"The First Step to Good Health is Proper Diet and Daily Exercise
The first step to building and maintaining good health is to eat a nutrient dense and diverse diet along with daily exercise. This step applies to people of all ages and is especially important to seniors. Without a proper diet and regular eating habits seniors can lose out on essential nutrients needed to keep them healthy and help them fight disease and other illnesses. Without daily exercise, seniors may become weaker and less mobile, causing their independent lifestyles to suffer and require more care form caregivers.
To maintain proper nutrition, it is important to follow the meals outlined below:
Breakfast – This meal is important for many reason. Breakfast provides seniors with the energy they need to start their day. This meal should include proteins from eggs or breakfast meats, heart healthy fats from avocados, calcium rich foods like cheese or milk, and for some seniors a source of fiber from fruit or whole grains.
Lunch – This meal is a great chance to introduce lots of vegetables. There are many ways to eat vegetables and one of them includes getting creative with salads. Vegetables are rich in fiber and will leave seniors feeling fuller for longer.
Dinner – This should be the lightest meal of the day for your senior loved one. Eating to much before bed may cause difficulty sleeping and cause them to be uncomfortable during the night. Examples of light dinners include simple soups, refreshing salads, white fish, and even something simple like a protein or veggie shake.
To make this process easier on yourself as a caregiver, meal prepping is recommended. Having all the food already made or ready for quick preparations will save you time and make eating a simpler process.
When it comes to exercising, knowing your loved one’s capabilities and keeping it fun are both ways to make exercising something that happens every day. By knowing your loved one’s fitness level, you can better plan the exercise you will have them do. Pushing a loved one to far could lead to injury and have a negative effect. Along with assessing their fitness level, discover what interest them and try to incorporate that into exercising. Also make sure to change up the routine and keep it fun!
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