Is the Japanese Banana Diet an effective way to lose weight?

Does physical activity make you lose weight?

Is there a relationship between exercise and weight loss?

Does diet soda increase weight?

We start with the first question, as nutrition experts indicated in the German magazine "Freunden" that the morning banana diet is a diet known in Japan since 2008, and it can be relied on to lose weight quickly before events.

The following is the nutritional information for a banana weighing 115 grams, according to the US Department of Agriculture:

  • Calories: 113

  • Dietary fiber: 2 grams

  • Fat: 0.33 g

  • Carbs: 26 grams

  • Protein: 0.851 g

  • Magnesium: 32.2 milligrams

  • Phosphorous: 25.3 milligrams

  • Potassium: 375 milligrams

  • Sodium: less than 4 milligrams

  • Zinc: 0.184 milligrams

  • Copper: 0.116 milligrams

  • Vitamin C: 14.1 milligrams

  • Manganese: 0.297 milligrams

  • Thiamine: 0.064 milligrams

  • Niacin: 0.761 milligrams

  • Vitamin B6: 0.24 milligrams

  • Folic acid: 16.1 micrograms

  • Vitamin A 1.15 mcg

  • Beta-carotene 9.2 mcg

Japanese Banana Diet Protocol

  • Eat unlimited bananas with lukewarm water or have it with milk for breakfast

  • Not being restricted to choosing a specific food for lunch and dinner

  • You can have one or more bananas as a snack between meals

  • No sweets of any kind are allowed

  • You should not eat anything after 8 pm

  • The person should go to sleep by midnight.

 And bananas in the morning help stimulate the metabolism and feel full quickly.

In addition, bananas are high in potassium and fiber that regulate body fat, and it is stipulated that you do not eat anything after 8 pm.

Since bananas also contain a lot of fructose, a banana breakfast should not become a habit. This diet helps to lose some weight quickly, but the body needs exercise to lose weight permanently.

What is the benefit of this diet?

There is a possibility that a banana diet will help you lose weight simply because you will be eating less, however there is nothing in bananas that specifically helps you lose weight.

Conversely, if you eat late, this Japanese diet will likely help you cut calories.

However, do not follow this diet without consulting your doctor first, especially if you suffer from any of the chronic diseases.

 Does exercise make you lose weight?

In a report published by the French newspaper "Lefigaro", writer Cecile Tibert quotes Nathalie Boisseau, researcher and professor of sports physiology and nutrition at the University of Clermont-Auvergne, that "Contrary to what is expected, sports can make you gain weight, especially when you resume exercising after several years of interruption, or When you start being physically active.

The researcher explains that the reason is that "sports convert fat mass into muscle mass" but this should not discourage you, as "losing fat for the benefit of muscle is very good. Because muscle is an indicator of good health."

And when you return to sports after a break, there is no need to focus on weight, at least in the early stages.

In this context, Boisseau points out, "The important thing is to build a perfect body, ie balancing the muscle and fat that make up your weight."

Although exercise does not necessarily lead to weight loss, it has many other benefits.

In this context, says sports professor and coach Rafael Blaro, "Sports make you healthier, give you a more beautiful shape, maintain your joints, and help get rid of visceral fat that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease."

3 ways

Both experts assert that losing weight requires a negative energy balance.

For this, you have to expend more energy than you consume, reduce the amount of food you eat, or combine the two methods.

All studies show that the third method is the most effective.

Sports and good nutrition

Exercise is part of the weight loss equation, and in order to complete the equation and succeed in getting rid of excess weight, the best way is to add to exercise a healthy diet.

The researcher returns to explain that "it is necessary to reduce the intake of fats and fast sugars" and it is important to abandon cold meats, cheese, sweets, soft drinks and starchy foods.

She warns against falling into the trap of what some athletes promote that we can eat all we want when we exercise regularly. "Exercise does not mean that you can eat more fat and sweets without being afraid of gaining weight," she says.

In turn, Blaro says, "Sports are a great tool for losing weight. But if we start eating more, we increase the amount of calories, and that doesn't change the energy balance. We're just remodeling fat and turning it into muscle, which is really good. If this condition is met, you can do 30 hours of exercise per week, without changing your weight.

And Boisseau continues his talk about losing weight that it is very slow, "so you have to be patient and accept losing at most one kilogram per week."

What about harsh diets?

"In this way, we can lose weight quickly. But we also lose a lot of muscle mass because the body will depend on its protein resources, which is not good. Once you stop dieting, the body begins to store a lot of fat," the researcher asserts.

 What kind of sport is the best?

“It is best for those who want to return to physical activity to choose a sport they love and want to do it regularly (from 2-3 hours per week) over the long term,” says Blaro.

According to the writer, the best exercises are those that combine cardio and muscle building.

For example, combine cycling with weight-bearing exercises, swimming and climbing or Zumba.

"The more muscle we have, the more basic metabolism in the body," Boisseau explains.

"This level of energy expenditure at rest is directly related to cardiovascular health and life expectancy," Blaro adds.

The increase in muscle promotes weight loss, as the athlete's body consumes more energy during its training because it is able to increase the intensity of exercise.

The writer concludes that physical activity does not mean exercising only, but also includes all small daily activities, such as climbing stairs, going to buy bread on foot, and going to work by bike.


Does diet soda increase weight?

The results of a study showed that eating "diet soda" for diet, instead of regular, may increase calorie consumption and thus gain weight, especially for a certain group of people more than others.

The study revealed a link between soft drinks "diet" and calorie intake.

The study was conducted under the supervision of a group of researchers who study neurosciences, obesity and medicine at the University of Southern California in the United States, with the participation of 74 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 35 years, all of whom have stable weights, and no history of eating disorders or diabetes, and reported by Deutsche website Philae.

The researchers reported that the goal was to examine the neural interaction of different types of high-calorie food cues, metabolic responses, and eating behavior, after some participants ate the artificial sweetener sucralose, while others drank a sugary drink, and another group drank only water.

Then, participants' responses were analyzed using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and blood samples to measure blood sugar and metabolic hormones, and how much they ate, according to the University of Southern California website.

feeling hungry

According to researcher Kathleen Page, a physician specializing in obesity at the University of Southern California, the experiment showed increased activity in the areas of the brain responsible for food cravings and appetite in both women and people who suffer from obesity after drinking drinks containing sucralose, compared to Drinks that contain real sugar.

For these groups, consuming artificially sweetened beverages might trick the brain into feeling hungry, which in turn could lead to consuming more calories, while men and healthy-weights did not have an increased response to hunger and were not affected by artificial sweetener intake in the same way.