From the Weird but True Snack List

What not to eat when craving a snack.

Yeah, but no. I don't live my life on a diet ... life isn't about food, but it becomes that when we are trying to lose weight, or for that matter, even trying to maintain our weight.

Have you ever noticed how you tend to focus on the food you can't have (and then really want when you think about it)?  Yep. There are foods sometimes that I think about, or see on Facebook or in commercials that looks really good, and I want it ... but it's also very weird because a lot of it seems to be food I wouldn't have eaten before dieting. And I don't mean veggies and healthy stuff.

The Brown Rice Diet

Oh yeah, that was another one I tried back in the late '70s. I'd gained about 100 pounds with my first daughter (at that point, she was maybe 17 months old - 1977). I remember this one because it involved food I hated with a passion ... rice. Brown rice at that. I also remember it because it wasn't long after (a couple of months) I started it that I had to quit it because I'd discovered I was expecting my second child. The doctor insisted I eat normally.

Although I hated the diet, I was desperate to get rid of that 100 pounds, and it was working (I'd lost about 40 pounds in 2 months). But rice alone wouldn't provide enough nutrients for a growing baby.

The Amazing Banana is Magic!

Actually, no it isn't. While bananas are a good addition to your overall food plan (they contain potassium, and some fiber, Vitamin A, C, B6, and magnesium, but they also contain sugars) they wouldn't be good as your only food source (unless you're stuck on a deserted island that only has banana trees ... better bananas than starvation, right?).

This is where we talk about the "diet" ... the "Banana and Skim Milk" diet. Oh yeah, there was such a thing and in fact, it can still be found today all over the web. On it's own, it isn't a healthy diet plan for long-term use. But does it work? Yep, sure it does if you stick to it. Why wouldn't it? It reduces your calorie intake, like ANY working diet plan, but it is so not fun, not even if you love bananas. At the end of it, you will not only not love bananas any longer, you'll hate them. Hate the sight of them. At least for a while.