Could you eat 20 to 30 bananas for a meal on a regular basis?

watch a documentary on Kobiashi(sp?) the Japanese competitive eater. he can put away 20+ lbs of food in a sitting. so I don't doubt it's possible. as far as on a regular basis I don't think so.

atwell wrote:

Eating fruit does NOT cause a sharp rise in blood sugar. But eating refined carbs like candy, donuts, & pop does do this. Even eating a baked potatoe will cause a spike much bigger than a banana meal.

The relevant terms here are "glycemic index" and, more importantly, "glycemic load". Look them up.

Fruit results in a gradual rise in blood sugar, with no crash, providing sustained energy, which is good for endurance athletes.

I did a 50-miler in April, and I fueled before it and during it entirely on dates & bananas. It was my best performance in an ultra so far. I had consistent energy; no crash.

I'll be doing a 100-miler in about 3 weeks, fueled with fruit. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh you're an ultra runner.... what a surprise

wow:

I have stated on the other thread that I run doubles, about 100 mpw. I eat two times per day, after each run. Each meal should be at least 2000 calories, otherwise I wouldn't maintain my body weight.

I think a lot of male runners eat 4000-5000 calories per day, don't you think?

unholy cumulus:

You have got me wrong. I thought I made this clear earlier, and don't want to be misunderstood.

I eat raw fruit, vegetables, nuts, & seeds. But fruit is the dominant contributor. Specifically I follow the diet advocated by Dr. Doug Graham, in his book The 80/10/10 Diet. You can see it here:

http://www.amazon.com/80-10-Diet/dp/1893831248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212179976&sr=1-1

I tried it, as an experiment, after a period of poor running. And I have had good results. I am running now better than I ever have before.

Well, after reading all these posts & chuckling to myself, I got inspired (and bored) & decided to make a video of me eating 20 bananas in a sitting. I also follow the raw food diet that Atwell here follows, although I don't eat 30 bananas like he does!

This was after my run yesterday. No, this diet isn't a joke. There are a lot of people thriving on this diet & getting rid of life-long health problems in the process. Personally, I've never had more energy in my entire life!

So anyways, take it for what it's worth. I'm not really trying to argue which diet is the most optimal or trying to convert anybodies thinking. I just find it humorous that everybody here thinks eating 20 bananas is so extreme!

Enjoy my video :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXD0RRde1ag

Paul

I would say that's proof that it can easily and routinely be done. I don't see why it's so shocking anyhow. All kinds(err...all kinds of fat people) of people go to Carl's Jr. everyday and down 2-3000 calorie meals as part of their normal diet. I mean, a triple Thickburger, large shake made with real ice cream, fries and a soda for the road? Just shows you how skewed our diet is that we think this is not so abnormal, but the idea of eating 20 bananas in a sitting makes your head spin.

BTW...Using Ravel's Bolero...genius!

I have been following Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 program for more than 2 years with incredible results. I am stronger, faster, have greater endurance, and am fitter in every way at 38 than I have ever been in my life. And I was a competitive athlete from age 8 to 18. It’s not all about what you eat, of course. But diet is a foundation for a healthy body and a healthy body performs better than a toxic one, plain and simple.

It's challenging to get out of the mainstream way of living and thinking (just listen to all the folks here who can't even imagine that this could be for real). You have to un-learn almost every thing you've been taught to understand the Truth. So it's not for everyone, that's for sure. But what atwell says is true. Every word of it. I don't have to believe what he says because I know it from my own direct personal experience. It's not hard, or unpleasant, crazy, or impossible. It's simple and incredible. Don't take my word for it though. Open your eyes (and your minds), look around, and you'll likely discover that there are lots of athletes (and non-athletes) doing this with great results. Maybe you will choose to experience it for yourself. Are you perfectly happy with your health and fitness? I am, and it just keeps getting better. Hope to see you (healthy and happy) on the trail or the road sometime.

-T

Assuming this video is legit, I think it proves nothing. First of all, 30 bananas is 50% more than 20. The poster said he routinely eats meals consisting of 20-30 bananas. So right off the bat, 30 is a lot more than 20. Secondly, I don't think many here doubt that one can do it if forced to one time. The point is that it's just not physically possible for someone to do it on a regular basis. No way.

Based on the amount of calories and water volume in 20-30 bananas, I still say atwell is full of s$%#.

How many calories does one burn in a 13 mile run? Even with stretching, aren't we looking at about 1500 or so? Plus the regular 2000 for the daily amount for an average person and that's 3500. If you down 3000 calories for lunch it seems like you're going to put on pounds awfully fast. Just wondering.

Intuitively, I think a raw diet sounds pretty good, though I think it could be intelligently balanced with cooked meat.

But come on, "I routinely eat 20-30 bananas in a sitting" is the most ridiculous thing I've hear this month. Why? I'm sure it's possible, but why???? I still don't understand. Why not 6 at a time - isn't that extreme enough?

2 thoughts

-Why eat that much of 1 food? Ever heard of a fruit bowl or inflattable pool in your case?

-Not directed solely at the OP...but does anyone get the sense some are very proud of the word Raw. I only eat RAW fruits. Unlike my ignorant neighbors who always bake their strawberries.

Broken Arrow:

I mentioned above that I thought a video wouldn't convince skeptics. Oh well.

By the way, for my 2nd meal yesterday, I had a plate of raw spinach, 1 cantaloupe, and then 24 bananas. I swear.

Calories:

I only eat 2 meals a day, and I think I do need 4000-5000 calories daily. I run about 100 mpw, and its mostly on the trails, with large changes in elevation. If I eat less than this, I don't seem to have enough energy for my workouts.

a perfect 21:

Eating 6 bananas many times per day would be difficult to fit into my work schedule.

dualism:

I do eat a variety of fruits. Bananas are just the #1 contributor because they are cheap & easy to eat. Creating a fruit bowl daily seems like too much work for me...too much prep time. Besides, there is the issue of "food combining". You can read about it ("Food Combining Made Easy" by Shelton), but basically the idea is that if you only eat one type of food at a time, then your digestion is more efficient. If you like, you can argue for this from an evolutionary perspective also. Our ancestors were probably more likely to eat from a banana tree directly, rather than making a fruit plate.

I ate a whole watermelon (10-12) lbs. after a 14 mile run once.

It took about 45 minutes, and afterward I felt great.

boredman wrote:

I ate a whole watermelon (10-12) lbs. after a 14 mile run once.

It took about 45 minutes, and afterward I felt great.

I did that one time after playing a game of pickup basketball. An hour later, power diarrhea.

Imagine starting a new job and on your first day you walk into the cafeteria and sit down with your new co-workers to eat lunch with them and you pull out a backpack containing 30 bananas and you just start going to town on them. That would be classic. Guaranteed you would be considered weird and alienate yourself pretty quickly.

Do you have any friends that aren't freaky weird?

What do you do when you go out to a restaurant with a woman on a date?

I can't imagine you'd have a lot of time to date if you're eating 20-30 bananas a shot and running ultras. I believe those are mutually exclusive.

I usually eat my fruit at home, after a run. And then I go to my office. I'm fortunate that I have a fair amount of flexibility in my work.

I mentioned on the raw food thread that I am married. My wife isn't into raw foods, but at least she is almost a vegetarian. She thinks my diet now is a bit unusual, but she lets me do it.

Besides my wife, I mostly hang out with other people who do ultras, and they are fine with my diet.

But I want to reiterate that I think this thread, while humorous, has gotten off track. The point is not how many bananas I eat. I have been writing here and on the raw food thread about the values of a low-fat raw vegan diet. I have read a lot of nutrition books over the past year or so, and I have become convinced that many problems in society could be relieved if more people were following this type of diet. So, I have become a bit of an advocate.

Sorry Atwell, didn't notice the fact that you are married. Also, you mention this thread has gotten off track and that it's not about how many bananas you eat. The title for this thread is "Could you eat 20 to 30 bananas for a meal on a regular basis?" so yes this thread is about eating lots and lots of bananas.

Okay, fair enough, that's the title of the thread. But I didn't start it (notice I didn't start the raw food thread either), and I haven't been writing here to brag about bananas.

As mentioned, I have read lots on this, and can give plenty of logical arguments supporting a low-fat raw vegan diet. But besides that, I've just been running well since switching to this diet, and thought I'd share my experience.