Losing too much weight

[mirkle]

Hi, just joined the group because I am looking for some help with my father's diet. He is 92 and has just been diagnosed with diabetes. I am a bit worried about him because obviously he is shielded first of all, but also because he tells me he is losing weight, and he was already thin. Up until lockdown, he was volunteering in his local hospital two days a week, visiting my sister most days and going to the allotment. Now he is sitting around, struggling to get motivated to do his beloved oil painting and reading of historical biographies. He's following the diet quite strictly. My father has never been anything other than svelte, but he's got thinner as he's got older, obviously he does less exercise than he did and he has always been a very small eater anyway - which is probably why he's managed to live so long (he never drank or smoked either). I asked him if he had discussed this issue with his doctor or a dietician and he told me they are useless and he has no interest in talking to them.

So my question is: what can he eat which will keep his weight stable but conform to diabetic diet rules? He tells me he mainly eats fruit and vegetables with a slice of wholemeal bread a day.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Toucan]

Hello @mirkle and welcome to the forum.
You father sounds truly amazing, and such a shame that he has to cope with lockdown and controlling diabetes at this time.
Do you know what his blood sugar readings are? It could be that the sudden reduction in exercise is part of the problem. Is there any way you can encourage him to do some more exercise at home?

In terms of eating what many of us on the forum find reduce blood sugars, is to reduce carbohydrates.
Personally I follow a low carb diet, and find that this does give me more energy and interest in life, but we are all different and it is difficult to know if this would be helpful to your father.

Vegetables are very good, but fruit is often quite high carb. I tend to eat no more than 1 portion a day, and usually berries.
I cut down on the carbs ( bread and flour,rice,pasta, etc ) and mainly eat fish and poultry, and some dairy items such as yoghurt and soft cheese, plus lots of vegetables.
So may be a few changes, reducing the fruit and a bit more protein may help.

 

[mirkle]

Thank you for your reply. While his listlessness is a bit of a worry, it's his weight I am more worried about. What are fattening things that he could eat which would keep his weight up? He gets hungry in the afternoon and I suggested he eat nuts, though he's not very fond of them, apart from pistachios which I am going to send him a bag of. What about avocados, and oily fish? These are quite fatty, aren't they? I'll check if he is eating yoghurt or cheese.

 

[SB2015]

I know that this might be a long shot, but if his weight continues to reduce, it would be worth checking that he has the correct diagnosis. It is possible to get T1 at any age, and the lack of insulin can lead to rapid weight loss. If he is able to test his sugar levels these would also be high in spite of low carbs.

 

[Docb]

Mirkle, can I suggest he talks to his GP as soon as that can be arranged? There are lots of reasons for losing weight and it needs a pro to sort out what might be going on.

 

[ianf0ster]

Food for a Type 2 to eat in order to keep weight on is easy, Protein and Fats., There is no need to fear fat as much as we've been led to believe, but even the extra cautious understand that avocados, olives, nuts, eggs, salmon and other fatty fish are all good 'healthy' fats.
But so far as I'm concerned, so are hard cheeses, bacon, pork, lamb and beef.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I think the avocados and oily fish sound like a great addition. Nuts and seeds are useful too - though less so if they don’t appeal to your Dad.

Full-fat dairy such as yoghurt, cream and cheese etc also has had positive clinical trial reports recently.

To be honest, mainstream advice is unlikely to change rapidly, and several studies and meta-analyses do suggest that saturated fats have perhaps been unfairly demonised over the years, but such reporting is often rebuffed by opposing views... shortly before those opposing views are questioned... and on and on ad nauseam.

My current way out of the mire is to not worry about it all that much, and to be happy to eat a moderate amount of all major food groups, including saturated fats.

To be honest, if I got to 90-something, I would be eating whatever I fancied!

 

[Drummer]

I'd be offering anything other than the diet he is adhering to - certainly the bread and fruit would low on the list and vegetables carefully chosen to be low in carbohydrate. Any meat, fish, cheese, nuts, full fat yoghurt, eggs would be a good choice. Could you get some cooked meat to him or would he cook a chop or some steak?
There is livlife bread, which I get from Waitrose, or protein bread from Asda, which is low carb - scrambled egg on toast, with a sliced tomato maybe?