Gain Weight with Bananas?
I eat 12 bananas a day to increase weight because people say that bananas are good for gaining weight. Is this correct? Or should I spend my money on chicken? (from Z.K.)
Bananas have the reputation for causing weight gain for good reason. They are very high in simple carbs. Eating a lot of them will make you gain weight but it probably won't be from muscle. If you have ever known a person who is a long-time vegetarian or at least very much limits meat in their diet, you will typically see a person that doesn't have very defined muscles (flabby). This is due to a lack of protein.
On a weight gain diet where new muscle is the goal, you want your carbohydrate intake to account for no more than 50% of your daily diet. A regular banana has only 3 grams protein as compared to 37 grams carbs. Eating so many bananas, where you will be consuming 12 grams of carbs for every one gram of protein, is going to make it more difficult to achieve your diet goals. Looking at the GI value of bananas, they are neither the best source of carbs or the worse.
I wouldn't necessarily cut bananas completely out of your diet but perhaps make them a smaller part of it. They are a great source of potassium and fiber. Maybe cut down to 2 or 3 a day and spend your left over money on chicken (high in protein).
Resources:
About Carbohydrates and the Weight Gain Diet
Nutrient Values of Foods
Glycemic Index Database
JP Clifford
posted by JP Clifford at 1:20 PM
3 Comments:
RE: Weight gain w/ Bananas..
You mention that those who are vegetarians tend to have flabby muscles.. this is actually very inaccurate. Vegetarians tend to understand the value of protein in their diets and supplement with legumes, tofu, cottage cheese, etc. Meat is not the only source, and arguably not the best way to go in a healthy diet.
I am a vegetarian and am 250+, 6' 2", and definitely not flabby. I work out daily and have no problem building muscle.
Also, as you may have read, Herschel Walker is a vegetarian.. I wouldn't call him flabby either.
With what Anonymous is saying I agree to it but not completely. Vegetarians have a hard time building muscle. You could point out examples but those are few and they mostly due to genetics than their eating habits. To pack in pounds of muscle chicken and lean meats are the way to go.
There's as much protein in spinach as in steak...know your facts!
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