When seniors aren’t paying attention to their eating habits, they might be leaning on emotional eating more than they realize. It’s a good idea for seniors to pay closer attention to what they’re eating and when to help them determine if they’re eating because they’re hungry or because of other reasons. Senior home care services can help them to pay closer attention to their nutritional needs.
Portion Sizes Are Haphazard
Portion sizes can vary depending on whether seniors are hungry or not. However, when those portion sizes are much larger for pre-packaged or “comfort” foods, that can be an indication that seniors might be eating those foods for emotional reasons rather than nutrition. Home care providers can help seniors stick with suggested portion sizes of healthy foods, keeping them properly nourished.
Snacks Are Less Nutritious
What types of snacks are they eating? When seniors look at snacks as foods that are less nutritionally dense, they could be eating those snacks for emotional reasons. It’s perfectly valid to snack between meals, especially when seniors truly are hungry. Nutritious snacks are filling but also pack a nutritional punch. Making them easier to eat, especially by preparing them in advance, makes healthier snacks just as convenient as pre-packaged ones.
Seniors Mention They Eat When Stressed or Upset
The biggest indication that seniors might be engaging in emotional eating is that they mention they tend to eat when they are upset or stressed out. Eating specifically in those situations means that seniors are more likely to eat more than they expect or really want to eat. If the types of foods that they eat during those times are less nutritionally sound, the problem will be compounded.
Seniors Are Spending a Lot of Time Alone
When seniors spend a lot of their time alone, they’re more likely to feel lonely, bored, and upset. Eating can be a habit that they pick up to do something and to provide comfort. Again, they’re more likely in this situation to eat for comfort rather than nutrition. Switching up what they do when they’re feeling this way can help. For instance, spending time playing a game with senior home care providers can reduce loneliness without empty calories.
Health Issues Are More Difficult to Manage
Very often seniors are also battling health issues like high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels. Emotional overeating likely doesn’t help those issues, especially if it’s a frequent habit. Sticking to healthier snacks, improving nutrition, and eating only when truly hungry can help seniors get their health goals back on track. Seniors might want to talk to their doctors about what foods they could eat instead to better support their overall health and manage chronic health conditions more effectively.
Emotional overeating is a habit that just about anyone can slip into for a variety of different reasons. Senior home care providers can help seniors figure out when they might be relying on food for emotional reasons, which is the first step in finding other habits that are a better solution for the actual problem.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care in Flower Mound, TX, please contact the caring staff at Arcy Healthcare today at (469) 293-1515
Providing In-Home Healthcare Services in North Texas, including Dallas, Hurst, Grapevine, Keller, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Denton, Flower Mound, Carrollton, Gainesville, and more.
My name is Jimmie Stapleton. I am the founder and CEO of Arcy Healthcare. Arcy Healthcare includes Arcy Hospice, Arcy Supportive Care, Arcy Home Health and Arcy at Home.
Arcy Hospice was opened in 2007 to provide care and support for individuals and families facing a life limiting illness. It was established after my wife Ellen, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, had completed her chemo and radiation therapies. At that time, things were looking positive, and we wanted to do something for our community that had been so supportive of our family during her treatments. Unfortunately, the cancer returned a few years later, and she subsequently passed away under our care in 2010.
In the years that followed, I began to see the need to provide the same level of excellent care to patients across the continuum of care. Therefore, we have added a home health division (Arcy Home Health), a palliative care division (Arcy Supportive Care), and a home care division, (Arcy at Home). With the addition of these divisions, we can meet most of the post-acute care needs for you and your family in your home.
I started Arcy Hospice with my wife as my motivation to provide exceptional care and support in the patient’s home, where they are surrounded by family and where they feel most comfortable. I’m proud to say that our staff provides some of the best in home care in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
Please let us know if we can enrich the quality of life for you or a loved one.
Sincerely,
Jimmie Stapleton – Founder and CEO
Arcy Healthcare
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