are baked potatos and rice bad for you?

Sweet potatoes, brown rice and whole grain pasta are much better for you than their white counterparts (this includes bread also). Moderation is the key.

not in moderation - they are all carbohydrate foods, and you need some carbs in your diet for energy.
none of them are high in fat so are fine as part of a balanced diet
If you were trying a low carb diet (eg Atkins) then you would advised to avoid them, but there are lots of different ways of losing weight - as long as you eat a balanced diet and cut your calorie intake overall there is no reason to cut out carbs.

MFP tracks your carbs/protein/fat as well as your calories so you can try and make sure that you get a good balance throughout the day.

hope that helps

Baked sweet potatoes are even better. Thumbs up on the brown rice, much more flavor than white. You can also mix in a little wild rice with it when you cook it mmmmm.

Read the book Diet Free for Life. You will see that a baked potato or rice is not bad for you if you eat it with the right amount of protein in the same meal. And even butter on the potato is acceptable in the right combination/ratio of protein/fast carb/slow carb. Very enlightening for me.

Read the book Diet Free for Life. You will see that a baked potato or rice is not bad for you if you eat it with the right amount of protein in the same meal. And even butter on the potato is acceptable in the right combination/ratio of protein/fast carb/slow carb. Very enlightening for me.

It's been a couple years since I read the South Beach Diet, but I believe there was something in there too about how eating a baked potato with the right amount of fats and protein are really good for you. I think clean eating with balanced macros is the way to go, but different things may work for different people.

Everyone's mileage may vary but white carbs have a higher glycemic index which can be bad for some..

Lots of interesting feeback on your question. I have no problem with potatoes and not overloading them but I have come to the conclusion after multiple attempts over the years that brown rice is NOT for me.

I will just have to have white rice in moderation because I don't like anything about brown rice accept for its nutrional value which isn't enough for it to find a home in my kitchen!

Since my journey is about a lifestyle I must do things I can actually maintain and brown rice isn't one of them. I taking this approach on all my food choices now and its working out much better for me.

Best of luck! _ Ken

Baked potatoes are ok in moderation. As far as rice and pasta....if you have to eat them eat whole wheat, not white. However, I was able to slowly move away from rice and pasta. Once I did I stopped craving them. They are loaded with so many carbs and a serving is very small. To me it is not worth wasting my calories or carbs for that little of food. I have started eating quinoa in place of rice. Brown rice is 170 calories and 36 carbs in 1/4 cup dry (which cooks up to be about 1/2 cup of rice. The quinoa on the other hand is 130 calories and 30 grams of carbs for 3/4 cup cooked. I substitute spaghetti squash for pasta. Pasta is 200 calories and 41 carbs for 2 ounces while spaghetti squash is 42 calories and 10 carbs for 1 cup (8oz). I have also found that eating too many carbs causes you to crave more carbs. Once I start eating rice or pasta I just want more and more. For me it is just easier to avoid rice and pasta all together.

I think the less processing there is, i.e. the closer to nature, the better the food is, however, the family has got to be in it with you or it will be tough trying to cook several menus.just for a meal. Just like yesterday's dinner, my dad had roast pork with 65% fat while my tummy turned when I saw what's for dinner and I settled for an egg, mushrooms and cabbage soup instead..

Between potato and sweet potato, the sweet potato has a lower GI so it does not cause a sudden spike in glucose - great for diabetics and good for everybody. I eat the sweet potato with the skin on - love love love the purple variety - it is my sweet fix.

I enjoy red cargo rice and whole grains bread for they are flavoursome to me, it is simply a bonus to me that they are healthful stuff.
A liitle bit goes a long way. I sometimes mix them 30% red with white rice so as to coax the family to eat it - Seems like the less processing the more expensive they seem to be. It seems quite a contradiction to me - the less polishing (i.e. less work, right?), how come more costly?! Same with white flour versus wholemeal flour, white sugar versus raw sugar. Anybody knows why?

I think no need to choose between potatoes or sweet potatoes as they are all ok in a well-balanced diet - just keep it simple like steam, boil or roast with little or no additions and they should both be good.

To me, whole wheat pasta and brown/red rice will rank a wee bit lower as I think they are a little more 'processed' than the spud from the ground. Still I think moderation is key, we humans need variety in colors, flavors and textures anyway.

Hmm, food glorious food... just writing this makes me think of snack time - 1 navel orange coming right up!

P.S. Sorry about my rambling!

Baked potatoes are ok in moderation. As far as rice and pasta....if you have to eat them eat whole wheat, not white. However, I was able to slowly move away from rice and pasta. Once I did I stopped craving them. They are loaded with so many carbs and a serving is very small. To me it is not worth wasting my calories or carbs for that little of food. I have started eating quinoa in place of rice. Brown rice is 170 calories and 36 carbs in 1/4 cup dry (which cooks up to be about 1/2 cup of rice. The quinoa on the other hand is 130 calories and 30 grams of carbs for 3/4 cup cooked. I substitute spaghetti squash for pasta. Pasta is 200 calories and 41 carbs for 2 ounces while spaghetti squash is 42 calories and 10 carbs for 1 cup (8oz). I have also found that eating too many carbs causes you to crave more carbs. Once I start eating rice or pasta I just want more and more. For me it is just easier to avoid rice and pasta all together.

I agree with you, the servings on these types of foods are so small, it's not worth it.