Anonymous wrote:81 yo mother has cake everyday for breakfast. Hamburger or steak sandwich for lunch. Handfuls of Cheerios and Pepsi throughout the day. Chicken or steak for dinner or Chinese food. I think the cheerios are somehow keeping her healthy.

Your mom is awesome for eating cake every day for breakfast.

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to get my mom to eat healthier foods but I feel 1. she is not eating enough 2. low quantity of protein.

Does she live by herself? I found that my mother will not eat when she eats alone. She prefers to snack but unfortunately, she now has to watch her sodium levels due to congestive heart failure. She loves fruits and veggies but would rather ignore things like protein. I've been working with her to use no sodium peanut butter on toast for lunch. She likes cereals - hot and cold and those are her breakfasts. Dinners are a real challenge - she won't cook, most quick meals are too high in sodium. She does one of two things, seats a high sodium frozen meal or doesn't eat. We have tried meals on wheels but she won't eat alone and the food is just wasted. We have found if we can get someone to eat and prepare lunch with and for her - we try to make that her "big" meal of the day.

My parents are in their late 70s.

My mom has oatmeal with almond milk and blueberries for breakfast. My dad usually has a banana and piece of toast with peanut butter. They both have black coffee.

For lunch my mom usually has a can of soup or a salad with chicken or tuna on it. My dad usually has lunch meat and cheese in a large tortilla.

My dad snacks on mixed nuts all day long. My mom has these 100-140 calorie protein bars she eats if we’re out and about.

Dinner is usually some casserole or stew / chili / curry concoction my mom makes. She loved quinoa, ground turkey, brown rice, broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts, and beans. Lots of beans. She loves “The View” “Dr Oz” and “the Today show”. Her recipes usually reflect whatever the current diet trends or what she saw someone cooking on TV. She also seems to get lots of Pinterest recipes from other women her age.

They go out to eat a lot. Probably 2-3x each week. When they are out, my dad usually has a beer and steak, burger, or other hearty fare to make up for the keto/vegan/gluten free stuff my mom feeds him.

My mother is very thin (too thin if you ask me) and physically fit. She eats a lot of processed foods. Some produce, not much. She eats very few actual meals and just snacks here and there; she’s always been like this. Has at least 2 whole milk lattes per day from Starbucks. No sugar. Popcorn is her whole grain of choice.

This thread is kind of sweet. I feel sorry for the grandmas who are still dieting. However, I like the image of all these happy older people eating a bologna sandwich and sitting in their chairs with a glass of wine.

Breakfast is always greek yogurt with a handful of whatever cereal was bought for grandkids and a banana, then lunch is a basic salad with cottage cheese on top, sometimes leftover chicken or some canned tuna mixed in, or a half sandwich on whole wheat, and dinner is anything from pasta to a roast. Limited sweets, but 2-3 drinks every evening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oatmeal, quinoa, millet, amaranth, golden milk, lots of homemade yogurt, green juice, tea, lemon-ginger water, lentils and beans, paneer, lots of cooked and raw veggies, some - eggs, fish, chicken. Olive oil, butter and ghee. Boatload of spices and herbs. Nuts, nut milk. ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, mint. Andean mint tea. Moringa tea.

Gud (jaggery), honey. Very little sugar.

No soda, no alcohol, no processed meat, no baked goods, no sugar, no fake sugar, no low fat anything. They take minimal processed foods and they make fresh food every day.

They also eat dates.

They poop a lot?

My grandmother lived to 103. Up until she was 95 she was in great physical and mental shape. What did she eat… She love pastries and anything sweet. She also never cooked. Lived off deli meat sandwich on white and had a fondness for chef boyardee canned items in here older days. Overall she never ate much. I will say she walked most places as she never learned to drive and lived in her own apartment until about 95.

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to get my mom to eat healthier foods but I feel 1. she is not eating enough 2. low quantity of protein.

A healthy, mobile 80 year old can eat whatever she wants. I'm pretty sure she's earned that right after 8 decades in this planet.

84yo, very mobile (all joints already replaced), not skinny but significantly thinner than she was in late middle age, cares for her own home, mentally with-it.

Typical daily diet: French toast or scrambled eggs and coffee for breakfast. Home-made soup or chicken sandwich or lox and bagel for lunch. Small portion of Vace lasagna or Thai carryout or whatever strikes the mood for dinner with a glass of wine. Häagen-Dazs for dessert.

In sum: I wouldn't overthink this.

Anonymous wrote:Why is what parents eat of interest?

You’re not the boss of them.

I'm not OP, but observing the habits of healthy elderly people has been on my mind for a while. As far as I can tell, the only thing they have in common, other than maybe luck, is being thin. And reading this thread confirms that they eat very little, and stay active. I know writing that is going to self-select all the counter examples, but after 3 pages of posts without an axe to grind, that's the consistent story. I'm slowly reducing my eating with the goal of being bmi of about 22 by 65yo, because I want the old age I see them having, not because I want to be their boss.

Mom (83) is in assisted living. Healthy but not very active. Has a larger breakfast : 2 eggs toast or croissant, milk fruit maybe. Usually has a light snack for lunch (fruit, milk, a cookie) and dinner is salad plus protein and starch . She usually has some ice cream at night. Fwiw she eats more than I do (always has) and isn’t gaining weight . I have a protein shake and dinner.

My mom eats peppers and eggs a lot for breakfast. Tuna sandwich for lunch. For dinner she will make one big entree that will last for several days. Typically roasted salmon or a lasagna or she cooks up a bunch of meatballs.

Lots and lots of decaf hot tea. Any of these meals can be skipped anytime or replaced with microwaved popcorn.

My grandma lived to 99, and my other one is 98 now.

One ate bacon and eggs for a late breakfast, a small balanced late lunch, and almost no dinner. This was after a lifetime of restrictive dieting, lots of booze, and an addiction to prescription pills (until she was in her 50s).

The other one was a teetotaler who ate cereal for breakfast, a big farm lunch, and a big farm dinner. And lots of popcorn.

Both are thin and were independent well into their 90s.

Both still cooking every day, they shop for fresh ingredients every morning. Eat mostly vegetables and fish, but rather two meals a day. They love coffee, not so much into sugar and sweets.
Wine or beer often, but not every day.