How can I eat so many bananas?

Recently, I was asked: "How do you keep eating the bananas without getting sick of them? Right now, I don't think I can look a spinach leaf in the eye and am longing for something cooked…"

I began a short response, but it became really long… so, I figured I'd better make a whole post about it. Here's my response:

Oh, I hear ya! I'm still considering myself in transition, so after 6pm, I'm allowing myself to eat without restriction. Prior to 6pm I eat as many calories as possible from fruit. I've noticed that if I'm low on calories come 6pm, that I CRAVE anything starchy, cooked, greasy and otherwise unhealthy for me. I am slowly learning that eating at least 1700+ calories from fruit before 6pm prevents me from caving into eating cooked foods. Even after 6pm, I do try to stay as raw as possible, but I allow myself the opportunity to eat cooked if I truly feel that it's what my body really wants at the time... even then, I'm very selective about what cooked foods I'll allow into my body.

I choose to eat bananas because they're the most calorie dense fruit available in my area (about 130 calories per 7.5" banana). And yes, I do occasionally get sick of eating them. So, I'll take a day or two off and eat mostly mangos, or watermelon… but during those days, I don't have as much energy and life, and I crave cooked foods in the evening more. So I go back to the bananas shortly after.

I very rarely eat greens. I can totally understand what you're saying about the spinach. Greens are VERY low in calories, and won't fill me up, or leave me feeling very satisfied. Every once in awhile I'll have a big salad for dinner. But I often don't like eating greens. I know that when my body is craving the nutrients that only greens can provide, then I'll begin to get cravings for romaine or spinach. That's when I'll eat them. But I don't rely on greens as a staple in my diet. They just don't do it for me.

I've heard many raw *guru's* say that it's not necessary to count calories when eating a raw diet. And I agree, somewhat—I think that once you've established a comfortable routine eating a raw diet, that you don't need to count calories. But during the transition into eating a raw diet it's important to know exactly what it is you're putting into your body. I'm learning to know what 1700+ calories feels like, and I definitely can FEEL when I'm low on calories.

Before I began tracking my food intake on nutridiary.com, I never realized what low calories felt like... But if 6pm comes around and I'm only around 900 calories, I feel weak, tired, CRANKY, irritable and crave absolutely any food that will give me lots of calories FAST. So, that's when I think of cooked, fatty foods. Yes, FAT. Fat gives us 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbs only give us 4 calories per gram. So, when I find myself craving something fatty, I know I'm low on carbs.

Because I eat a LOT of fruit, it's important for me not to eat much fat. Fat can sometimes take up to 48 hours so leave the blood stream. While it's in there, it prevents insulin from doing its job to its full capacity, thus resulting in high blood sugar if I eat lots of sweet things, which fruits are. So, it's very important for me not to get to the point in the evening I may cave into eating fatty foods. Not to mention how eating fat the night before a yoga class effects my class the next morning. Oy.

So, that's why I eat so many bananas... and why I can get myself to continue eating them without getting sick of them. They're the fuel my body needs.