Weight Loss

The morning banana diet is taking Japan by storm ever since an opera singer said that she lost 15 pounds on the diet. Proposed by Hitoshi Watanabe, the diet is extremely simple and touted as the easiest way to lose weight. It started on the internet and several people have tailored it to suit their style. What is it?

The morning banana diet was developed on the internet; so there is no expert out there to draw the rules for this diet. But Japanese bloggers who followed the diet successfully put up some guidelines on the internet to help others. This is what they came up with:

* Eat one, two, three, or four bananas (depending on size) for breakfast but make sure you don't fill up completely. Chew the bananas and enjoy the taste.

* You are not supposed to eat anything else along with the bananas. If you still feel hungry eat something after 30 minutes.

* All other meals should be normal, like you eat every day. Dinner should be taken by 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. at most.

* Don't have dessert after meals.

* Eat until you are less than full - ideally, your level of satiety should be 7 on a hunger scale of 1 to 10.

* When thirsty, drink only water. The water you drink should be at room temperature. And there is no need to drink more than what is necessary.

* You may have a sweet snack in the afternoon - chocolate, cookies… anything.

* Go to bed early. Let there be a gap of four hours between dinner and bedtime. That is why, have dinner early.

* Exercise only if you want to. Put no stress on yourself.

Theories regarding how morning banana diet works:

One theory says that bananas contain some enzymes that are good for the process of digestion and excretion, which results in quick weight loss.

Another theory focuses on the starch found in bananas. The fibrous quality of the food helps feel full and also burns fat. Starch reduces the absorption process in the small intestine which passes it all to the large intestine for elimination.

Some studies have proved that indigestible fiber resists conversion of carbohydrates.

Better guidelines for the banana diet:

Obviously there are some drawbacks in the guidelines mentioned above. Eating whatever you want to for lunch and dinner cannot help the cause of weight loss. Eat only healthy foods that are low in calories and are known to help lose weight. You cannot expect the bananas you ate in the morning to magically aid in burning calories.

Eating before 8 p.m. is for those who snack after dinner. At the end of the day, it's the number of calories you ate that matters.

"Exercising only if you want to" is almost ridiculous. Which overweight person would want to exercise? Exercise burns calories and that is what counts in the final analysis. You need to be physically active to be able to burn calories.