Morning Banana Diet

Widely considered by many to be a fad diet, the Morning Banana Diet was introduced on the Japanese social networking site Mixi in 2008, and resulted in a shortage of bananas in grocery stores across Japan. Developed by pharmacist Sumiko Watanabe to help her husband Hitoshi lose weight, Mr. Watanabe promoted it on Mixi when he lost 37 pounds following the diet. The basic principles of the Morning Banana Diet are fairly simple. Dieters eat one or more bananas with room temperature water for breakfast. They can choose what to eat for lunch, partake of a 3:00 snack, and a self-chosen dinner. No desserts are allowed and the dieter must be asleep by midnight at the latest.
It is theorized that this diet might work because bananas are said to improve digestion and boost metabolism. This diet also ensures that participants get a good night’s sleep, a good tip since there is sound research linking obesity and lack of sleep. Japanese dieters following this plan are encouraged to adhere to the ‘80% rule’, where dieters only eat until they feel 80% full.
While sceptics abound, many Japanese people have reported amazing weight loss using this diet plan. Over 730,000 Morning Banana Diet books have been sold since March of 2008. Critics of the plan say that it would be easy for people to overeat when choosing their own lunches and dinners. They are also concerned that a pure carbohydrate breakfast might have a negative effect on some dieters, especially those prone to hypoglycaemia.