I don't know what to do because he lives alone and eats meals that require little to no prepping. This means he eats ready meals and pre-made, often processed foods that can be high in salt and fat, sometimes sugar too such as a ready prepped sauces.
His main meals can be healthier such as frozen
I wouldn't nag him. Sometimes people "get their back up" when someone tries to tell them what to eat. It's very personal. It sounds like he is trying to eat better. It's hard to take advice from our children, sometimes.
He is an adult. You can't nag him into doing something without damaging your relationship. You can only encourage and offer support in things he either wants to do or might be open to.
He's currently on statins for cholesterol and kidney meds, but nothing for his diabetes. He was told his diabetes was at a good level the last time he went, which honestly surprised me.
This sounds very much like he's doing just fine. Or he's lying to you, in which case, you've already dug yourself into a big hole.
I understand your concern. But the way you're talking about him comes across as extremely overbearing, chastising and unhelpful. You mention you're checking on his cupboards, you're passing judgment on what he eats without understanding what diabetes is and what his management is supposed to look like.
It's entirely possible to have good glucose levels eating ready made meals. It's entirely possible to get his daily nutrients in with ready made meals. He's allowed to snack, there's no rule in diabetes management that says we can't.
Instead of judging your father with preconceived notions of what's healthy and what's not, ask him if he wants your help first. He is a grown man. If his doctor says his levels are fine, what he's doing is working for him. A loved one who isn't your literal
If he's taking meds for cholesterol and his kidneys, then it doesn't sound like he's not taking medical recommendations lightly. Metformin, the most common medication for diabetes, is just a pill twice daily and I'm sure his doctor has told him as much.
Ultimately, you have two options ahead of you.
Be 'right' at the expense of your relationship with your dad.
Accept that he's an adult and your energy is better spent focused on your relationship with him.
How is inspecting cupboards and nagging as if your father was a naughty child supposed to be helpful?
Why does your father mostly eat premade food? If the clean up afterwards is too much of a bother, offer to help him find a good dishwasher, and sturdy cooking tools that can go in it. If traditional cooking takes too long, offer to help him meal prep once a week, teach him to use an air fryer, and show him how to find pre-chopped veggies and fruit at the grocery store.
You're not actually helping him, you're just being annoying. If his doctor says he's doing okay, then he's doing okay.
Id boot op out of my house.
Don't do anything.
"He was told his diabetes was at a good level the last time he went, which honestly surprised me." - What does this mean? Was his A1C really at a good level and if so, what was it, or is he telling you that's what the doctor said? If it's truly at a good level then leave him the freak alone and let him do what he's doing until it's an issue.
He’s an adult. He gets to eat what he wants and manage his health, or not, as he wants. You don’t have to agree with what he dies or like what he does but you need to find a way to come to grips with him not doing what you think he should be going even if he’s harming himself. It’s frustrating.
He says he takes his meds. He says his diabetes is under control. Do you believe him? It seems like you don’t. You can ask him to share his latest test results. Those will tell the story.
If your dad is anything like my mom (who lived alone after my dad died), there is a huge struggle with making meals for just yourself. My mom lost her desire to create meals. It made her sad honestly. Our going through her fridge and pantry was a huge insult to her independence and was hurting our relationship until we pulled back. My amazing sister would make some extra food for my mom a few times a week and I would buy healthy options for her to snack on and we would just drop them off (we had young children so being there at meals was hard). We told her we knew it was hard to cook for oneself and we just wanted to make things a little easier.This is a hard situation with older parents and it is made more difficult by your dad's diabetes. For my siblings and I, we were able to do the dro
I hate to say it, and I see a post like this every few weeks, but there really is nothing you can do. If your father is educated on whats right with his condition and elects not to deal with it, you just gotta accept it.
Well, I have no experience with type 2, but depends... Does he have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes? Two completely different conditions that only share a name and symptoms when unmanaged, but otherwise work completely differently.
As I said, can't speak to type 2, but if he is type 1, what the man eats is entirely irrelevant and I suspect it's the same for type 2. If you have a control plan that allows you for such snacking and meals then go for it, no need to restrict yourself to the point where you have no joy or feel like you have to follow a set of arbitrary rules.
I eat snacks near every day, I eat whatever kinds of foods I want, be it healthy chicken with some mashed potatoes or french fries, a hamburger or a pizza, it's irrelevant.
So the question we get down to: how is his
so the doctor has told him he is doing ok and all you do is nag, whine, moan and paint everything in a negative
might come a time when he has had enough and tells you he needs more space and to stop visiting ?
maybe take him out for the weekend for some exercise but dressed up as doing something he enjoys
Give him a membership meal delivery services. You can choose what's in it high carb low carpeto vegan vegetarian etc etc then he'd be eating well
See if he can get on metformin. It may be enough to control his sugar. And make sure he's at least checking his sugar when he wakes up in the morning.
Otherwise, nothing you can do until he wants to change. The premade meals aren't going to affect his diabetes too much, neither will half a tin of biscuits in a week, but will affect cholesterol and blood pressure. It sounds like he just hates cooking. I'm kinda the same way with cooking (I have a freezer full of frozen dinners and chicken right now), but I do get a good bit of exercise.