Am I making a mistake eating baked potato for dinner?

Those who say it's turning right in to sugar are mistaken.

You can eat whatever you choose, as long as it's in your calories!

Medical issues are the only exception - those with diabetes, insulin resistance, allergies, etc, have to make sure they avoid certain things. If that's not you, have that potato! And nothing wrong with adding a little butter or seasoning to it if you don't want it plain.

~Lyssa

I enjoy both, just depends what else I'm having. Ignore the sugar-phobes.

JanetYellen wrote: »

Plain potato or sweet potato. Low in calories. Only 137 cals for 5 ounces. Affordable. Should I avoid this food since some say it turns right into sugar? Do you avoid plain baked potatoes?

Is that ALL you're eating? A plain baked potato?
For ME that wouldn't work.

I'd want to add protein and fat to that starchy carb. Only because I know that a plain baked potato would leave me HANGRY in an hour.
So yes, I NEVER eat JUST a plain baked potato for dinner.
I'd eat one with sour cream, or cheese, and with some protein.
Better yet, I'd eat a Yam with some butter, and a protein, and a green veg.
And I'd eat the peel.
But no, I wouldn't eat just a plain baked potato for dinner, or any other meal.

I didn't read her to say that's all she's eating for dinner.

The only way eating a baked potato for dinner would be a mistake is if you eat it just plain.

One of my favourite meals is: 2 baked potatoes, topped with tuna, cheese, and salad

137 calories would be pretty low for dinner.

Anyway, I like my potatoes and sweet potatoes plain, but for a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper, but I eat them with meat and vegetables, normally.

JanetYellen wrote: »

My diary is open. I had chicken and a bread roll also.

Yay for chicken with the potato.

White potatoes rank at the top of the list in a study done on satiety and for what it's worth, my observations with others point to this being pretty accurate as well.

There's probably some individual variability but overall, potatoes are a damn good choice while dieting for many people.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7498104
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/15701207_A_Satiety_Index_of_common_foods

(Note, these were boiled potatoes. More aggressive cooking methods may reduce satiety slightly)

Potatoes are probably one of the best calorie > carb ratio you can get right next to rice and is one of my staples for my daily meals. I'd just ditch the bread in favor of a healthy fatty food. My preference is avocado.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/430301-can-baked-potatoes-spike-my-blood-sugar/

"Russet potatoes are some of the worst offenders when it comes to upping your blood sugar. A baked russet has an average GI rank of 85. If you eat the skin, it falls a bit lower, whereas peeling the skin away makes it as high as 111. Baked white potatoes tend to fall at around 50 on the glycemic scale, although you have to leave the skin on when you eat them. Otherwise your low-glycemic baked tater can be closer to 100, making it highly likely to make your blood sugar surge."

SideSteel wrote: »

Lovee_Dove7 wrote: »

http://www.livestrong.com/article/430301-can-baked-potatoes-spike-my-blood-sugar/

"Russet potatoes are some of the worst offenders when it comes to upping your blood sugar. A baked russet has an average GI rank of 85. If you eat the skin, it falls a bit lower, whereas peeling the skin away makes it as high as 111. Baked white potatoes tend to fall at around 50 on the glycemic scale, although you have to leave the skin on when you eat them. Otherwise your low-glycemic baked tater can be closer to 100, making it highly likely to make your blood sugar surge."

A bigger question would be whether or not the glycemic index is something an individual needs to pay attention to.

I'd say no for the majority.

Well I'm all for eating a baked potato.
And a blood sugar test about 2hours after a meal would be a good way to tell if it's a problem or not.

macgurlnet wrote: »

Those who say it's turning right in to sugar are mistaken.

No, they are correct. More than 92% of a potato is either sugar, or converts into sugar as part of the digestive process.

(Whether you should avoid eating sugar or carbs is an entirely different question from whether the potato turns into sugar when you eat it.)

If there's no sour cream....................you're doing it wrong.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SideSteel wrote: »

Lovee_Dove7 wrote: »

http://www.livestrong.com/article/430301-can-baked-potatoes-spike-my-blood-sugar/

"Russet potatoes are some of the worst offenders when it comes to upping your blood sugar. A baked russet has an average GI rank of 85. If you eat the skin, it falls a bit lower, whereas peeling the skin away makes it as high as 111. Baked white potatoes tend to fall at around 50 on the glycemic scale, although you have to leave the skin on when you eat them. Otherwise your low-glycemic baked tater can be closer to 100, making it highly likely to make your blood sugar surge."

A bigger question would be whether or not the glycemic index is something an individual needs to pay attention to.

I'd say no for the majority.

Agreed. A bigger issue is how you personally experience the food. I find potatoes quite satiating. (Equal to sweet potatoes, which are also good.)

A baked potato with beans, cheese and salad is a joyous thing.
I ate a lot of baked potatoes when I was losing weight. I just weighed them and varied the fillings according to how many calories I had left for the day. They really do fill me up.