Husband is losing his appetite: How to get him to eat more?

So sorry. I'm sure each person is different yet from what I know this is common. My Mom eats less and less. In the later stages, the body starts shutting down and doesn't need as much food. However, my Mom is on hospice. I've heard, people eat less because the body is shutting down, not the opposite.

Yet, I've found some things to help: offer anything they like - at this point, let them eat when and what they want. Try new foods and bright colors, things they enjoyed when a kid or younger. My Mom was fascinated with purple cabbage served at memory care (she never "ate purple before").

Hope you find some helpful ideas. Hugs.

Thank you Traci for your suggestions. I will try them. I think another reason he doesn't eat much is that he suffers from depression. That and he sleeps just about all day and night so he doesn't require much in the way of calories. I know he used to love peppermint chocolate chip ice cream so I will try that. At this point it's the calories in that count.

@ocdogmom As Traci said, loss of interest in food is normal as a person's body begins to shut down. Offering food is helpful to an extent, but eventually your loved one will just refuse to eat. It may be helpful to treat your husband's depression if his doctors think it may help.

In the meantime, there are a few things you can try. When my Grandma was in latter stages of Parkinson Disease with dementia, we had the best luck offering "bites" of food frequently - a plate of food, even in small quantities, seemed to overwhelm her.

A few years ago, while under long-term antibiotic treatment, I similarly lost my appetite and was losing a lot of weight. I found normal servings of food revolting, and many formerly favorite things did not taste right. So I ate a "few bites" every hour or so all day long, whatever was palatable enough at the moment.

What makes this especially difficult is that, for many of us, feeding our families is an act of love, and having them refuse to eat it feels like a rejection of ourselves. Please don't take it personally.
Hugs.

@sueinmn Thank you Sue for your insights. My husband has suffered from depression since before we met 45 years ago. He has been under the care of several psychiatrists and has been taking various antidepressants through the years and is still taking them. Until this dementia reared its ugly head he was doing well and was able to have a successful career and family life. I will try the small meals as you suggest. I think a full plate does sometimes turn him off of eating. I do feel bad when I do make something for him and he says he doesn't want it. If I love you I want to feed you. But if I leave it there in front of him he will usually try a few bites and sometimes eat most of it. I know it is the dementia that is causing his lack of appetite. I am ordering my groceries for the week and will include some things I know he likes but usually doesn't eat because of his diabetes. Thanks for the hugs.

Have you tried those protein shakes (like Boost). My wife liked those when she was not interested in solid food.

Hi, really read the label on protein shakes. The ingredients are scary and unknown how much healthy nutrition you are actually getting.

@judimahoney What is "scary" about the ingredients? Our Orgain and Premier Protein shakes, used occasionally when life requires, list pretty common ingredients and a list of added vitamins and minerals. Those can seem daunting when listed by their scentific names instead of the common "Vitamins B6, B12, etc.

I know fresh, whole food is preferable to a packaged shake or processed foods, but sometimes the goal must be calories to sustain life much like an IV or a feeding tube. In that situation a quality shake is better than starvation.

@ocdogmom Hi. My husband, who's midstage in his Alzheimers, has developed a huge sweet tooth, and would eat ice cream six times a day if I let him. But he has very little appetite for healthier food. So now we use ice cream as a reward for eating his meals. He'll say he's no longer hungry, and I'll reply that if he wants ice cream he has to eat more, say, chicken. It always works. Hiding the ice cream containers, though, is a major challenge!!

@thereaklenb I tried Ensure when he was going through chemo for Mantle cell lymphoma last year but he did not like it.

@ocdogmom maybe try some other brands? Also Premier protein shakes can be frozen in a small dish and make a pretty good treat.