Elderly weight gain

czechwolf52

Does anyone have any advice on helping an elderly man gain weight? My grandpa is nearly 84 and has recently loss 10-15 lbs because of his lack of hunger. He was already at a healthy weight and didn't need to lose any, so myself, mother, and grandma are trying to encourage him to eat so that he can keep up his strength and gain some weight. We're trying to find some snacks that are not too filling, so that he'll be hungry for later, but also high in protein for his strength.

So far we have:
Pure Protein bars from Costco
Protein shake with 30 g of protein
Hard boiled eggs
String cheese

Is this a good starting point for snacks? He'll probably have one of these a day in addition to his other meals and snacks. And unfortunately he will not eat peanut butter or any other nut butter spread since he had peanut butter almost everyday as a child. We might be able to get him to try biscoff or nutella, but we want most of his additional calories to nutrient rich, and not just all sugar. He still walks fine with a cane, so we want him to have healthy foods to keep up his strength.

And for those who will ask about what his doctor will say: he's in the process now of changing his primary care doctor now, so once he establishes a relationship with him and fills out the HIPPA forms so that his children can talk to the doctors we'll know more. In the mean time, we're just trying to get him to gain some weight.

Thanks!

47Jacqueline

elderly people tend to start losing weight at one point. If you can get him to eat more protein and carbs that would be good, but you may not be successful. It also depends on his health. My sister-in-law, who is a nurse practitioner tried to get my mom to start having boost or ensure between meals last year, but she was not willing to eat more than she already was.

Good luck.

Bounce4

Those are good ideas. Offer him whatever he likes and they also make ensure shakes that are frequently used to help meet nutritional needs. This is not an uncommon problem for older people. Frequent small meals are also sometimes helpful.

I'm glad there is a doctor appointment in the works.

czechwolf52

I also thought that flavored Greek yogurt would be a good way to get calories and protein into him. My mom just got off the phone with him and he's just eating his first meal of the day at noon. Considering he gets up by 7 he really doesn't need to be skipping breakfast. Is there anything that can stimulate an appetite?