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You will never come across a person who doesn’t want to look good. Starting from kids to adults, from rich to poor everyone has the desire to present them in their best form. It can be said that the urge to look good is a part of the entire human race.
It is because of this reason that people are willing to spend truckloads of money on beauty products, surgeries and on other similar things.
What most people fail to realize is that if, you want to look good then, you will have to keep yourself fit. You can’t just abuse your body with loads of junk food and then apply tons of makeup and expect yourself to look good.
No, that’s not the way how it is being done.
That’s because the more you abuse your body with unhealthy diet, the more it will show on the outer side especially on your face. If you wish to look good then, you will have to work on your body as well.
If you don’t keep yourself fit, there’s no way you can look good in your sickness. Speaking of keeping yourself fit, it clearly means that you have to hit the gym and go on a healthy diet.
Most people think that the gym alone can help them lose weight and keep them fit. What they fail to realize is that gym and diet go together and your fitness regime is just incomplete without either of them.
In fact, truth be told gyming only counts for 20% of your weight loss and fitness. It’s the diet that counts for the major portion of your fitness and that is 80% of it.
So if, you are going to the gym but not maintaining a healthy diet then, you are clearly doing it wrong. If you want fast and visible result then you have to balance both.
When it comes to diet, there are different types of diet that a dietician may prescribe for you. In fact, every person has a different diet chart.
No matter what diet you follow, every diet has its own set of rules that you need to follow.
If you think that your diet is working then, you are following the rules properly. However, diet doesn’t mean starving yourself completely which most people think it to be especially the ladies. Diet means eating small meals after every 3 to 4 hours.
Also, there are restrictions on certain food items as well when you are on a complete diet. Speaking of diet, today we are going to discuss a special type of diet known as the morning banana diet.
Contents
What Is The Morning Banana Diet?
Before we move on to any further details, it is important that we first learn what the morning banana diet is. First of all this morning banana diet was created by Sumiko Watanabe who was a pharmacist in Osaka.
From the name itself, you can figure out that the diet origins from Japan. Sumiko created this special diet for her husband who lost 37 pounds following the rules of the particular diet.
The main ingredient of the diet is rather obvious and that is eating bananas in the morning.
The main thing about the diet is that one has to eat raw bananas in the morning along with room temperature water. One can eat as many bananas as he/she can during this time, however, one should not overeat.
The lunch and the dinner depend on the dieter and a mid-afternoon snack allowed.
According to the diet, one cannot eat after 8 pm. However, 6 pm is the preferred cut-off. It also requires the participants to go to sleep by midnight.
Other key points of the diet include journaling, limited dairy, drinking a lot of water and mindfulness.
The morning banana diet was later turned into a book by Sumiko’s husband Hitoshi Watanabe in the year 2008. Thereafter, the diet started to get popular among the people.
It became so popular that there came a time that the grocers were unable to meet the demand for bananas in the market.
The Morning Banana Diet Rules
Now that you know the history and the origin of the morning banana diet, it’s time that we dive into the rules of the diet. For the ones who are extremely diet conscious, they can actually follow this diet in order to lose maximum weight in less time.
Here are the rules and the details related to the morning banana diet:
Eat A Banana For Breakfast
It is pretty obvious that you need to have bananas for your breakfast if, you are to follow this diet. You can have more than one banana. In fact, eating up to 4 bananas is just fine but make sure that you do not overfeed yourself with it to the point that you start to feel uncomfortable.
You need to make sure that you eat only raw bananas and not frozen or cooked bananas. However, you can also eat other fruits along with it.
If you are including other fruits in the diet then, there you need to stick to only one type of fruit per meal.
If you feel hungry after having the banana, wait for 15 to 30 minutes & then any other food that you want but that doesn’t mean that you will have fast food or something.
Try to eat something healthy and that contains less number of calories.
Eat Normally For Lunch And Dinner
You need to finish your dinner before 8 pm. After that, you cannot eat anything. It will be better if you can wrap up your dinner by 6 pm.
There are no special restrictions on the type of food that you are to have for your lunch or dinner. However, dieters prefer to eat something less fried and something that has fewer calories.
Even if, you are having rice, restrict the amount to the size of a Duse ball.
The one thing that you need to maintain strictly when following this diet is that you cannot have dessert after your dinner or lunch or with any of the other meals. You can satisfy your sweet tooth during a snack break but not while having main meals.
It is suggested that you should eat until you are satisfied but not to the extent that you make yourself uncomfortable. Excessive fullness can be harmful to your health.
Drink A Lot Of Water
The only beverage that you need to have along with your meals is water. Make sure that you have only filtered or mineral water. The water should be at room temperature and not too chilled or hot.
You should drink the water in small sips and not gulp it down to wash the food. There is no limit to the amount of water that you should drink.
However, you should not drink excess water or else it will make you feel uncomfortable.
Other than water you can also have tea, coffee, and diet soda but it will be better if, you cut down on the consumption of these beverages. Also, milk products are completely discouraged.
You can drink beer or wine on social occasions. You need to chew the banana and other food thoroughly. When you chew on your food you need to be mindful of its taste.
Afternoon Snack Is Allowed
You can have a chocolate, biscuits or cookies or any other similar stuff at around 3 pm. At this time you can satisfy your sweet tooth. But do not eat excess sweets.
You need to keep in mind that you cannot have ice cream, potato chips, and donuts during the snack break. These are the things that you need to avoid to eat.
If you want you can also substitute fresh fruit in your snack break. But if you have a soft spot for sweets then there is no need for you to deny that urge.
There are people who like to have salted snacks which are just fine. For the people who feel really hungry during this time, they can have a small rice ball to satisfy their hunger.
If you are looking for a salty snack that is more filling then you should go for popcorns.
But make sure that you take the salted one and not the ones with cheese. To put in other words, check out for the fat content.
In case if you feel hungry after your dinner then you can have a snack of fresh fruits. However, you cannot make this your habit. Once the dinner is done, you should not have anything else.
Go To Bed Early
If you are on this morning banana diet then you need to go to bed early and that is by midnight. If you can go to bed earlier than that then, it’s all the better.
Try to keep a gap of 4 hours between your last meal or snack and bedtime.
Exercise If You Want
Exercise only if, you want to. There is no need for you to pressurize yourself unnecessarily. But if, you want to exercise then do it. The main point is to keep yourself stress-free.
It doesn’t matter whether you are training or not but make sure that get some walking every day. It will be good if you can manage that but again don’t put any stress on yourself.
If you prefer a light exercise then you can go for the Japanese kendama.
Maintain A Diet Journal
You need to maintain a diet journal when on this diet. That’s because many of the dieters who followed this diet documented their daily food intake and progress and uploaded on the internet which gave more support to others following the same. In fact, the diet was mainly developed on the internet.
Well, these are the main rules for the morning banana diet. If you can follow all these rules then, you can surely expect fast and prominent results.
However, you need to be patient enough for the diet to work. Therefore, do not just give up after a week if, you do not see any drastic loss of weight or something.
The Advantages and the Disadvantages of the Morning Banana Diet
Now let’s look into the various advantages and disadvantages of the morning banana diet:
Advantages
Here are the main advantages of the morning banana diet:
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Provides Essential Nutrients: If you didn’t know but bananas are filled with macro and micronutrients. Potassium, vitamins, and magnesium are the nutrients that you get in abundance in a banana. It also helps boost the immune system, keeps you fuller for longer and prevents water retention in the body.
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Helps In Digestion: Bananas also help in promoting better digestion. It is true that they are loaded with fibers but however, they are very easy to digest. They are not only filling but delicious at the same time and are also low in calories. In the morning time, your stomach remains in the resting stage. It needs more time before you it can start working at its peak. Therefore, the stomach cannot handle hard to digest food in the morning. But if you have a banana in the morning it will rev start your stomach without being too hard on your stomach. Other than that it also improves your digestion and nutrient absorption.
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Helps Clean The Colon: Bananas are loaded with enzymes that are helpful in cleaning the colon. When the gut is healthy, your body is able to work better and at the same time, it also absorbs the nutrients better from that you consume. In addition, bananas are also rich in fructose and fiber. These are the nutrients that help keep the gastrointestinal tract healthy. Other than those bananas also help in boosting the metabolic rate of the body and thus, you will lose weight faster.
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Low in Calories: If you want to cut down on your calorie intake then having bananas is the best idea. That’s because they are low in calories. You can eat as many bananas as you want in the morning and still don’t have to worry about getting overboard. Also, you will feel less hungry when you eat bananas coz it always keeps you full.
Bananas are great to have for breakfast especially for the people who are always in a hurry during the morning time. No need for cooking or preparing it. Just have a few bananas and you are done. Also, you can see the number of useful benefits that it has on the human body.
Disadvantages
Here are the main disadvantages of the morning banana diet:
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Increases Your Blood Sugar Level: The fact that bananas contain high amounts of fructose which is a sugar derived from fruits, it can boost the sugar level in your blood. This is the reason why people with diabetes are not allowed to have bananas.
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Causes Cavities: You must have noticed one thing that after you eat a banana you can feel a sticky substance on your teeth. Well, it’s the fructose which is quite sticky. When you eat a banana it leaves a lot of food debris between your teeth which ultimately increase the risk of having cavities. In order to prevent getting cavities, you should brush your teeth thoroughly after every meal especially after a meal with banana in it. Also, don’t forget to floss your mouth nicely.
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Causes Constipation: As we already know that bananas are a rich source of fiber, it may cause constipation in some people. In order to avoid this, you need to drink at least 8 glasses of water every day to keep everything flowing smoothly.
Now that you know about the various advantages and disadvantages of following this morning banana diet, it is up to you that whether you want to follow it or not. However, it is advisable that if you are a diabetic patient then it is better that you avoid this diet. But as far as others are concerned they can give it a try provided that they will remain true to the diet.
Morning Banana Diet: Does It Work?
According to this diet, you will have to eat bananas every day in order to reduce hunger pangs. The creators of the diet claim that with the help of this diet you can enter a healthy eating pattern which is sure to have a positive effect on you in the long run.
Once you have followed the diet for a week you gradually start improving your eating patterns. The fact that bananas are rich in nutrients and have low calories, it can keep you full and strong for long.
Therefore, there is no way that you will feel weak or sick.
One of the biggest reasons that prove that this diet will work is because you are consuming fewer calories throughout the day. When your body burns more calorie than what you consume, you are sure to lose weight and this is exactly what is happening here.
For the diet to work properly it is said that the dieter needs to have at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Also, the dieter needs to be less stressed. That’s because when you are stressed you sleep less and you are also more likely to munch on unhealthy snacks.
This is the reason why you gain weight. Even the cortisol levels in your body increases which affect the metabolism rate.
When you have more than one banana in the breakfast you will stay full for long and thus, you will not munch on unhealthy snacks in between.
This will eventually cut down on your calorie intake.
The diet requires you to walk or jog daily. That’s because it helps you reduce your stress and thus, you can get proper sleep.
With the help of this diet, you can stay within your calorie limit which is one of the main reasons for this diet to work for almost everyone. Also, the diet will help people to get into a healthy eating pattern with less junk and fried foods.
When all this is cut down, you can automatically lose weight with minimum effort. Well, that’s the magic of the diet.
The diet also requires you to drink a lot of water. That’s because it can curb down your hunger. Other than that it will also help flush out all the toxins from your body through urine and sweat.
However, you should not drink water during your meal. It is ideal to drink water 30 minutes before and 2 hours after your meal.
The diet can be hard to follow but if, you manage to stick to it then, you are sure to get wonderful results. All you need is a bit of dedication. If you are looking for a better weight loss program make sure to read this article
Will I Gain Weight After I Leave The Diet?
You see the main thing about weight loss is the calories. The fewer calories you take, the less you gain weight. So if you continue to take fewer calories even when you are done with the diet then, you cannot gain weight.
But if, you fail to do so then, yes you will gain weight and all your effort will be wasted.
You need to keep in your mind that you need to restrict your calorie intake. The calorie intake should be less than your calorie expenditure and only then you can maintain your weight.
All you need to do is control your eating habits. Now that you know about it, hopefully, you will be able to deal with it better.
Thus, from the above discussion, it can be said that the morning banana diet is one of its kind. If you are serious about losing weight then, you should definitely give it a try provided that you are not diabetic. The diet may be strict but if you have the right motivation then, you are strong enough to handle anything. Once you see the results, it becomes an addiction.
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