Is this enough calories to keep a human alive?

[Glokkey]

is this enough calories to keep a human alive?

2 cheese and onion rolls (look Ike sausage rolls)
5 scotch eggs
bombay mix
magnum

one sausage in a roll
coleslaw
wedges

This.

I hear you, OP - my mum lost a huge amount of weight in hospital recently and it is distressing to see.

'Hidden calories' are key - smear things with butter, add cream rather than milk to coffee, find high-calorie alternatives to textures they like, such as peanut butter instead of jam on scones or even sandwiches. Leave bowls of almonds / walnuts / cashews around to be picked at.

Full-fat yoghurt, smoothies made with whole milk and cream, soups made with meat stock are good, too. Cheese is good as well!

I also made slow-cooked stews with fatty beef, which went down quite well.

I think some weirdos are getting a sick enjoyment out of mentioning how unhealthy the food she’s eating is.

I KNOW.

She used to very healthily. My mother is at deaths door. Keep parroting how unbalanced this food is.

Sickos

Similar to my mother in law, sausage rolls, ciggies and rich tea biscuits, and nearly 90 x

Ignore them OP.

You could try ice cream? Make it yourself with full fat cream and sugar perhaps?

I can only speak for myself, OP, but once I started eating again it was mainly unhealthy food. I've gradually improved, however.

I'll say it again - you're a wonderful daughter and I'm sorry for everything that you're going through.

In terms of micronutrients...
iron: in the scotch eggs (the egg part)
vit A & vit C: might be enough if plenty of coleslaw, peas in the bombay mix, lots of Vit C in potato wedges
Vits B: probably fortified flour, so in various components
minor minerals: might be low on but deficiency only shows up if chronic not one-off
Does she drinnk tea or coffee with milk? I'm thinking about Calcium

LIkely to be sufficient if low fibre, most people have low fibre diets though

Of course

Haven't read the whole thread OP but if people are giving you a hard time they are dicks. I had this with my mum after coming out of hospital following a fall. All she wanted to eat was bread and donuts, but with hindsight I think she was depressed. Your mum might be as well given what's happened. Feed her what she wants, it's just about keeping her going at this point. I also remember my dad giving his mum icecream. Took about 3 months but my mum is now eating better. Good luck.💐

Well not of course if she’s losing weight

How long since her bereavement? I would go with the flow for now. She is an adult. A few weeks of rubbish won't do too much harm.

I think your love for your Mum is incredible.
It's so hard, painful in fact, when someone you love won't eat, even if they have a good reason.
As the parent of a child with a long term and serious eating disorder, I know!
The human body does adapt to minimal calorie intake. So yes, the food will keep her alive, even if she doesn't feel much like living.
In situations like this, any calories in any form are good. Give her all the sweets, trash, crap food she wants.
And in future, looking back, you might be able to spot a turning point, even if you can't see it now.

I lost my dad and my OH of 15 years within a few weeks early last year. I fully lost my appetite for about 2 months and stayed very low for another month or two afterwards. But it did slowly come back. Everything felt dry and horrible in my mouth and I gagged on everything. It was a struggle to force anything down.

Just focus on getting calories in for now. My mum handed me can after can of coke since I'd drink it and only forced solid food on me when I needed to take my regular medication that had to be taken with food.

Once she's out of that early fog you can focus on healthy eating etc but just cover the basics for now. You've done the right thing moving her in with you. My mum moved in with me for 6 weeks after my loss as I just wasn't capable of functioning at all.

Try to ignore the minority questioning the nutritional element of what your DM is eating OP.

The reassurance I was given by my DMs MacMillans nurse, that to forget about nutrition and concentrate on calorific intake . Obviously my DMs situation was very different but she was under 6stones and barely eating. Just encourage her to eat little and often of whatever she fancies and can stomach for now. If there’s a higher calorie option she will eat, go for that - gold top milk, cream, ice cream, full fat custard, butter stirred into mash etc. The important thing is to try maintain weight and if possible gain some. If she will eat a cream cake or a Mars bar or whatever, that’s fine right now. Hopefully as she starts to pick up or any physical cause is managed, then you can think more about increasing the nutritional quality of her diet. Now is not that time. You’re doing a wonderful job OP.

Well it’s has protein, carbs and veggies…😆

I think you will die. Eventually, but not from lack of calories just lack of nutrition. Might take a few years.

Please read all of the OP's posts.

When my husband died it was all I could do to swallow anything at all. I gagged on everything it was like trying to swallow cotton wool. After many months I could manage certain things, like pizza or other finger foods which were easy to eat. I honestly think it was the best part of two years before my eating became relatively normal.

I recall feeling guilty that I could eat and my husband couldn't.

OP, I'm so sorry for your update, but please remember that lots of people read the first thing then nothing else.

I've not been in your situation, but my daughter has anorexia and last year lost a lot of weight and became very ill.

Apart from her weight, other things to look at are her blood pressure and resting pulse. Do her hands feel cold? Is her hair falling out? Is she more obviously tetchy? Forgetful?

Will she go to the GP? Whilst it sounds like a loss of appetite rather than eating disorder, the outcome of restricting intake is the same and she needs support and regular physical health monitoring.

Calories in and 2 litres of fluids a day is necessary. 1500 calories as a minimum so she stops losing weight. 2500 is recommended by eating disorder services as the level for weight restoration.

By the sounds of what she's eating, it's "safe" food - bland, consistent, easy to consume. Offer her something every 2-3 hours - essentially 6 meals a day (3 meals, 3 snacks but if 6 x 300 calorie options work better for her, that's ok).

Look for any ways of adding calories - cream in coffee, butter on toast. A bowl of nuts for her to graze on. You want high calorie, low volume. If she's drinking but not eating, look for milky drinks and fruit juice. If you can get her to a GP, ask about a prescription for Fortisip.

Would she take a multivitamin/iron supplement as well? Just to alleviate any pressure around nutritional value of food at this point.

Beat is the eating disorder charity and they have a wonderful helpline. They can't give medical advice but can signpost you to support.

I hope things improve quickly x

Yes that’s exactly it

Are you sure it’s just that she’s not eating enough from grief and there isn’t anything else underlying?

Has she been to the GP for bloods etc?

When someone is depressed, their appetite and interest in food can completely change or diminish altogether. People will change their eating habits in many ways, and potentially always just reach for what takes the least amount of effort or thought. W

I would stop worrying about what she's eating - like trying to avoid sweet stuff - and just worry about getting her to eat anything you can. If that's jam sandwiches for a week, then so be it. At this point I really think you should be focusing on calories and not a balanced diet.

I'd have a selection of snacks - biscuits, crisps, sweets, nuts, fruit, cartons of juice, full sugar coke, cheese sticks, whatever you think might tempt her to nibble on it through the day - and have it next to her chair / wherever she spends time. So it's right there and there no effort involved in her getting it.

If she's not eaten properly for a while her stomach has probably shrunk too, so she'll genuinely be feeling full after not eating much. Many small meals through the day rather then breakfast, lunch and dinner is likely to be more successful.

Keto fat bombs may be something to try, too (not suggesting keto diet altogether, just these, they sound like they may be palatable to her while providing calories and some nutrition)

For example here. draxe.com/nutrition/keto-fat-bombs/

Since she's not on the diet I'd probably even use a bit of sugar/honey/maple syrup instead of the sweetener.

Best wishes to both of you x