Bananas and bread are not fattening!

In fact no food is fattening, unless you eat too much of it. This is true for bread, pasta, potatoes, cheese, butter, bananas, pizza and even scones with jam and cream (a favourite of mine).

I regularly see new clients who have cut one or more of these foods from their diet as they were told they are fattening. While limiting a number of these foods is sensible for general health and weight control, there is absolutely no need to cut them out completely. In fact my clients often tell me how much easier it is to eat well when they include most of these foods in their diet. 

One reason these foods are associated with weight gain is that it is very easy to overeat them. Why? They are readily available, cheap, tasty and usually served to us in too large a portion. 

If you learn how to enjoy them in sensible amounts, they will not be a problem. Using mindfulness and learning how to balance your meals out with plenty of lower calorie vegetables will enable you to do this. Part of my job as a dietitian is to help people do this.

Completely avoiding a food to prevent a binge on it, usually only makes the problem worse. At some point you’ll encounter the problem food, likely end up having a binge, feel terrible which reinforces the notion you have no control around that food and so the cycle goes. Learn how to change your psychology using mindfulness and you can learn how to enjoy all food without over-eating or feeling guilty.