I’m going to go out on a limb here and argue that I don’t think there is such a thing as a “bad” food. Even when watching your food intake, it is OK to occasionally make food choices that are less than nutritious. I also think it is OK to eat things that are not necessarily in vogue right now, so long as you do so in moderation and include those foods in what is otherwise a well-rounded and healthy diet.
On Saturday, my friend Paula and I spent the day with some new friends and our conversations ranged from online dating to dieting. One of our new friends, D., has lost 90+ pounds in 16 months! No weight-loss surgery or liquid dieting. She is doing it the old fashioned way – eating right and exercise! D. doesn’t deprive herself of the occasional adult beverage or meal out. She (like most of us) enjoys the social aspects of eating and drinking with friends. When discussing our various eating strategies, Paula mentioned how much she loves bananas and how she has been told that they are a “bad” food. Paula’s personal trainer took an approach that I just love! He didn’t tell her that she needed to give up bananas, he suggested moderation and eating it with a small amount of peanut butter to add protein and make it a more robust and filling snack. I LOVE these ideas! You can’t expect to live your life (ok – happily live your life) in a state of deprivation for the next 20, 30 or 50 years. Moderation is the key to a happy and healthy life/weight.
On to the news everyone has been waiting for!! How did we do our first week? Well, as a group we lost 25.4 lbs!!! I know you all join me in heartily congratulating Jim (top male contestant) and Jim’s Cupcake (top female contestant) for being the top winners for week 1! I am only waiting on a couple more weigh-ins to complete week 2. Once I get back in town, I’ll update the blog with our week 2 results!
| Week 1 | |
| 4/27/2013 | |
| Name | % of Weight Lost |
| DirtBikerMom | 1.03% |
| Susie Q | 1.24% |
| Jim’s Cupcake | 1.88% |
| Jim | 2.25% |
| 5K Girl | -0.24% |
| GleeFull | 2.02% |
| Da Chef | 1.08% |
| Simple Girl | 1.64% |
| Jiggly Puff | -0.14% |
Scrap Gals 
Yeah for all of us for doing this!!
Any clue why bananas are bad? I heard (granted, it was years ago) that bananas were the perfect food. More recently, I heard they were grown inside plastic bags full of pesticide, so they were actually absorbing poison. I’ve switched to organic bananas for that reason, but I still have one every single day in my yogurt and goat-milk smoothie for breakfast. Sometimes I add some Melaleuca Attain powder for craving control, or some frozen O.J. ice cubes that I made when my orange tree needed harvesting. Other than the pesticide issue, do you know if there was another reason for bananas to be “bad?”
The comments I’ve heard about bananas (from a weight loss perspective) are that they are a high sugar fruit and should be avoided. Some diet plans specifically exclude bananas. Personally, I subscribe to the belief that just about anything is ok in moderation and bananas, in particular, have the added benefit of being a potassium rich food that is also high in fiber. So, I eat bananas without any concerns about it impacting my diet. I do have pesticide concerns, especially when it comes to certain fruits and veggies (like bananas and celery) so I always try to buy organic.