Bananas and their bad rap.

I fail to understand why anyone would enter their info incorrectly and expect this site to help them in the long run. I am not sedentary nor do I expect to lose 2 pounds a week (I wish!!) but thanks for your info, I didn't know I was assigned the lowest number allowed per day. Maybe my age and height were factored in, IDK, I seem to exist on that amount and am not starving by any means. :P

Same here! If I don't work out, which is not too often, I do have a more difficult time staying around the 1,200 cal. limit MFP set for me, but I don't worry 'bout it too much, if I go over, on the days that I workout, which is most days, I have a very difficult time eating enough to meet the 1,200 cal. net that MFP recommends. I always come in much lower than that advise. It is hard to eat enough to make it, when I've just burned around a 1,000 or more calories.

However, I'm not really concerned about rigidly following that advise. I am getting great results, meeting my goals, and feeling strong and healthy and very, very vibrant.

I say, do what is working for you. Bananas work for me and I especially make sure I'm getting them when I'm going to be very physically active. Better than a sports drink!

The idea of a lifestyle change in eating is not to deny yourself foods, but to adjust the portions and be aware of your caloric intake vs. caloric outgoing. If a banana fits in, then eat one! They have great nutritional value and are a single item food. I prefer mine freckled as I know the sugars are breaking down but that is just me.

I say eat what you want as long as you aren't gluttonous about it.

I love bananas. They are my go-to recovery food after running. Nom nom.

Although I don't eat very many bananas, I can say that they are good for you. Your carbs fuel your body. I'm 228lbs now. Started out at 246, and I can tell you that eating 1200 cals(because MFP said to do it.) I was starving myself and a didn't lose any the first week or two and I found this http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

It has helped me so much! I lost 6lbs the first week after I took my cals up and started exercising more. So the more you eat, the more you'll burn in a way. You've got to keep your body fueled and I still have trouble meeting my calorie goal, but I'm exercising a whole lot more than I did. 1200 is too low if you're overweight or obese.

I didn't know bananas could rap.....


Anyway, as I understand it they are natures sports drink, loads of vitamins, minerals and good carbs to aid muscle recovery (glycogen is needed to build/repair muscle). I always have one after the gym, along with something protein-y.

I usually eat a banana a day.
In still befuddled by a comment I read on here once that you might as well eat a Snickers bar as a banana because of the carbs. Please.

Actually, that is more of a comment about the Snickers than the banana. Of all the candy bars, Snickers is actually not terrible in terms of its glycemic index because of the volume of peanuts in it. A banana, if a little under-ripe, is the same. Ripe bananas are a bit better, though. (I checked this info on livestrong.com)

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The comment about Snickers I read was specifically about how bananas are a bad choice. It befuddled me because while bananas are high in carbs & natural sugar, they have fiber & various vitamins while being a low fat choice.
While a Snickers bar might be a good GI choice compared to other candy bars, it seems silly to compare Snickers to fruit--Added sugar vs. natural sugar & the fat content alone.

There's no difference between added sugar or natural sugar, they are both glucose and fructose. The body digests them identically. And the fat in a Snickers bar comes from the peanuts, and is a very healthy fat. A Snickers bar also has a decent amount of protein and fiber in it, again due to the peanuts.

I've read different studies & opinions on metabolization of sugar. Notwithstanding sugar, I am still baffled by the assertion that a Snickers is as nutritional beneficial as a banana.
A full-size Snickers has about 250 calories and 16 peanuts for 4 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber--very negligible amounts of calcium and iron. While some of its fat is attributable to the peanuts, the other 10+ ingredients from which the nougat, caramel, and milk chocolate which encases the confection are, also, culpable.
A small to medium banana has about 110 calories, 450 mg potassium, 1 gram protein, 3 grams of fiber, 9 mg vitamin C, and negligible amounts of at least 7 other nutrients.
I've never known anyone who got fat eating daily bananas--or any other fruit for that matter. I've personally put on 10-20 unwanted pounds in the past eating confections with very similar ingredients and nutritional quality as Snickers.

I like them when they're still light green

I like them when they're still light green

Ugh that's what my bananas are like right now I like them when the peel starts going brown.

I blame the fad idiocy of the low carb craze. I can't wait until protein is one day demonized in the same way as fat and carbs have been. It's only a matter of time.

Also, it blows the cover of all the liars out there who say they want to be healthy. BULL. If that there the case, bananas would not be feared as they are a very healthy food, high in potassium, and the sugar in them is natural and good for the body, not at all like the sugar in candy. People need to cut the crap and admit that they just want to look good and most of the time don't give a crap about their health in relation to weight loss.

When's the last time you heard someone say, "I got to 200lbs eating too many bananas." Yeah...no.

I love bananas! i eat them as a snack and sometimes with a drizzle of honey