A six months' pregnant woman has been branded 'irresponsible' after she revealed she eats up to 20 bananas a day!
Loni Jane Anthony, 25, said she snacks on the fruit raw and in smoothies. She has them for breakfast, lunch and with salad for dinner. And despite being attacked for her extreme diet, she claims the regime is how she maintains her slender figure and that she has never felt better.
Loni, from Australia, said she first got into eating fruit after getting sick and tired of her 'party lifestyle' which saw her binge on junk food and alcohol.
She told news.au.com: "It wasn't for weight loss or for a quick fix. I was internally really sick; I was killing myself slowly. If I'd kept living that lifestyle I would have ended up with a disease like cancer or early aging. So giving up that food was really quite simple for me."
She originally adopted a low-fat vegan diet known as the 80/10/10, which is popular among athletes. It takes its name from its recommended dietary intake: 80 per cent fruits and vegetables, 10 per cent protein and 10 per cent fat.
But over the past three years Loni adapted the plan to suit her tastes - despite many of her friends calling her 'nuts' for gorging on so many bananas.
On her blog, she details a 'typical' day's menu: "Breakfast usually consists of a mono meal of fruit (at least half a watermelon, six or more big oranges, grapes, apples, pineapple etc).
"Then either mid-morning or lunch depending on how I'm feeling and what I'm doing with usually be a one liter or more smoothie that will always consist of six or more bananas, water, dates and maybe green powder added or berries or coconut water/meat etc.
"Late lunch will be big salad of some sort or . . . if not a salad it will be another mono meal on six or more bananas or a big smoothie.
"Dinner is usually salad, sometimes with baked or roast NO FAT potatoes or mash potatoes, acai bowl, banana ice-cream."
Asked by a fan how many bananas she usually eats per day, Loni, who is a designer and photographer, replied: "Depends on the day! The other day I had 15, some days I can have 20. Some days five!"
But commentators branded Loni 'irresponsible' and 'narcissistic' - especially as her Instagram account, which boasts almost 100,000 followers, features dozens of 'selfies' showcasing her super-trim figure.
Shona Wilkinson, Head Nutritionist at www.nutricentre.com said: "This isn't a diet I would recommend to a pregnant woman. Protein and fats are important in our diet especially during pregnancy.
"The amino acids that make up protein are the building blocks of your body's cells – and of your baby's body as well. It's important to get enough protein throughout your pregnancy, but especially during the second and third trimesters, when your baby is growing the fastest.
"Some fats are particularly important during pregnancy because they support your baby's brain and eye development – both before and after birth. Fats also help the placenta and other tissues grow, and studies show that some fats may help prevent and low birth weight."
Others were also worried about the health of Loni's unborn child.
One wrote: "I have to say I'm more concerned that she isn't eating anywhere near enough of the right foods, proteins etc that her baby requires for healthy growth."
But others have congratulated her. "Obviously her body is healthy as she is pregnant... good on her," one wrote.
And another chipped in: "Excellent work Loni. Hope your little one is born happy and healthy. Just looking at the fruity pics in this story makes me go yum yum."
Loni says her aim is to inspire women her age that 'getting super-drunk and taking heaps of drugs and having no self-respect' isn't the way forward'.
• What do you think? Is Loni's diet bananas? Or does it have its, er, a-peel?