how/why she lost it and whether she had 50 pounds to lose?? Is mom under weight? How does she feel? Her choice of snacks makes me think that she feels pretty good? Maybe that’s because I occasionally like popcorn for dinner. 🤫
You mentioned in your bio that you lost your sister a year ago, could that be tied to mom’s weight loss? Has she been grieving perhaps?
Is your mom active? Keep her own home tidy or is she sitting most of the time? Not many calories are required for sitting.
Has she been to the doctor in the last year to make sure her blood work is good? Did she start any new medication in that time frame?
I ordered MOW for my DH aunt for years. They were very faithful to call me if she didn’t come to the door when they came by. So they are a good “extra” set of eyes to look out for your mom as well as for food.
I boiled aunt eggs, made her little containers of cottage cheese and peaches, sometimes deviled the eggs, made up peanut butter finger sandwiches or cheese sticks with fruit, basically provided healthy snacks that she would eat that contained protein. She would never eat past 4 p.m. and didn’t eat breakfast at all when I started helping her. An apple or popcorn are both good snacks. Good fiber. Aunt wouldn’t eat either of those. Her go to before was a couple of slices of bread (or a loaf if she was hungry). she was constantly constipated. We finally had to keep the bread out of sight to encourage her toward healthier snacks.
Also protein drinks are a good supplement.
Hydration and protein were the things I tried to keep an eye on with aunt. With your mom, if she is too thin, I would be wanting to add calories. It all depends on what is going on with her. It is best not to guess.

Depending on your moms insurance, she might qualify for home health services through Medicare. This is a weekly nurse check of her vitals and other services as needed. This is under the homebound segment of Medicare.
My mom and aunt had it for years. Your mom might qualify.
If she has seen her doctor lately, give the dr a call and ask that they order home health for her; that you are concerned about the weight loss. If she hasn’t seen the doctor maybe it is time for a check up? One of the really good things about home health is that the weekly nurse visit keeps an experienced eye on things that can head off hospital or ER visits. It really worked well for my LOs.

I didn’t try to change their preference for living at home but I did encourage layers of help to make it work for as long as possible.

There is something reassuring about looking at a log of weekly vitals and weight that lets you know that all the basics are in range. It helped me during those times when aunt didn’t appear to be eating. I could look at the nurses log and see that her weight did fluctuate 5-7 lbs off and on but overall remained steady.

50 lbs is a lot if it is continuing to trend down and mom is too thin and doesn’t feel well. I don’t think MOW alone is the answer but will be helpful if her health is otherwise stable.
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Melora Jun 2022
This is a tremendously helpful response! I am going to keep a lot of these suggestions for myself. Thank you and take care.
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https://www.google.com/search?q=meals+on+wheels+st+clair+county+Illinois&oq=meals+on+wheels+st+clair+county+Illinois&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30j0i390l2.16846j0j4&client=ms-android-tmus-us-revc&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#trex=m_t:lcl_akp,rc_f:rln,rc_ludocids:12287116317848118922,ru_gwp:0%252C7,ru_lqi:CihtZWFscyBvbiB3aGVlbHMgc3QgY2xhaXIgY291bnR5IElsbGlub2lzSMPumZ3ogICACFo4EAAQARACGAAYARgCGAYiKG1lYWxzIG9uIHdoZWVscyBzdCBjbGFpciBjb3VudHkgaWxsaW5vaXOSARxzb2NpYWxfc2VydmljZXNfb3JnYW5pemF0aW9uqgEXEAEqEyIPbWVhbHMgb24gd2hlZWxzKAA,trex_id:TdFNK&lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D
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I'm guessing you mean the St Clair county in Illinois?

http://www.thecouncilonaging.org/
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cwillie Jun 2022
The moderators have altered the post to say St Clair Colorado rather than St Clair co - the thing is when I originally googled that there does not seem to be a St Clair in Colorado, and since the OP is from Illinois I posted that link.
It would be nice if she came back to clarify.
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Meals on Wheels does exist in many areas.
Google it for your area or if you contact your local Senior Center they may be aware of what other services are in the area. (I know my area I see the Salvation Army food trucks delivering Meals on Wheels to residents)

Would mom consider Independent or Assisted Living? She would get the activity of more people, a friendly community, and meals that she could take in her apartment or in a dining room. And if she needed help it would be there.

(Congrats on your Anniversary!🎉)
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