Diet for elderly mom who does NOT need to lose weight.

[acornstwo]

Hi, it's been about two weeks since I read the book, and I am doing well on the diet, fair on the exercise, and obviously on the computer too late at night. I have gotten my sister the book, and she is reading it, and making plans to start the protocol herself. That leaves my mother, 85 years old, with Alzheimer's, to think about. She also is under treatment for a blood platelet problem, and I plan to talk to her hematologist about integrating the protocol into her treatment somehow. That's tricky.

For instance: Weight loss is pretty much a foregone conclusion on the diet I'm eating, which is good for me, but would be very bad for mom. We just got her back up to a healthy weight. And this despite her rather impressive sweet tooth. Any ideas as to how to manage her diet a la ReCODE, and keep her weight up at the same time?

And speaking of that sweet tooth: the family had just about decided that at her age, and given the fact that time may be short for her (though in truth, she seems pretty healthy), that she could eat whatever she wanted, and enjoy it. But now that there is a chance of improving her condition...

Oh, and: Some of the foods I eat, like nuts, don't work for her dentures.

Ideas anyone?

[Magda]

Acrornstwo,
I think you are absolutely right to first talk to your mom's physician about dietary changes. I would also suggest consulting her dietary status with a clinical dietitians ( ideally someone who understands Recode).
Moreover, in my opinion a good way to make sure someone gets enough calories, macro and micronutrients is to count them.
I like to use cronometer for tracking my food intake: https://cronometer.com/#diary
It may be a little time consuming in the beginning because you have to weigh everything you eat, but after a while you will approximately know how much food do you need to meet required calorii intake.

I hope this helps.

Be well,
Magda

[SusanJ]

I second Magda's advice. Track calories. It's easy to not get enough calories when switching to a lower carbohydrate diet.

Does she like avocados? You might consider nut butters instead of nuts. And don't throw out starchy vegetables completely. I personally find I can keep weight on better with some sweet potatoes and root vegetables in my diet.

[slacker]

During a recent ReCode provider "town hall" webinar with Dr Bredesen, he did comment on the risk of excessive weight loss in people who are starting with a low BMI. Under nourishment can worsen cognition. He didn't specifically address how to manage the tricky balancing act other than focusing on "good fat" and "optimizing nutrition." Bear in mind that people in ketosis often are not hungry, and so can end up eating less. Magda's suggestion of using cronometer to track calories is a good idea to help find a balance between ideal nutrition and undesirable weight loss.

[hill dweller]

Susan J wrote: "You might consider nut butters instead of nuts. And don't throw out starchy vegetables completely. I personally find I can keep weight on better with some sweet potatoes and root vegetables in my diet"

Nut butters are easy to incorporate into other foods. They add sweetness without sugar and thickness without flour. Try a soup of sweet potato, carrot, and chicken broth. Blend and thicken with a generous amount of nut butter.

Nut butters are friendly to most casserole recipes. They make a great topping for meats and fruits, too. You may need to heat them slightly or thin with olive oil for easy spreading.

Watch for sugars in mainstream peanut butters. It's not hard to find nut butters without sugars but you need to read the labels.

[Jafa]

I have started incorporating a couple of tbsp of Evoo into a daily smoothie which includes almond milk, avocado, kale and pea protein (vanilla flavor which pretty much masks the taste of everything else

[Jafa]

Oops wrong face..

[acornstwo]

It took me a few days to realize I had answers here - thanks everyone! Yes, I am looking for higher calorie alternatives, and nut butters seem a good idea. Also sweet potatoes. I'm thinking of getting most of the sugar out of her house - maybe I can find a ketogenic replacement for Ensure? We will talk to a ReCODE specialist in a few days - for me - but maybe she will have a suggestion or two. I'm hoping her hemootologist will cooperate. I talk to her in a week and a half.

[Jan]

There is a good way to be notified when new posts have been made in a topic you're interested in (or one that you yourself start). At the top of the page, under the title of the thread, there is a little "wrench" icon. If you click on that, you can "subscribe topic" and you will get an email whenever there is a new post in that thread. (Can "subscribe" to as many topics as you want, and if the emails get too burdensome, you can "unsubscribe topic" the same way.)

[acornstwo]

Yes, thank you, Jan. I did find it! And thanks all of you for this board. This is a really steep learning curve for me, and I'm glad you're here to answer questions and share experiences.