Seniors Can Easily Improve Their Diet Without Sacrificing Their Lifestyle

Many seniors focus on all the things they'll be missing if they eat more nutritiously. They mourn the loss of their old eating habits instead of being excited about their new eating habits. This is a recipe for failure. In order to eat healthily, you need to focus on the benefits of good nutrition and on enjoying the new foods you're eating. Otherwise, you won't feel like doing it for very long.

Take breakfast, for example. This is a challenging and important meal. Many people either don't eat breakfast at all or they eat unhealthy foods for breakfast. Breakfast is important because your stomach is usually empty at breakfast time; if you do not eat, or you eat the wrong foods, it can slow down your metabolism for the entire day. This causes you to gain weight and may cause you to feel sluggish all day.

You have to be careful what you eat for breakfast, however. Don't eat anything that is mainly carbohydrates. For example, you shouldn't eat a large pancakes breakfast. You also shouldn't eat dessert foods such as ice cream or cake for breakfast. Eating high carbohydrate breakfasts is almost as bad as eating no breakfast at all because your body will quickly digest these carbohydrates, your blood sugar will spike, and within an hour or two you will feel tired.

If you really enjoy these kinds of breakfasts, you may feel sad initially. However, there are many healthy alternatives you can eat for breakfast instead. Start by buying frozen waffles or pancakes so that you can limit your portion sizes. You might also add in some protein by eating eggs or lean breakfast meats. Replace toast with fruit or use yogurt instead of butter or syrup on your breakfast so that you can reduce your carbohydrate intake.

If you do these things, you may find that there are plenty of ways to enjoy breakfast without continuing to eat the unhealthy breakfasts you are used to. If you don't eat breakfast at all, start eating a piece of fruit in the morning and gradually increase to a full meal. That way, you ease yourself into your new habits.

Some people think they also need to cut restaurants and buffets out of their life. This can be a sad thought if you love eating out. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. Instead of giving up restaurants altogether, just cut back. Eat out twice a week and eat at home the rest of the time. This will help both your budget and your diet plans. When you do eat out, just plan in advance. Look online to see if there is a menu and decide what you want to eat ahead of time. If you are going to a buffet, take the time to look around and decide what to eat before you put anything on your plate. Limit yourself to one plate of food so that you don't overeat.

You don't have to give up your entire lifestyle in order to eat healthy foods. There are plenty of ways to have fun while still watching your diet. In addition to the tips above, try experimenting with new foods or cooking healthy foods in different ways. You'll soon find that eating nutritiously is just as fun as the old ways of eating, and you'll feel a lot healthier too.

For more valuable senior diet and nutrition training for caregivers visit Dr. Marion's elder care resources in the senior lifestyle archive.