Am I bananas?

[TinaH2016]

Lately, I have found that I am craving bananas.   I have added them to my meals instead of snacking, but it seems like I just want them - all the time.  

 

Am I missing something, a mineral that is making me want them so much?

 

My meals consist of a protein (varies), a serving or two of vegetables (depends on how hungry I am) and a fruit serving.  Some meals don't have fruit. 

 

 

[jmcbn]

Bananas are high in potassium so you could be potassium deficient - it's not unusual.

You don't mention fat in your meals - are you adding plenty of fat too?

 

Perhaps a brief run down of what you are eating would be helpful - please be specific about veg types, portion sizes, water intake, activity levels, and let us know of any medications you may be taking.

[Tom Denham]

Avocados offer more potassium than bananas, so you might crave avocados if it were a function of being deficient. The danger during a Whole30 is that you are feeding a sugar dragon with fruit, especially bananas. 

 

Fruit should be limited to one or two servings per day and berries (less sweet) are better than sweet fruits. 

[TinaH2016]

Bananas are high in potassium so you could be potassium deficient - it's not unusual.

You don't mention fat in your meals - are you adding plenty of fat too?

 

Perhaps a brief run down of what you are eating would be helpful - please be specific about veg types, portion sizes, water intake, activity levels, and let us know of any medications you may be taking.

 

The fat, yes - using coconut oil, olive oil, and clarified butter (not all 3 at once, but at least 2 in food prep).

 

 

Typical day:

Breakfast: 3 egg squares (1 egg baked with spinach, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers), served with a banana covered in cinnamon the veggies in side the square vary each week (I make these on Sunday for the week) - the egg squares are baked but have an fat added to them.

 

Lunch: Salad with variety of lettuces, spinach or kale, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, celery, tomatoes, pecans or brazil nuts that have been toasted in clarified butter, grilled chicken breast and then either raspberries, strawberries, blueberries added to the salad.  The dressing is the mayo recipe that broke with Pampered Chef's Herbs de providence added to it, along with garlic powder and pepper. 

 

Dinner: a protein (this varies nightly from hamburger made with the veggies above), chicken breast, pork chops, ribs, steak, fish stuffed with crab, etc.  2 veggies (one being a starch such as potato (red, white, sweet etc). and another veg (cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, collards, squash).  Usually we roast the veggies with either clarified butter, olive oil or coconut.  I don't typically add fruit with dinner unless I am making Caribbean Rice (cauliflower with nuts, pineapple, parsley and coconut milk).  

 

I use the template as the guide (protein the size of my palm, fruits the size of my hand, etc).  

 

 

right now I am forcing myself to eat and all I really want is bananas. There are no medications.  The water intake is about about 100 oz a day when its hot and about 72 oz when I spend all day indoors. Activity level is low, behind a desk most of the day.  I try to get in an equivalent of 30 minute walking distance spread throughout the day (about a mile).   

 

In my previous life (before whole30) I was a chinese delivery, sub shop, pizza, as well as good food but lots of sugar kind of person.  5'3 carrying and 2010 lbs when I started this journey.  I have no idea what I weigh now but I know its less because my clothes fit better, I am in a smaller size and I feel better. 

 

When my hot flashes got really bad about a week ago, I added more coconut oil to my diet - that seemed to really help.  Can't understand the banana thing though since I am getting a lot of the foods that have potassium. 

 

I am open to any advice, suggestions etc to change. 

[TinaH2016]

OH WOW _ I am not 2010 lbs.... that was supposed to be 210 lbs..... 

[Karen_Suep]

Water intake should be at least 1/2 oz per pound of body weight so for someone weighing 140, 72 oz would be ok.

Fat should be in addition to cooking/meat fats.

Banana is a very carby fruit. It honestly is what i call a sugar bomb because of the way it affects blood glucose levels. (I also put grapes, pineapple and mango in this category and eat them rarely because of a preexisting sugar processing issue.). Also eating it first thing in the day can affect cravings for sugar later in the day. Try limiting fruit to one time later in the day b

[jmcbn]

Yeah, your meals don’t actually look too bad – I wondered maybe if you were eating a lot of fruit & feeding the sugar dragon if it wasn’t a potassium deficiency, but berries don’t tend to impact blood sugar, and it’s not like you’re eating the banana on its own…. Yes, fruit in the morning can impact energy levels & appetite later in the day (personally I don’t ever eat fruit/starch with breakfast for this reason), but I’m not sure that when eaten in this way it would cause you to crave bananas, bananas, and more bananas, although I’d maybe encourage you to not eat banana every day, and maybe add in some veg in its place…

 

Nuts can be carby too – carbier than most people give them credit for – plus they’re just not a great fat source due to their poor omega 3:6 ratio, so I’d be inclined to switch these for a better fat source – something like avocado, olives or home-made mayo…. And I’d suggest that when you get these cravings for more bananas you try quashing them with fat – a spoonful of that coconut oil you’ve added in works well, or macnut oil, or olives…

[praxisproject]

Some experiment options:

• Go cold turkey on the bananas
  • Swap out your bananas for avocado - more fat, less carbs, plenty of potassium and other good things
  • Swap our your bananas for a root vegetable - if you need more starch, I love sweet potato.
  • Swap out your bananas for plantains (they'll need cooking) - plantains aren't as easy or sweet tasting as bananas, although I love them, I just can't be bothered cooking lots of them.

Are you getting enough to eat? do you feel hungry? getting any muscle cramps/cramping?

 

Some stuff about bananas that's not potassium: melatonin, they have a type of starch that is prebiotic (helps good bugs grow in your guts), they're also one of the lowest antioxidant fruits as well as being about 50/50 fructose/glucose.

 

Some foods higher in melatonin: sour cherries, walnuts, broccoli, tomatoes, pomegranate, strawberries (veggies would be better than fruit).

[TinaH2016]

Thank you for the info. I going to do some swaps and exchanges suggested.

I am also increasing my water.

I also love sweet potatoes, especially with a hint of cinnamon.