From Frail to Hale and Hearty

This is all that's left of chocolate microwave pudding from last night.
Simple

fancythat

We also are not aware of what other health conditions this poster has.

But no doubt the OP's doctor is fully aware of her current health status as her new diagnosis (Parkinsons) could only be arrived at from her medical history and extensive physical examination (plus her current symptoms).

As her current symptoms include weightloss and loss of appetite you can be pretty certain her bloods and urine have been tested and DR is well aware of her kidney and liver function.

I agree.
That is presicely why I am wary of not sticking with the sheet that was given by the doctor.

I think that Allira has the right idea, there are plenty of ready meals that are not ultra processed and are really nice, if a little high in calories - but that is exactly what Tizliz needs. There's a very wide range and they can be kept either frozen or in the fridge so that Tizliz would have a nice selection to choose from when she or her husband don't feel like cooking. My husband is particularly fond of the more traditional meals like fish pie or liver and bacon.
It sounds as though the sheet contains a selection of more calorific foods that can be bought almost anywhere, but I'm not sure if things like pork pie are very appealing if you don't have much of an appetite.
Many traditional puddings are quite high in calories - crumble and custard, sponge puddings, bread and butter pudding etc. and a small portion can easily be added after a main course to up the calories somewhat.

Make hearty home made soups ... very filling ... mash pots , add into the soups ..

It would be a last resort for me to eat a pork pie!
Scotch eggs are fine but only with salad (few calories in that).

Have you thought of high quality ready meals? All the things the rest of us should avoid? There are companies like Cook whose meals are delicious - but far too high fat and calories for me. They might just suit you. You can (as I sometimes do) just cook half of it and then have the rest later - little and often but with lots of calories.

My OH had PD and he lost interest in food - he was very very skinny to start with so it was a worry - but I found that the little and often but calorific worked well.

And biscuits - he loved a nice biscuit!

The pork pie and scotch egg suggestion is one tiny part of the sheet under the suggestion of ready made snacks that you could keep by you, if you felt you couldn’t cook anything.

I’m concerned the OP focused on this almost insignificant part if the sheet as a reason why she couldn’t follow the specialists advice.

The specialist told her it was more important for her to put weight on than worrying about her husband putting weight on, which suggests to me she’d said something like oh I can’t do that, it wouldn’t suit my husband. Another “reason’.

Now we learn that he can make lemon roulade - but the diet sheet is too hard to follow because he can’t cook.

I’ve been involved with two relatives who suffered extreme weight loss. They both could always find ‘reasons’ why the medical advice wasn’t right for them.

Both were ultimately hospitalised because of the extreme weight loss and fed intravenously. One survived, the other didn’t.

To me, and this is just on what Tizliz is reporting, the specialist sounds very concerned. I’ve been a bit jokey on this thread I know, but I really, really think Tizliz needs to take this seriously and look at all the suggestions on this carefully thought out diet sheet, that is not all pork pies🙁🤔

I am trying to out a stone back on after being ill but eating a high fibre healthy diet is causing me to run to the loo too much!
Things I have tried to add calories are:

Chocolate covered raisins to snack on in the car
Fortified whole milk with skimmed milk powder
Making a mocha every day with 70% hot chocolate flakes added
Mashed potatoes with added egg, cream and butter
Sourdough crumpet with lashings of butter
Cheese and biscuits after dinner each evening
Little bowl of crisps as a snack
Nuts to snack on. Crushed walnuts added to porridge etc
Whey protein powder added to meals
Mince pie as an afternoon snack
Biscuit with early morning tea

This is not as healthy as my usual diet but little by little I am gaining a few pounds

I was joking with the consultant and was a bit surprised at his comment. I had not seen myself as malnourished.

I am quite surprised at how much interest has been generated by this thread and I am taking it all on board.

The meringue failed so I had to make it myself - he has more enthusiasm than experience.

I went through this with both my parents
They loved food and were chubby ,but very active then became ill .
Neither could face proper food and they snacked all day on very unhealthy foods.
As they were both diabetic -their blood sugar sky rocketted.
I was reprimanded by their GP .
They agreed to her diet the minute she left returned to chocolate and crisps .
Further ill health took their appetites away and they lost too much weight .
With some experiment I stocked up on ready meals from different shops and rang the changes .
To be honest ,they only looked forward to the pudding. - sponge pudding with custard was the favourite or ice cream.
But their blood sugar levels were fine .
Those replacement meals were as appetising as wallpaper paste and gave them chronic wind and diarrhoea.
I made mini meals and left on trays little soufflé dishes with cubes of cheese ,chocolate ,oranges,apples and grapes .
They'd pick at them .
I didn't worry unduly as long as they were hydrated .
I gave them liquid vitamin supplements .

I think that I'd look at the recommended list and cross off foods that you don't like and encircle ones that you do.
I'd certainly include chocolate if you like it .

I wonder if I'm going to get to the skinny stage .
I'm at the fat stage though a recent bout of ill health has reduced my appetite .

I wish you lots of luck with your diet and hope that you gain weight .
I think that boredom with food and lectures from well meaning people can be tedious .

Variety is the key .

I think far too often the NHS when writing all these help and advice sheets do not actually use experts to design their sheets so that the information when given is presented will lead people to read the bits that matter and own play other pars.

Often when I am looking up something medical, a charity will produce a really helpful leaflet because it has been well designed and presented by people who understand design and how to attractpeople's eyes to the parts that matter.

So much NHS litereaature isn't designed at all and people read the information incorrectly, then they get the blame for concentrating on the non essentials

Do have a look at the leaflet, Monica.

I thought that most of us were aware that our Drs have very little training in nutrition.
On average it’s 6-8 hours over 6 years.
Not a fact that the general public want to acknowledge.

M0nica

I think far too often the NHS when writing all these help and advice sheets do not actually use experts to design their sheets so that the information when given is presented will lead people to read the bits that matter and own play other pars.

Often when I am looking up something medical, a charity will produce a really helpful leaflet because it has been well designed and presented by people who understand design and how to attractpeople's eyes to the parts that matter.

So much NHS litereaature isn't designed at all and people read the information incorrectly, then they get the blame for concentrating on the non essentials

The diets are worked out by NHS dietitians!

Having looked at the diet sheet I think it is just something to give you ideas rather than a diet sheet to be followed meal to meal. Peanut butter is a very high calorie food.

Sheila4483

Having looked at the diet sheet I think it is just something to give you ideas rather than a diet sheet to be followed meal to meal. Peanut butter is a very high calorie food.

Oh dear, I've been having it on toast sometimes for breakfast.
I do not need extra calories!

Eat what you like, then add the chocolate, cake and sweets. A friend loved custard tarts and viennese whirls - they worked, but watch your acid. Now is the time to indulge in mince pies and Christmas pud.
But mainly he is suggesting too that you are short on muscle building proteins, so pigs in blankets and sausage roll?
If none of that appeals, go get some body builder's powders and shakes from B&M or H&B (They sell high protein choc bars too)

I'd imagine one could add nuts to all sorts of things too - ie high calorie and healthy?

Allira

M0nica

I think far too often the NHS when writing all these help and advice sheets do not actually use experts to design their sheets so that the information when given is presented will lead people to read the bits that matter and own play other pars.

Often when I am looking up something medical, a charity will produce a really helpful leaflet because it has been well designed and presented by people who understand design and how to attractpeople's eyes to the parts that matter.

So much NHS litereaature isn't designed at all and people read the information incorrectly, then they get the blame for concentrating on the non essentials

The diets are worked out by NHS dietitians!

I am sure they are. The problem isn't with the recommended diets, the problem is often the way they are set out on the paper or website for the potential user.

To give you an example using a non-medical GN example. Most people on here have learnt that online postings are best written in short paragraphs, with a oneline space between each paragraph.

Every so often we get a huge screed from the OP. screens of it, no paragraphs, little punctuation, often written at times of deep emotion. Notice how often someone has posted in reply that they feel for the OP would like to sympathise but simply couldn't manage to read that huge chunk of prose, unbroken by paragraphs.

As has often been said 'It is not what you say, its the way that you say it'. The same with print. It is often not what you write, which may be impeccably correct and written by a world expert on the subject, but if put on paper or screen, without thought for presentation, that enables the information to be accessable and understood by its intended audience, is a complete waste of time and effort.

I just took a good look at that diet sheet and found it offputting too with the way it was presented. The very first thing was my reaction of "But OP hasn't got dementia - so why is she being handed a diet sheet that has partial backing from them?" That would put me off right from the get-go I have to admit. I presume that's a moneysaving thing - two sponsoring organisations and they're being made to share a diet sheet?? But that alone might cause me to have thought "I've not got that - this isn't relevant for me....." and binned it mentally.

I wondered what on earth "butter tea" and "butter coffee" are - never heard of them.

It didn't sound very appealing all round and the only thing I really saw going for it was my thoughts of "At least there's no typesetting errors or the like there" - as I instantly turn off to some extent from any publication that's got typesetting errors, etc. Reason being my first thought is "Whoever produced this hasn't proofread it to start with - so why am I being expected to take it seriously - ie when they've not produced it properly?"

So - as Monica said - there are going to be mental barriers up to reading it/taking account of it to start with.

Maybe a better format for it could be the standard one - ie of food suggestions being divided between: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks? I'd see it as more of a leaflet thing - than a single sheet thing for a start-off. Say an A5 size leaflet - with sections/perhaps photos of a few of those suggestions?

Oh well, I thought it was an attractive, easy to read sheet with some good suggestions.

Honestly, is it too much to ask someone to be bothered to read a simple leaflet and think about food that will help them maintan their own health.

No wonder the NHS struggles when intelligent people, like the ones on here, can find reasons like a few words or a layout they don’t like, for not taking that personal responsibility.

The specialist thinks the OP is “malnourished “. That diagnosis alone would send me off to read up tomes on nutrition for Parkinson’s, as I did when my husband had leukaemia and for my other relative. And for me now, doing everything I can to get the best out of my life.

And having vented my spleen, back to breakfast 🙂

There must be several versions of this sheet so I will scan it in after breakfast

Just a trick that may help…
I was thinking about the ‘how to lose weight’ psychology I am much more familiar with where a tip is to use a smaller plate so that portions look bigger.

Could you reverse that and put your portions on a big plate, and this trick you brain into thinking you have a smaller portion?

When my mum needed to put on some weight I enriched everything with Complan and used Jersey milk to make soups, custards and rice pudding - all served in egg cup quantities but packing as much of a punch as I could. Slow progress but she got back to normal eating in a couple of months.
Do hope you are seeing an improvement soon.

Having just glanced through the sheet, I think the suggestions on there sound most offputting and, if your appetite is not good, inclined to make you feel quite nauseous.

It is not a healthy diet.