The Banana Debate is one of the many arrows often thrown at Slimming World. I have been putting this off as it annoys me beyond despair. So, let’s start at the beginning. On day one (link here), we discussed what Slimming World is and what the plan is all about. I introduced how the plan works, what foods are, and how Slimming World categorise them. I comprehensively explained the plan without breaking any rules or regulations. In this post, I am going to do the same thing. I will be genuine and honest and never sugar-coat what I think or say here. This is my understanding of the Slimming World plan and how it has been explained.
The Arrow Brigade with Slimming World and the Banana Debate
I can’t think of another way to phrase the attacks Slimming World gets. The Arrow Brigade is my chosen term. It’s aimed at those who don’t enjoy Slimming World and always discuss bananas. To be fair, there are so many other things they could attack Slimming World on, but this issue is ridiculous and shows that they do not understand what Slimming World is trying to say. From my research, the Arrow Brigade have also been members of Slimming World and have lost a lot of weight. Some have put the weight back on, in which case they didn’t work the plan. They went on a DIET. Those who kept most of their weight off are now on a different DIET or selling their nutritional programme or gym/workout plans.
Let’s begin
Within the eating plan of Slimming World, you eat whatever you want. And I mean whatever you want. NO foods are banned. No foods are demonised. Despite what the new nutrition coaches selling their own nutritional or fitness classes.
If you ask any slimming World Consultant, they will all tell you that eating a fresh banana is one of our free foods. No one disagrees with that. Go and enjoy your banana. Now, once you manipulate that banana, by this, we mean mashing it with a fork. It becomes a syn. But hold on, there is more to this than meets the eye, so let me begin.
Portion Control
Those same 20/30 something will also tell you that Slimming World doesn’t teach portion control. The Banana debate is the perfect example of this. Portion Control is monitoring the amount of a particular type of food that you eat. A Portion generally is much smaller than you would think. A whole banana is a perfect portion of a fruit, just like a fresh orange or an apple.
When you mash a banana, you reduce the size of the banana visual. Additionally, instead of taking a few minutes to eat a whole fresh banana, when it is mashed, the time you take to eat that banana is seconds. This is where it gets a little technical, and I need to introduce you to two hormones: Leptin and Ghrelin.
Leptin – Slimming World and the Banana
Eating a fresh banana releases the hormone Leptin.
“Leptin is a hormone your adipose tissue (body fat) releases that helps your body maintain your normal weight on a long-term basis. It does this by regulating hunger by providing the sensation of satiety (feeling full). Quote from the National Library of Medicine“
Leptin’s main function is to help regulate the long-term balance between your body’s food intake and energy use (expenditure). Leptin helps inhibit (prevent) hunger and regulates energy balance so that your body doesn’t trigger a hunger response when it doesn’t need energy (calories).
Ghrelin – Slimming World and the Banana
The other hormone you should know is Leptin, opposite, Ghrelin.
‘Ghrelin is a multifaceted gut hormone which activates its receptor, growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R). Ghrelin’s hallmark functions are its stimulatory effects on food intake, fat deposition and growth hormone release. Ghrelin is famously known as the “hunger hormone”. Quote from the National Library of Medicine
In short, Leptin tells you that you are full so that you should stop eating, and Ghrelin tells you that you are still hungry.
Let’s get back to Slimming World and the banana debate. If you eat a fresh banana, your body releases Leptin, and one banana can be satisfying. If you mash a banana, you eat it in seconds. Your body doesn’t release Leptin but will still have Ghrelin running around telling you-you are hungry. As a result, you could potentially eat two, three, or even four bananas in one sitting.
Stated another way, one medium banana has 96 calories. If you have two or three bananas because one mashed banana has not satisfied your hunger, you are eating 288 calories. I want to remind you of our discussion about calories in this blog (link here).
Having said the above, if you decide to have a banana sandwich and mash the banana up to go between your two slices of bread or in a wrap, you wouldn’t syn that banana as you only have one banana, portion control. You have to have some common sense about this.
To the 20/30 something’s, if you didn’t understand this in your group, then I would suggest that you didn’t understand the philosophy of Slimming World, you didn’t take the time to talk to your consultant about why, and your misunderstanding is your own and not everyone else.
Back to me Now
So, leaving the Slimming World and the banana debate behind, how am I going with my plan? I am still looking forward to my weigh-ins. I have tried to stick to the plan as best as possible, but honestly, I haven’t been as good as I should have been. My addiction is sugar. If it’s in chocolate, cake or Haribo. I’m there. I wish it wasn’t, but I am trying to control it. I have eaten so much fruit this week to get that sugar fix, and I feel slightly bloated.
I enjoy the plan and love it when I have planned my meals and know I don’t have to think about food all the time. Work has been running away with me this week, so some of my lunches have been grab-and-go. This week, I will tell the truth.
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