Keeping fit and healthy can become a challenge as you age. When getting out of the house takes a lot longer than it used to and you simply can’t carry as much shopping or spend as much time in the kitchen, making healthy choices gets harder.

However, there are things you can do to help your parents continue to live a healthy lifestyle without having to spend a lot of time each week. Indeed, with just a few tweaks to your own lifestyle, you can keep everyone happy and healthy for years to come.

Home Care and Help

As we age, we all slow down a bit and things like caring for the household can fall by the wayside. Hiring a cleaner is a good way to ensure that the house stays relatively clean and tidy but you might also consider how you can help too.

FreedomCare could be something for you and your family to consider. Instead of paying someone else to go into your parent’s home to offer care and support, this company will pay you. This means that your parents will still get the help they need and you won’t have to sacrifice your job or spare time to help them.

Homemade Ready Meals

Home cooking is always the healthiest option as it rarely involves lots of additives to extend shelf life and is likely to include a lot more veg! Batch cooking is always the best way to make healthy meals and 2 extra portions is hardly going to add to your stress. All you need to do is cook as you would and then freeze the extras to take over at the weekend. Simple.

When you are cooking, you should consider foods that keep the joints strong as well as ensuring a varied diet to get all the vitamins and minerals. Encourage your parents to add their own veggies to different meals so that they can stay involved in choosing what to eat. Labeling each tupperware with clear reheating instructions will also really help.

Get Active Together

Staying active can be tough for elderly people, especially if they have trouble with mobility. However, with your help, you can get them out and about. Going for a walk on a nice day is a good place to start – just make sure that you go at their pace and you choose a nice flat route. Similarly, planning a day out is a nice idea. You can take a wheelchair so that they can sit down when they need a break and use the chair as a support while they walk.

Doing activities together will take a lot more time just because they tend to go slowly so don’t try to rush things. Make sure that you only need to do one or two things, or just go out for fun. Remember, the main point here is to spend quality time together. Enjoy talking and reminiscing with them and try to slow down too. It’ll probably do you some good!