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What's the take on bananas (I know, they're a fruit so technically compliant)


KristinaTomes

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So, before you shoot me down, there's a reason behind this question. 

I did my first WeightWatchers 10 years ago now. Back then bananas had points, which meant that I hardly ever ate them. Now, I'm not some banana monster who can't get through her day without one, in fact, I don't particularly like the taste, but I am fully behind their benefits. They fill you up and give you energy. When going through periods of lots of exercise they are part of my daily diet, and over the past 6/7 months, I've just found that they are the best "dessert" to my breakfast and will get me through a long morning. When I went back to WeightWatchers about 3 or 4 years ago, the plan had changed, and suddenly bananas were point free...TECHNICALLY I could eat as many bananas as I liked, as well as the rest of my points allowance. I understood this but found it confusing at the same time. 

So, I wondered what the Whole30 take on bananas is. I have been on a run this morning (I've taken some time out so it was quite a slow one) and having done my pre and post workout meal I am now about to have a breakfast fritatta and finish it off with a banana (admittedly a small one). Sound ok? 

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The fact that you look at your banana as a breakfast "dessert" means I'd recommend you leave them off for a while and add more veggies to your breakfast. 

Yes, they're compliant, but sometimes we need to leave off compliant foods during a Whole30 because of how we mentally view them. If someone meal preps baked sweet potato wedges for a few day's meals, but then finds that they're going back to the fridge because "yum, fries", then maybe baked sweet potato wedges aren't really a good option for that person. 

For that "fills you up and gives you energy" thing, you can increase your starchy veg like potatoes, winter squashes, etc.

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On the Whole30, it is recommended that fruit be limited to being part of meal and not to the exclusion of veggies. Following the meal template is best.

That said, a huge part of the W30 is about healing your relationship with food and using fruit as a dessert is only going to feed unhealthy habits with food. 

Ask yourself if you need the banana for sustenance or if you are just eating it to satisfy a sweet tooth. If it's for sustenance, you might also try starchy vegetables or perhaps even increasing fat.  

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The Whole30 take is our recommendations for you to have the best results. Fruit is nutritious and here are our recommendations:

Try to make each meal hearty enough to get you to the next meal (4-5 hours).
Each meal should follow the Meal Template:  Include protein, veggies and fat.
We recommend you not eat fruit by itself as a snack/meal. Snacks, if necessary, should include 2 of the 3 macros (protein, fat, carbohydrate).
There's no benefit/nutrients in fruit that you can't get from vegetables.
Fruit is best used like condiment, like blueberries in your salad or some apple diced up and scrambled with your Meal 1.

 

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Thanks for your replies, it was what I suspected, but it was good/necessary to hear it from strangers!! Having lived my first day at work on the whole30 I think the banana thing was previously a bit of a crutch...it's not that I loved the taste or craved the sugar, more that it felt like I needed to eat one in order to get from 0930 to 1230 without chewing through my mouse mat. I am looking forward to experimenting with different foods to see what will get me there!

On the upside, whilst I might have eaten a banana for breakfast today I will be thinking of it as more of a strategic move as I think it helped significantly with my days2-3 bowel movements. It was a recommendation that I received a couple of years ago from a tour guide in India, and has proved to work the majority of the time.

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