Does anyone have an idea on how to get more calories into my husband who does not eat much? He has lost so much weight and I make what he says.

Adding honey to hot/warm drinks can add some calories too.

If he likes milkshakes, you can buy peanut butter powder at the grocery store - very high protein, and delicious.

My Papa’s doctor told us that when they don’t want to eat, “any calorie is a good calorie”. My Papa had a real sweet tooth, so we would make sweet potato pie (some nutrients and sweet at the same time). Or milkshakes with fruit. We gave him all the sweets he wanted, doctored up with healthiness where we could.

Also, if he will only eat 2 foods, just feed him those 2 foods, hopefully they’re kinda healthy.

It’s a constant struggle for us because we know a healthy diet is the way to go. It’s also how we show our love. But his brain is telling him that he doesn’t need food anymore, so his brain is eventually going to win, sad to say.

I’m sorry you’re going through this, try to stay strong, pamper yourself when you can, scream into a pillow when you need to. Hugssss.

indubuque: Opt for some high protein content foods.

Nestle Resource 2.0 Vanilla. It has 480 calories. Its vanilla but I like it better if you add some chocolate milk to it. Its hard to find. I will try to include a link to where it might be available.
Dont think the link went through. Let me know if you cant find it and I will look for you.

Protein powder

I leave endless little snacks for my mom - both sweet and savory and small packets (like the kinds in kids lunches). She will claim to the ends of the earth she doesn't eat that stuff but I still see the wrappers in the trash <3

My mom has a very narrow esophagus and can’t eat solid foods. She doesn’t like the puréed food in memory care. I don’t blame here. She lost about 40 pounds and then I found Boost on Amazon that has 520 calories per bottle and the staff discovered that she would eat chocolate ice cream. She’s gains about 10 pounds. We’re just trying to keep the calorie count as high as possible. Not very nutritious but we’re beyond that point now.

I feel you should not worry so much about his Weight or his nutrition. Given his fatal diagnosis I think he should just eat what he wants and makes him happy. My husband has Alzheimer’s and I just want him to enjoy his food and whatever makes him happy at this point.

Maybe cereal w milk, yogurt, & add extra boost or ensure? Scrambled eggs 🍳, soft things ..maybe purée? Ice cream 🍨….Mashed potatoes 🥔 chopped liver

My husband is on enteral nutrition and now takes Abbott Two-Cal by prescription from a GI doctor. The Two-Cal is liquid nutrition like Boost, but is denser in calories than any Boost product. If you can't access Two-Cal, you can put your Boost product in a blender or food processor and add some mashed avocadoes, bananas, peanut butter and/or some peanut oil. All of these supplements are plant-based and heavy in calories. I agree that taste is really important so if you need to add frozen strawberries or other frozen fruit to help it taste like a McShake, so much the better. Don't give up. If you continue to struggle, ask his doctor to refer you to a nutritionist for help. Wishing you all the best.

Having gone thru this myself with my parents not eating, all I can say is there is not much you can do unfortunately. They both had terminal illnesses in their 90's and ate less and less no matter how hard I tried to get them to eat. Make sure he gets enough fluids and eats something no matter how small. If he has an appetite make him his favorites. It is common in the elderly with dementia and other illness to eat less. It is a very sad situation.

Bullet drinks (like a blender, but better).
Make it taste good . . . bananas, fruit, use coconut water for liquid
Add in: SMALL amount of garlic, ginger root, other additives, protein powder, etc.

The important thing is to get the nutrition in that he needs - however you can.
You have to work with him and what he'll take in. If it tastes good to him, he'll drink / eat it.

P.S. I make myself a bullet drink 4-5 x / week. If you want a list of ingredients, please email me at g mail ... designergena @

Keep 80/20 rule, 80% of good nutrition and 20% of less nutritional, anything he likes the most sweet or savoury.
My husband as well, losing weight, now deteriorating due to different diseases, Parkinson’s, then cancer, no dementia, there are tests to be done as some symptoms point to something else, so it could be medical reason as well for losing weight.
So I keep adding nutrients to many dishes like making soups by cooking beef bones and adding different veggies and sweet potatoes, purred, adding cream and cheese to his, he loves brie.
He does not like veggies as much, but eats those. I make smoothies with fresh berries, bananas, avocado, add high protein/ fat yogurts as well.
He likes gnocchis a lot, blinis, crepes, so easy to make and then all kinds of french pastries and ice cream.
So by balancing, not achieving 80/20 really but I feel nutritional needs are met mostly.

My mom went thru a phase when it seemed she’d lose a pound overnight! I always cooked her tempting meals but getting her to eat them was something else again. I finally talked to her doctor about it and he said she should have whatever she wanted. The point now was to get calories, ANY calories into her. So I cheated. I started buying heavy whipping cream and practically pouring it into her: on cereals, in gravies, in milkshakes. The next time we went to the doctor, he laughed and said, “She’s gained 4 pounds! Looks like you’ve cracked the code.” After that, I just gave her whatever she even hinted would taste good.

He must be on a good diet of fats, vegetables, fruits, protein and carbohydrates. You can try Boost it should give him extra calories and up his appetite. Also Kachava has lots of minerals and vitamins. Make sure he is getting all his vitamins including vit C, E, calcium and magnesium, etc. Does he exercise? Try a very light exercize routine, even as little as walking for 5 minutes and then a few knee bends, sit ups and light hand weights once a day. You can help him with this. Also a must is sitting in the sun for at least an hour a day will help his overall health tremendously.

Weight loss is part of the decline that you will see him have.
(as a matter of fact weight loss is a consideration factor when someone is on Hospice and they are due for recertification)
Lots of high calorie foods.
Many small meals all day long.
Yes this may be more work for you or caregivers but small portions every hour or two might help. For someone with dementia looking a a plate full of food can be a bit much but many small plates is easier.

Make every bite and sip count with higher nutrition and calories. There are many good suggests already listed. Another idea is to keep high calorie snacks out in the open where your husband can see them, items like cheese cubes, nuts, crackers with peanut butter, protein bars cut into small sections. He may nibble enough of these to add calories. Could even place them by his favorite seat.

This may be something you can try. A study done on meal intakes found that red dishes increased intakes. The nursing home patients in the study found the color stimulated their intakes. Elderly persons with vision problems can also get confused by patterns and color. Make sure the food is in contrasting color to the dish so they can see it. (White dish with mashed potatoes--not easy to see.) You also might want to avoid plates with a busy pattern.

My husband literally forgets to eat. Suggest you speak with his neurologist and set an appointment with a Geriatric Psychiatrist who can prescribe if necessary.

My husband was not demented but had problems eating and tolerating foods. He eventually lost so much weight he weighed 125 lb. although he was close to 6 feet tall. We argued a lot. He insisted he was eating a lot. I insisted he couldn't be right. Finally I counted every calorie he consumed. We were both right! He was eating constantly. That was true. However, his diet consisted of mostly salad: lettuce, aloe vera, celery, water, tea, clear soup, etc. He was getting only about 1000 calories each day. The way we turned this around was to replace some of the ingredients in his meals with higher calorie versions that were similar but more dense. For example, he liked to drink a fruit smoothie in the morning. We added ricotta, nuts, coconut cream, scoops of protein powder. Coconut milk was a key ingredient. He liked the taste--and you could consume a lot of calories quite easily. Ditto with coconut oil. If he likes salad, you can find avocado, mayonnaise, high calorie salad dressings, etc.
Since my husband did eat all his food, we didn't have the problem of not eating enough. If your husband is forgetful--would it help to monitor him to help motivate him to eat meals and snacks? He may need more personal attention during meal times.

Sure. When my missus didn’t want to eat, I’d mix cream cheese in with her favorite jelly or lemon curd inside an omelette to enticed her. Also cream cheese in mashed potatoes. Lots of ice cream. Costco has the best vanilla ice cream and it’s horrible for you cuz it’s 55% fat!

Sounds like he might be depressed. my Mrs. was always depressed when she came home from the hospital or rehab trip and it took 2-3 weeks for her to come around

Try getting him out a little more, favorite place of his and maybe have a heart to heart, or on the other hand, forget about everything and just really enjoy the moment.

he may be catching himself with The forgetful moments and is fearful about the future.

I’m 61, not really that old, but I’ve made more than a few real no-brainer errors lately. My son plays it off with a laugh but he really doesn’t understand how much it scares me, having been a caregiver for seven years and, realizing in hindsight, my Mr. was forgetful long before it was obvious he had a problem.

Talk to him & take care.

My mother would take a few chugs of a mega calorie WaWa milkshake with whipped cream when everything else failed.

My husband’s neurologist prescribed Mirtazapine, antidepressant, to increase his appetite. He’s gained 10 lbs in three weeks. He was down to 112.

I add two Benecalorie (330 calories each) to Premiere Protein drink for my wife.

Boost makes a very high calorie version (530 calories, 22g protein), but you have to buy it online as I haven't found it available at retail stores. For my husband I also used a supplement called "benecalorie" which has 330 calories and 7g high-quality protein per 1.5 oz container. It's basically flavorless, so can be mixed into a lot of foods--smoothies or shakes, mashed potatoes, hot cereals, soups, casseroles, yogurt, puddings, etc. The calories in benecalorie are mainly from good fats. For breakfast we'd make a smoothie of the very high calorie boost, benecalorie, and several fruits, e.g. banana, frozen mango or strawberries, etc. so it would be close to 1,000 calories. My husband had a good appetite, but lost a lot of weight becasue he had esopogeal stricture so had trouble with eating a lot at one time. Liquids in the morning seemed to go down well, which is why this supercharged smoothie worked so well.

I appreciate the grief and distress that you are experiencing watching your ill husband eat less and lose weight; your feelings of helplessness and wanting to do more, feed more, offer more are normal for one who loves and cares.

Being " present" with your husband, attentive, assuring, accepting on this journey with Alzheimer's is a most vital and important way of nurturing, " feeding" him with spiritual support, that is giving him " hope, purpose, direction";. this is equally if not more so important than edible food ...

Many illnesses, including Alzheimer's, decrease one' s appetite, patients eat less as they need less; for family members this is one of the most difficult changes to watch, and it is normal to want to make more foods etc. Offering the foods as long as the doctor says to and the patient expresses some interest, is fine. However, one must simply respect the patient right to refuse, anything, including food as they , their bodies instincts know best.

Love your husband with presence and assurance and affirmation. This is nourishing...

Practice your own good self care...eat well what you want, exercise, stay hydrated, honor other things specific to your health and needs.

Peace.

He may have some food intolerances that make the usual supplements, and many ordinary foods, counter-productive. You may need to be more selective in food choices. Dairy, wheat, nuts, even many fruits and vegetables, can contribute to malabsorption and weight loss so adding them to your husband's diet will make things worse. See if a GI specialist or Dietician can give better advice.

Agree with prior post regarding olive oil. Drizzle on all his sandwiches. Sneak it in. A healthy fat! A banana will add weight - you can pinch off a piece and place in his mouth throughout the day so it does not seem like too much for him (not the chore to eat a giant banana). One thing that I think is key is to have aromas of food, the scent of cinnamon water simmering on the stove! Home baked bread with butter might awaken food memories. Start food early in the morning. Also, my mom doesn't like heavy proteins, but craves ice cream and tomato sandwiches, even waking up at night to request a tomato sandwich. I think that putting food front and center, plates of food, pictures of food, aromas of food, and I also just give frequent tastes so mom doesn't forget foods and their tastes (she's about to turn 100). If you can start early, like at arising with a snack, to set the mode for the day, is helpful.

Boost High Calorie helped my mom.

Chocolate Vanilla or Strawberry Protein Shakes you can get at GNC like what Body Builders drink for the extra protein & bulk. Add more sugar sweetner if not sweet enough...

Calories, whatever he likes with lots of calories. We discovered after much trial and error, that my 99 year old mother who doesn’t eat much, does have a sweet tooth, she eats lots of ice cream, Boost (Strawberry Flavor), Cookies/Candy, Donuts, Root Beer Floats, Orange Juice, Lemonade. Weird cravings that we encourage.