Freelee, the Banana Girl

[Second Summer]

This woman has been making the rounds on the Internet recently.

Meet Freelee, the self-proclaimed 'diet guru', who eats as many as 51 bananas per day in a bid to stay slim and healthy - unsurprisingly she's also known as The Banana Girl.

The YouTube and Instagram star advocates an extreme raw vegan diet that is low-processed, low-fat, high-carb.

Her diet involves eating large quantities of fruit in a single sitting such as 20 bananas or four mangoes - it is estimated that fruit makes up some 97% of her daily intake.

Article: Freelee The Banana Girl Credits Raw Vegan Diet For Her Weight Loss And Health (Huffington Post UK, 14. April 2014)

Her YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Freelea

I understand that not everything the media say about her diet is accurate ... I read elsewhere that she's actually only raw until 4pm.

She certainly looks healthy.

 

[kibbleforlola]

No she doesn't. She looks like she needs a sandwich. I went through her blog the other day, when it was making the rounds on Facebook. Her body has gone into amenorrhea, and she thinks that it's a good thing ( hint: it's not).

She also posts a bunch of pseudo science on her blog, like going raw will cure everything from acne to depression to drug dependancy ( and she counts perscription drugs in that, only homeopathy for her!).

She also talks about how she used to suffer from anerexia and bulemia, and how going raw "cured" her. Im scared that she's using this as a cover for her eating disorder. Im sad and scared for her, and i hope shes able to maintain her health on this extremely restrictive diet.

 

[Trinity]

Gulp!

If this is a long term thing then it has health issues written all over it...

 

[Mikkel]

Her boyfriend "Durianrider" talked about that they couldn't eat raw all the time because they got too skinny. And that's the reason for the "raw before 4". And loosing her period isn't a good sign... Doesn't girls with anorexia often loose their periods?

 

[Trinity]

Doesn't girls with anorexia often loose their periods?

Yes, I think when the body fat mass goes below a certain percentage a woman will stop menstruating.

 

[Second Summer]

No she doesn't. She looks like she needs a sandwich.

Hmm, I think maybe you're right. She looks very thin (not in a good way) in one of the pictures in the HuffPost article. (I didn't notice at first, I just noticed there was this big controversy.)

I went through her blog the other day, when it was making the rounds on Facebook. Her body has gone into amenorrhea, and she thinks that it's a good thing ( hint: it's not).

Yes, that would be a problem!

 

[Moll Flanders]

If she is suffering from an ED then she needs mental health support and I certainly don't want to comment on her body size or shape.

 

[shyvas]

If she is suffering from an ED then she needs mental health support and I certainly don't want to comment on her body size or shape.

This. Nobody can survive on a diet of bananas and mangoes.

 

[Calliegirl]

Yep, very unhealthy and makes raw/vegan people look like nuts.

Definitely looked healthier in the before picture.

 

[Quiet Vegan]

I remember reading about Freelee when I first went vegan about a year ago. Personally I think she looks pretty good in most of the 'after' pictures but it's clear that exercise has sculpted her figure rather than eating an insane amount of bananas. She's also had breast implants which make her look more 'curvy'.

 

[GingerFoxx]

How does someone eat 51 bananas a day and lose weight? Conservatively speaking that would be about 5000 calories.

 

[Tom L.]

^^^ That would be a lot of rapidly-absorbed sugar calories, too. I'd think it would really jolt someone's blood sugar and insulin levels. I love fruit, but eating that much of it...

 

[FreeleetheBananaGirl]

A study conducted among 24,600 women reveals that the suicide rate among women with breast implants is 73% higher than in the general population. Freelee the Banana Girl (AKA Leanne Ratcliffe) has already admitted that she wanted to commit suicide so this doesn’t come as a surprise. Her decision to undergo breast augmentation surgery hasn’t cured her of her eating disorder or self-esteem issues just like it hasn’t cured Trisha Paytas of hers. Women who suffer from these or similar problems should seek therapy or psychiatric help before undertaking plastic surgery. Remember, plastic surgery cannot treat a lack of self-confidence or depression.

 

[Mini_mi]

Hi all,
I have followed freelee and durian rider for several years. Believe me when I tell you they do more for vegan ism than most anyone else out there. Don't make snap judgements on a quick look at a few postings or videos. They are both very healthy and post their lab results online for anyone to view. Their diet is mostly raw (not just bananas), but to get more ppl to go vegan they have started a program called Raw til 4, whereby you eat all raw vegetables and fruit most of the day, then have a cooked vegan meal for dinner.

Hope this helps to clarify thing. As vegans we need to support each other.

 

[marcela olega]

this is not natural and therefore not healthy.

 

[Mini_mi]

What is not natural? Her and durian rider subsist on mostly fruit and vegetables. Isn't that what you eat? They have been doing this for years, he is a competition cyclist and runner who consistently performs in the top 1 percent. They post their medial lab result for any to see. I challenge you or any of the other critics to do the same.

this is not natural and therefore not healthy.

 

[Second Summer]

If she is suffering from an ED then she needs mental health support and I certainly don't want to comment on her body size or shape.

If she were some random person on the Internet, I would agree that it's inappropriate to comment on her body size or shape, but that is not the case here. She's made herself a public figure through her website and videos etc, and is using her body size and shape as a tool to convert others and sell things. (Not that there is anything wrong with that, in itself.)

this is not natural and therefore not healthy.

"Natural" is not necessarily healthy, and "unnatural" is not necessarily unhealthy. For example, lots of poisons are found in certain plants, and would have to be considered natural. Another example: B12 supplements are man-made in laboratories (with the help of bacteria) and would probably have to be considered unnatural, but we know they are crucial for good health in vegans.

Also, there are no good definitions of "natural" anyway.

 

[Mikkel]

About the amount of calories they eat. It seems like they are very active with sport. And don't sit infront of screens as much as the average people. Long bikerides etc. But I've seen the amount of food other raw vegans eat, and it just looks amazing lot of food... I calculated an 80/10/10 raw diet for myself once for fun, and it was a LOT of food I had to eat to get the proper amount of calories... But I could never eat 51 bananas in one day. I would get so sick tired.

I follow them both on FB, but doesn't watch every thing they put up. I wonder sometimes if she has a eating disorder or not.

 

[Mini_mi]

Freelee admitted to having an ED years ago, but says that since changing to a vegan mostly raw diet she hasn't had any problems

 

[Mini_mi]

The 51 bananas everyone is referring to was just a demonstration to show what's possible, not her usual daily intake. Btw, the bananas we made into a smoothie and drunk not eaten 1 at a time whole