Have you heard about the Banana Diet? Initially, the Banana Diet or Morning Banana Diet was designed by Sumiko Wanatabe, a Japanese pharmicist, to help her husband lose weight. However, after a famous actress lost 26 pounds on the Banana Diet and it was metioned on social network sites, the diet's popularity spread across Japan. In fact, it has been so popular that Japanese grocery stores have problems keeping bananas in stock. Like most diets, some have been successful on while others have not.

Unlike other diets, he Banana Diet is very simple and easy to follow. Other than bananas, there are no special foods to buy.  The instructions are:

• Two bananas in the morning with room temperature water
• Anything you want for lunch and supper
• One snack at 3:00 PM
• Nothing to eat after 8:00 PM
• Go to bed no later than midnight.

Although the banana is a nutrient-dense food, it is not a miracle diet food. A small banana only has 108 calories. It is has potassium, vitamin B, vitamin C, and dietary fiber. It also has a starch resistant fiber. Supposedly, the starch resistant fiber promotes fullness and increases fat burning. However, it is not believed this has enough of an effect to account for weight loss.

Three factors may help the Banana Diet's success. These three factors are eating breakfast, limited snacking, and going to bed before midnight. Research shows that dieters who eat breakfast are more successful at losing weight and maintaining weight. When you skip breakfast, your blood sugar drops, and the drop causes you to feel hungry. Consequently, when you skip breakfast, there is a tendency to snack more and eat more at other meals. Furthermore, since bananas contain sucrose, fructose, and glucose, they boost your energy. One study found that eating two bananas provided enough energy for a strenuous 90 minutes workout.

Although snacking does not necessarily cause weight gain, the types of snacks we eat can cause weight gain. If a person eats high calorie, fatty or sugary snacks rather than low calorie, healthy snacks, the calories can add up. A pound equals 3,500 calories. Therefore to lose one pound, we need to consume 3,500 calories less than what our body's use.

In addition to eating breakfast and limiting unheathy snacking, sleep plays an important role in weight. Research has shown if you don't get enough sleep, it can cause weight gain. It affects two hormones that contol appetite. These two hormones are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is released into the blood stream by fat cells in response to whether there are sufficient fat stores. It suppresses the appetite. On the other hand, ghrelin is produced by the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates the appetite. When you don't get enough sleep, leptin levels decrease while ghrelin levels increase. In a study by Eve Van Cauter, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, when 12 healthy men in their twenties were instructed to sleep 4 hours, hunger increased by 24%, leptin decreased by 18%, and ghrelin increased 28%. After a week of restricting their sleep to four hours a night, some of the men had the glucose and insulin characteristics of a diabetic. Thus, there is a double-edged sword affecting appetite if you don't get enough sleep.

On a final note about sleep, Brazillian researchers found that consuming more fat during the day may lead to a less restful night's sleep. Study participants that consumed more fat were more likey to wake up tossing and turning, had a greater chance of breathing abnormally during sleep, and spent less time in REM sleep. Furthermore, in light of this, bananas contain no fat.

Since the Banana Diet allows a dieter to eat anything they want for lunch and supper, weight loss success can vary. Although eating breakfast, limiting snacking, and getting the proper amount of sleep can help promote weight loss, unfortunately, there is no magic bullet. Therefore, although the Banana Diet may be the latest dieting fad, if you combine it with common sense, healthy eating, and controlled portions, you will probably be successful in losing weight. However, if you eat unhealthy foods and overeat at mealtimes, you will probably meet with limited success or none at all.