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My Mom is 89 with dementia and we started Whole30


LynMox

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So this is my 3rd go around doing Whole30. I love it and thought that I should get my Mom to do it since she is saying she wants to lose weight and has a lot of aches and pains and general tiredness. She is 89 so that is to be expected and she also has dementia. She is in stage 4ish and doing pretty well. So we started on 1/14/19 and we are on day 10. I am feeling amazing as I always do at this time and she is exhausted! She doesn't want to drink her tea (she has about 4 cups of decaf per day) since she cannot use Sweet N Low. She is eating everything I give her and there is nothing that she can get a hold of to go off schedule so there is no cheating. She slept most of the day today and feels super out of it. I am wondering if I should just encourage her to push through and things will get better in a week or if I should allow her to add Stevia back in so that she is drinking more and keep things going. Does anyone have experience in this? Anyone have similar experience of story?

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Maybe she can drink something besides tea if she doesn't like it without the sweetner?  Or maybe an herbal tea or an iced herbal?  Water with a splash of fruit juice?  

Is she eating at least a fist sized serving of starchy carb a day?  That's very important as well as salting to taste and of course the fluid intake.  It stands to reason that someone approaching 90 who may be in less than optimal health isn't going to have the same experience - as we age our bodies take longer to get used to change so if she's used to having lots of simple carbs (grains, sugar, crackers, bread) that might be impacting her energy quite a bit. I would encourage you to have her eat every 4-5 hours at regular meal times and not sleep through them.  Also as we get older we generally eat less at each meal so it's possible that she needs the amount of food from 3 meals but split into smaller portions and spaced through the day... maybe do a bit of research on optimal eating habits for seniors of her age and then just sub out the recommendations for grains and dairy or whatever the case is that would not be compliant. I think you may need to be a bit more creative and flexible with her program than your own while still sticking to the actual rules (the 'no' rules, not necessarily the recommendations) to accommodate her particular context.  Good for both of you for taking this on!  You're a third of the way through! Yes!!!

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What a lovely post - I don't have any suggestions regarding the tea but I admire your commitment to your mom and her health. My mom is also 89 and in such great health - I neglect to appreciate how lucky I am to have her still :) 

I always thought when I hit 80, I'd throw open the pantry doors and just have at it - all those things I have wanted but not eaten over the years just waiting for me to indulge in. However, my mom, like yours, is still conscious of her weight and her health and thinks about what she's going to eat and how it's going to impact her so, I think my plan is just another pipe dream. 

I hope your mom perks up - you might be messing with her internal systems by using this strict diet - as a former RN, I'd recommend a visit to her doctor if her lethargy persists or worsens - there could be some electrolyte imbalances happening with the diet change. The elderly react differently to metabolic changes than we do and things can get out of hand if not caught early enough.

Best of luck - hug your mama - we're so blessed to have them!

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