The Daily Dish Recipes

Since I have decided to try out the “fad diet” known as The Japanese Banana Diet, I thought I should share the basics of what the diet is, and how it started.  I’ve done some relatively extensive research to see what the results were from others, to find out how the diet came about and how it works and any modifications that can be made.

Originally the diet was designed by a pharmacist for her husband to help increase his metabolism. After he had successful results, he shared his story on a Japanese social networking site and it took off from there. Most of this was last summer and after that there was a huge shortage of bananas on a regular basis as everyone seemed intent on trying it. After many book deals and magazine articles, the diet did become the newest” fad diet”, and while it has died out for some, there are still many people who are practicing the diet as a part of their overall health, daily diet, etc.

The basic rules for the Japanese Banana Diet:

In the Morning:

• Eat a banana for breakfast with a glass of room temperature water.
• Sip the water rather than gulping the water.
• Do not drink a hot or cold beverage for at least a half hour after eating the banana.
• If you are still hungry after the first banana, go ahead and eat another banana. The original guy ate four bananas and drank a glass of water for breakfast. However, do not stuff yourself at all - no feeling of total fullness.
• If you have an aversion to bananas, another fruit can be substituted, but only stick to one type of fruit per meal.
• You can eat something small if you are still hungry a half hour after after you have eaten the bananas. Stick to small things that are around 200 calories at max. Do NOT eat if you are full or comfortable.

For Lunch or Dinner:

• Eat a normal meal for lunch and for dinner.  Whatever it is you wish to eat, though it is recommended that you avoid greasy foods and limit your dairy.
• Your dinner needs to be eaten by 8pm. No later. 6:00pm is a much better time.
• Do not eat dessert with any meal. Satisfy your sweet tooth with a snack instead.
• Do not eat until you are full. This is definitely something that we do often, and if you can avoid it - it will help a LOT! Learn to recognize the feeling of being about 3/4 full. (about a 7 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being full)

Drink Water:

• The only beverage that is recommended on this diet, seems to be water and the water should be at room temperature only.
• Do not use the water to wash down your food, or take big gulps. Sip it slowly while eating.
• There is no set amount of water you must drink, and it is recommended that you do not go overboard with your water intake either.
• When you are not eating a meal, non-caloric beverages like tea, coffee, and diet soda are okay but should be avoided if possible.  Try to stop any dairy intake - keep in mind it isn’t just directed at milk, but also cream and other dairy products.
• I did read, that it was okay to drink the occasional beer or wine, but limit the consumption as much as you can.

Afternoon Snack:

• Have a sweet tooth or craving? You can eat chocolate, cookies or whatever else you feel the need for at about 3pm. It should be the only snack you have. Avoid ice cream, fried foods or chips.
• Many who have tried the diet, often substitute another piece of fresh fruit or some veggie sticks.
• Dieters who have had success have recommended eating popcorn if you are craving a salty snack, but be careful to watch the fat content on whatever you are consuming.
• If you are still hungry after your final meal of the day,  you may have a second snack of fresh fruit but avoid this if it isn’t necessary and make sure the snack is consumed at least 4 hours before you go to sleep for the night.

Other Rules for the Diet:

• Be sure and go to sleep before midnight. The earlier the better.
• A main goal is to get a four hour period between your last meal or snack and your bedtime. This is why they recommend eating BEFORE 8pm.
• Don’t feel obligated to do any excercise, however being active is a good thing. Do what you are comfortable with.
• Try to get some extra walking in each day. It’s not mandatory for the diet to work, but it will help tremendously.
• Keep a journal of your progress so you can see what you ate each day, which days garnered the best results and you can easily keep track of your progress.
• You might also be interested in keep progress of your “digestion issues” as this is a key point to this diet. You might visit the bathroom more frequently, and you will definitely notice your body becoming more regular.

See the previous post for all the amazing things that a banana is good for, and you can easily see why this diet helps.

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