Are
Bananas Good For You When Losing Weight?
An
apple a day keeps the doctor away. What about a banana a day
keeps the doctor away? It's no secret that fruits are healthy
for us and that even a banana a day instead of an apple a day
will keep us in good health. While bananas have many health
benefits like lowering bad cholesterol and blood pressure and
protecting against heart diseases, they are also beneficial
for you when losing weight. Here are a few reasons why:
Bananas
are high in fiber
100
grams of bananas provide 2.6 grams of dietary fiber. Fiber is
essential for anyone on a weight loss diet. They help regulate
and facilitate effective bowel activity and this is vital as
constipation is bad for weight loss. Furthermore, fiber keeps
hunger pangs at bay as foods containing fiber are more satiating
since they digest slower. A feeling of fullness will definitely
aid weight loss as it prevents unnecessary snacking and binging
which can wreck havoc for your long term weight loss goals.
Bananas
are low in calories
100
grams of bananas contain only 89 calories but yet filling and
nutritious. When losing weight, your best bet is to stick with
foods which are nutrient-dense and satiating but yet low in
calories. This is a sure-fire nutrition strategy to get rid
of stubborn belly fat and excess weight.
Bananas
are low in carbs
100
grams of bananas contain only 23 grams of carbs, even if you
double that amount, that's 46 grams of carbs. That's not a lot
but yet gives you energy and stamina for your everyday activities.
Too many carbs can be bad for losing weight and bananas are
an ideal carb food for weight loss.
Bananas
are high in potassium
100
grams of bananas provide a whopping 358 mg of potassium. While
potassium can protect your heart and lower blood pressure, it
is also effective for weight loss. Here is how. Potassium is
an electrolyte and helps in muscle recovery and muscle building.
The more muscles you have, the faster your metabolism will be
and the more fat you can potentially burn, this means more weight
loss for you.
In
addition, potassium assists you in balancing the sodium in your
cells which aids weight loss as too much sodium will make your
body hold water and give you that bloated look as well as making
you heavier.
Now that you know why bananas are good for you when losing weight,
go ahead and eat them without remorse as they are indeed a great
weight loss food. You can easily consume 1-3 bananas per day.
A great time to have a banana is for breakfast which you can
eat with your favorite cereal like oats, oat bran or weetabix
for instance. Bananas are also ideal pre-workout and post-workout.
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