I believe bananas are good for us, and not fattening.
Dr oz states they are good for us.
I have 1 - 2 per day.
I believe it would take a lot of fruit to gain weight. Fruit is so good especially when we have a sweet tooth.
Your wt is not bad, just try and lose steady like 1 - 2 lbs a week.
I would like to drop at least 20, but would like to drop like 1 a wk, but I love to eat everything, so I guess as long as I don't gain.....

Bananas are a great yummy nutritious snack! Don't be afraid of them. I've lost all my excess weight eating 1-2 bananas a day! Much better than ice cream, cake, cookies, chips, candy etc., etc. and quite filling too. I sometimes spread 2 tablespoons of almond or peanut butter on my banana and pour a square or 2 of dark melted chocolate over it for an amazing and healthily satisfying treat! I say-go for it!

And it's good to use a calorie counter app or website like myfitnesspal to learn a lot, journal and track calories. An invaluable tool for free!

My view is a little different. I agree that bananas are healthy and really good for us. They have a lot of good things in them.

However, bananas contain a lot of sugar; the riper they are, the more sugar they have. So some people who are trying to lose weight avoid them for that reason, and focus on eating fruit that contains less sugar. Those who eat fruits that are low on the glycemic index will avoid bananas.

When I was tryin to lose the last few pounds in order to meet my weight loss goal, bananas were one of the foods I stopped eating.

Thanks for confirming my suspicion about bananas, Beesley. I'll try to limit my intake of the elongated yellow fruit and find other fruits such as nectarines and plums and even raw vegetables like radishes and broccoli.

Bonanas are great for snacks. I mix one everyday with my meal replacement shake.

i think one a day is fine..i have read that pears a spose to be the lowest in sugar and the best fruit to eat..i do find bananas fill me up to..keep enjoying bananas!!!!!

For me, the opposite of Beesley-as I got closer to my goal, I ate bananas as a way to fill me up and energize my workout. As long as they fit into your daily calories-they are a nutrient dense satisfying food. To each his own.

All fruits contain sugar but it is from fruits and vegetables that we get most of our vitamins and minerals. Bananas included. I shoot for 4 servings of vegies and 2 of fruits each day. Any food, when eaten in excess, can be fattening.... but a banana a day as part of a healthy diet will not derail your weight loss and will provide plenty of potassium which is essential while dieting.

Some alternative foods to bananas for potassium content:

List of Foods High in Potassium

Foods with Potassium Serving Size Potassium (mg)
Apricots, dried 10 halves 407
Avocados, raw 1 ounce 180
Bananas, raw 1 cup 594
Beets, cooked 1 cup 519
Brussel sprouts, cooked 1 cup 504
Cantaloupe 1 cup 494
Dates, dry 5 dates 271
Figs, dry 2 figs 271
Kiwi fruit, raw 1 medium 252
Lima beans 1 cup 955
Melons, honeydew 1 cup 461
Milk, fat free or skim 1 cup 407
Nectarines 1 nectarine 288
Orange juice 1 cup 496
Oranges 1 orange 237
Pears (fresh) 1 pear 208
Peanuts dry roasted, unsalted 1 ounce 187
Potatoes, baked, 1 potato 1081
Prune juice 1 cup 707
Prunes, dried 1 cup 828
Raisins 1 cup 1089
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 839
Tomato products, canned sauce 1 cup 909
Winter squash 1 cup 896
Yogurt plain, skim milk 8 ounces 579

I was a huge fruit eater but then I decided to cut back and eat more veggies. For my body type (hour glass....) I should only stick to berries so that's what I've been doing and I've noticed a difference. I think the sugars is what effects me the most so I just try to eliminate when I can and substitute. I will have a banana here and there but I used to eat one everyday. Just trying to change up my food a little to see if it helps with my weight loss. I'm 5'3' and about 147-149 currently, I would love to see 140 sometime soon. I was 160 three months ago so little changes work best for me towards a long time goal. Thanks ladies!

Kacky2,

Congratulations on your weight loss - keep up the good work!

Kacky2 - that is exactly where I was when I cut out bananas - working on the last few pounds and changing my food up to see if it helped. I also upped my exercise slightly. Both things helped.

In addition to the sugar, bananas are higher in carbohydrates as compared to other fruit - around 25 to 30 grams of carbohydrate in a banana as compared to about 10 grams of carbohydrate in a cup of strawberries. This was another reason I cut them out in order to get rid of the last bit of weight.