...but you can on M&M's! One of the interesting aspects of Alzheimer's on Grandpa is he has become a very picky eater. Totally different than he was before. Except on "fast Sunday" each month Grandpa had three meals a day and they were basically at the same time each day. If it was noon you could know that he was sitting somewhere eating his lunch. Dinner time was ideally at 5:30 and breakfast was within 10 minutes after he showered and shaved and got dressed. He wasn't a snacker and sweets were for special occasions like birthdays. I use to envy his self control because my diet was always--see food, eat food! The first thing I noticed after the illness was in full swing was that he suddenly hated potatoes. Don't give him a french fry or he might throw it at you. A baked potato with butter, sour cream and salt and pepper would remain untouched on his plate. Potato chips--absolutely not. I still offer a spoonful of mashed potatoes and gravy or one of his favorites "funeral potatoes" but a spoonful is the limit. In the last year he has very little appetite and I spend a good deal of time trying to find something he will actually eat. And of course I discovered that anything sweet was made for him. I continually ply him with ice cream, sundaes, milkshakes, and DQ Blizzards. The real discovery came when I bought a ceramic canister to sit on the table by the couch. I put some peanut M&Ms in it for when company came. One day he opened the lid and from that time on he thrives on peanut M&Ms! In a week he can down a Costco canister of them. At a recent doctor's appointment I told the doctor about this and his response was--let him have all he wants! And so each morning I put a handful of M&M's in the canister and throughout the morning he eats them. Some times he carries the empty canister around until I pay attention and refill it.
In all honesty he has days where he eats a good breakfast and other times where he will drink his juice, take a couple of bites of cereal and one or two bites of his toast and that is it. Each day I take him out to lunch where he eats his best. I think it is because he can't escape. Dinner is literally a meal I could cut out and he wouldn't even notice but I always try anything that may work and appreciate it when it does. The last time Grandpa was on a scale he weighed just under 130 lbs. I think with the M&Ms that is holding steady.
I found this quote and I think it does describe why Grandpa eats the way he does.
When you are stressed you eat ice cream, cake, chocolate and sweets, because stressed spelled backwards is desserts!
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