Thoughts on the "potato diet"?
Replies
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I'm glad to see SpudFit mentioned, but it sucks a lot of people are hating on him.
Dude just today finished a year of eating nothing but potatoes and lost over 100lbs. I was actually chatting with him on Twitter yesterday and ate a plain potato tonight to celebrate his acheivement.
Yes, it goes against everything anyone ever told you, but potatoes are nutritionally complete, and you can survive on them pretty much indefinitely.
Boring? Sure. But if you can hack it you'll lose tons of weight and totally redefine your relationship with food.
I've only done 3 or 4 days myself, but even that short time totally warped my perspective.
It's really, really worth trying. Just think of it as a fast—if you're not hungry enough to eat a plain microwaved potato, you're not hungry.
I 100% recommend it, if only as an experiment to learn about your body and your hunger drive.3 -
I'm glad to see SpudFit mentioned, but it sucks a lot of people are hating on him.
Dude just today finished a year of eating nothing but potatoes and lost over 100lbs. I was actually chatting with him on Twitter yesterday and ate a plain potato tonight to celebrate his acheivement.
Yes, it goes against everything anyone ever told you, but potatoes are nutritionally complete, and you can survive on them pretty much indefinitely.
Boring? Sure. But if you can hack it you'll lose tons of weight and totally redefine your relationship with food.
I've only done 3 or 4 days myself, but even that short time totally warped my perspective.
It's really, really worth trying. Just think of it as a fast—if you're not hungry enough to eat a plain microwaved potato, you're not hungry.
I 100% recommend it, if only as an experiment to learn about your body and your hunger drive.
But can't you do all this eating in moderation all types of food?0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I'll try it.
Yeah, see, all these people saying they couldn't do it for that long? I totally could. I could salt them, right?
As long as I had salt, I don't mind them boiled. I love cold boiled potatoes. I love cold baked potatoes. I love hot boiled potatoes. I love hot baked potatoes.
Mom used to yell at me for eating the raw potatoes she peeled for dinner. I'd be down to eat potatoes for a week or two. There would need to be rules set for what could be added to them, such as spices or other non-caloric items.0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I'll try it.
Yeah, see, all these people saying they couldn't do it for that long? I totally could. I could salt them, right?
As long as I had salt, I don't mind them boiled. I love cold boiled potatoes. I love cold baked potatoes. I love hot boiled potatoes. I love hot baked potatoes.
Mom used to yell at me for eating the raw potatoes she peeled for dinner. I'd be down to eat potatoes for a week or two. There would need to be rules set for what could be added to them, such as spices or other non-caloric items.
Crisps and chips it is then2 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »But can't you do all this eating in moderation all types of food?
Maybe. I really don't care what anyone does. I can just vouch that eating only potatos won't kill you and will help you lose weight.
Everyone hates the word "vegan" because of the crazies and that it seems so limiting, but I've never felt freer since I stopped eating meat, dairy, and vegetable oils.
When I go out to eat, I feel like I actually get to choose if the cheese dip or the meat is good enough to cheat on my diet, instead of just eating mindlessly. (It's usually not, but occasionally it's worth it.)
If anyone's curious, I highly recommend Dr. McDougall's book "The Starch Solution" or just google "mcdougall color picture book" if you want a fast free summary.
The fact is, high-carb, low-fat, plant-based diets have been proven to cure obesity and diabetes and heart disease. Do what you want, but the research is there... and I say this as someone who whole-heartedly believed in the paleo diet until a few months ago.
But I've dropped almost from 201lbs to 174lbs in less than 3 months, and I've never felt deprived once. I even drink gallons of beer on occasion and still lose weight.
So, the summary is this... no, you don't have to eat only potatoes, but moderation isn't going to work for most people. We've tried moderation since the 80s and everyone's getting fat and sick. Kids have diabetes and fatty livers. Heart disease and cancer are killing folks.
It's a life or death choice. Eat real food or die slowly and horribly.
I'm 29 and have a congenital heart defect. I don't want to die. So I don't need cheese and pepperoni on my pizza.
What you do is your decision.
If anyone has questions, feel free to get in touch.7 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »But can't you do all this eating in moderation all types of food?
Maybe. I really don't care what anyone does. I can just vouch that eating only potatos won't kill you and will help you lose weight.
Everyone hates the word "vegan" because of the crazies and that it seems so limiting, but I've never felt freer since I stopped eating meat, dairy, and vegetable oils.
When I go out to eat, I feel like I actually get to choose if the cheese dip or the meat is good enough to cheat on my diet, instead of just eating mindlessly. (It's usually not, but occasionally it's worth it.)
If anyone's curious, I highly recommend Dr. McDougall's book "The Starch Solution" or just google "mcdougall color picture book" if you want a fast free summary.
The fact is, high-carb, low-fat, plant-based diets have been proven to cure obesity and diabetes and heart disease. Do what you want, but the research is there... and I say this as someone who whole-heartedly believed in the paleo diet until a few months ago.
But I've dropped almost from 201lbs to 174lbs in less than 3 months, and I've never felt deprived once. I even drink gallons of beer on occasion and still lose weight.
So, the summary is this... no, you don't have to eat only potatoes, but moderation isn't going to work for most people. We've tried moderation since the 80s and everyone's getting fat and sick. Kids have diabetes and fatty livers. Heart disease and cancer are killing folks.
It's a life or death choice. Eat real food or die slowly and horribly.
I'm 29 and have a congenital heart defect. I don't want to die. So I don't need cheese and pepperoni on my pizza.
What you do is your decision.
If anyone has questions, feel free to get in touch.
Um, you can't cure diabetes.4 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »But can't you do all this eating in moderation all types of food?
Maybe. I really don't care what anyone does. I can just vouch that eating only potatos won't kill you and will help you lose weight.
Everyone hates the word "vegan" because of the crazies and that it seems so limiting, but I've never felt freer since I stopped eating meat, dairy, and vegetable oils.
When I go out to eat, I feel like I actually get to choose if the cheese dip or the meat is good enough to cheat on my diet, instead of just eating mindlessly. (It's usually not, but occasionally it's worth it.)
If anyone's curious, I highly recommend Dr. McDougall's book "The Starch Solution" or just google "mcdougall color picture book" if you want a fast free summary.
The fact is, high-carb, low-fat, plant-based diets have been proven to cure obesity and diabetes and heart disease. Do what you want, but the research is there... and I say this as someone who whole-heartedly believed in the paleo diet until a few months ago.
But I've dropped almost from 201lbs to 174lbs in less than 3 months, and I've never felt deprived once. I even drink gallons of beer on occasion and still lose weight.
So, the summary is this... no, you don't have to eat only potatoes, but moderation isn't going to work for most people. We've tried moderation since the 80s and everyone's getting fat and sick. Kids have diabetes and fatty livers. Heart disease and cancer are killing folks.
It's a life or death choice. Eat real food or die slowly and horribly.
I'm 29 and have a congenital heart defect. I don't want to die. So I don't need cheese and pepperoni on my pizza.
What you do is your decision.
If anyone has questions, feel free to get in touch.
Um, you can't cure diabetes.
Yes, I'd like to see the studies showing that a HCLF plant based diet cured diabetes.2 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »But can't you do all this eating in moderation all types of food?
Maybe. I really don't care what anyone does. I can just vouch that eating only potatos won't kill you and will help you lose weight.
Everyone hates the word "vegan" because of the crazies and that it seems so limiting, but I've never felt freer since I stopped eating meat, dairy, and vegetable oils.
When I go out to eat, I feel like I actually get to choose if the cheese dip or the meat is good enough to cheat on my diet, instead of just eating mindlessly. (It's usually not, but occasionally it's worth it.)
If anyone's curious, I highly recommend Dr. McDougall's book "The Starch Solution" or just google "mcdougall color picture book" if you want a fast free summary.
The fact is, high-carb, low-fat, plant-based diets have been proven to cure obesity and diabetes and heart disease. Do what you want, but the research is there... and I say this as someone who whole-heartedly believed in the paleo diet until a few months ago.
But I've dropped almost from 201lbs to 174lbs in less than 3 months, and I've never felt deprived once. I even drink gallons of beer on occasion and still lose weight.
So, the summary is this... no, you don't have to eat only potatoes, but moderation isn't going to work for most people. We've tried moderation since the 80s and everyone's getting fat and sick. Kids have diabetes and fatty livers. Heart disease and cancer are killing folks.
It's a life or death choice. Eat real food or die slowly and horribly.
I'm 29 and have a congenital heart defect. I don't want to die. So I don't need cheese and pepperoni on my pizza.
What you do is your decision.
If anyone has questions, feel free to get in touch.
And I can vouch eating in moderation won't kill you and will help lose weight
Not everyone can stick to eating one plain item each day
P.s eating in moderation doesn't equal eating 3 cheese pizza each day
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Um, you can't cure diabetes.
Weird, even the paleo people claim they can cure Type 2 diabetes by not eating sugar.
So alright, you most likely won't cure Type 1 diabetes, but Type 2 is a disease of civilization just like everything else. It doesn't even make sense for it to exist unless the food environment has been destroyed. Which it has.
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Therealobi1 wrote: »And I can vouch eating in moderation won't kill you and will help lose weight
Not everyone can stick to eating one plain item each day
P.s eating in moderation doesn't equal eating 3 cheese pizza each day
Well, I said you probably shouldn't stick to one thing.
But I've seen people do moderation. Moderation is for people who want to spend years and years and years "on a diet."
But if moderation has worked for you, I'm glad you've found something that helps you get healthier.
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Therealobi1 wrote: »And I can vouch eating in moderation won't kill you and will help lose weight
Not everyone can stick to eating one plain item each day
P.s eating in moderation doesn't equal eating 3 cheese pizza each day
Well, I said you probably shouldn't stick to one thing.
But I've seen people do moderation. Moderation is for people who want to spend years and years and years "on a diet."
But if moderation has worked for you, I'm glad you've found something that helps you get healthier.
I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...7 -
The Paleo people are wrong too then.3
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Um, you can't cure diabetes.
Weird, even the paleo people claim they can cure Type 2 diabetes by not eating sugar.
So alright, you most likely won't cure Type 1 diabetes, but Type 2 is a disease of civilization just like everything else. It doesn't even make sense for it to exist unless the food environment has been destroyed. Which it has.
Can you please show evidence of someone being cured of diabetes? And I mean cured (it's gone for good and never coming back), not remission (under control but still there).3 -
Can you please show evidence of someone being cured of diabetes? And I mean cured (it's gone for good and never coming back), not remission (under control but still there).
I don't have time to look up studies, but here's an article about Walter Kempner's rice diet:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/2013/12/31/walter-kempner-md-founder-of-the-rice-diet/
And here's a quote from the article, because I'm an idiot who isn't qualified to discuss any of this: "His numbers also showed how a high-carbohydrate diet improved blood sugars and often cured type-2 diabetes."
And no, you're right, maybe "cure" is too strong a word. Of course it would come back if you started eating junk again. But that's like saying "Why is there still a hole?" if you shoot yourself in the foot a second time.
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Alatariel75 wrote: »Therealobi1 wrote: »And I can vouch eating in moderation won't kill you and will help lose weight
Not everyone can stick to eating one plain item each day
P.s eating in moderation doesn't equal eating 3 cheese pizza each day
Well, I said you probably shouldn't stick to one thing.
But I've seen people do moderation. Moderation is for people who want to spend years and years and years "on a diet."
But if moderation has worked for you, I'm glad you've found something that helps you get healthier.
I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
Me too
It's the fad diets that keep you on and off for ages I thought0 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.1 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »But can't you do all this eating in moderation all types of food?
Maybe. I really don't care what anyone does. I can just vouch that eating only potatos won't kill you and will help you lose weight.
Everyone hates the word "vegan" because of the crazies and that it seems so limiting, but I've never felt freer since I stopped eating meat, dairy, and vegetable oils.
When I go out to eat, I feel like I actually get to choose if the cheese dip or the meat is good enough to cheat on my diet, instead of just eating mindlessly. (It's usually not, but occasionally it's worth it.)
If anyone's curious, I highly recommend Dr. McDougall's book "The Starch Solution" or just google "mcdougall color picture book" if you want a fast free summary.
The fact is, high-carb, low-fat, plant-based diets have been proven to cure obesity and diabetes and heart disease. Do what you want, but the research is there... and I say this as someone who whole-heartedly believed in the paleo diet until a few months ago.
But I've dropped almost from 201lbs to 174lbs in less than 3 months, and I've never felt deprived once. I even drink gallons of beer on occasion and still lose weight.
So, the summary is this... no, you don't have to eat only potatoes, but moderation isn't going to work for most people. We've tried moderation since the 80s and everyone's getting fat and sick. Kids have diabetes and fatty livers. Heart disease and cancer are killing folks.
It's a life or death choice. Eat real food or die slowly and horribly.
I'm 29 and have a congenital heart defect. I don't want to die. So I don't need cheese and pepperoni on my pizza.
What you do is your decision.
If anyone has questions, feel free to get in touch.
So. Much silliness. And contradiction - if you are drinking beer and eating pizza, you are not eating only potatoes.
No, everyone is not getting fat and sick - I know many people who are neither.
Nor does everyone who doesn't eat 'real food' whatever food you mean by that, die a slow and horrible death.
And, sure, heart disease and cancer are killing people. Something has to kill them - nobody lives forever.
Eating healthily and being a healthy weight will help you stay healthy and alive for longer - but it won't stop something killing you eventually. And it probably won't stop cancer killing you at all - most cancers are not related to dietary intake.
Sure, you lost weight eating mainly potatoes. You could equally have lost weight eating any other food, or combination of foods - as long as in calorie deficit. It's not the potatoes being special, it is the total calorie intake.
So much hyperbole.
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Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
Can I ask you to clarify what you think eating in moderation is please2 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »And I can vouch eating in moderation won't kill you and will help lose weight
Not everyone can stick to eating one plain item each day
P.s eating in moderation doesn't equal eating 3 cheese pizza each day
Well, I said you probably shouldn't stick to one thing.
But I've seen people do moderation. Moderation is for people who want to spend years and years and years "on a diet."
But if moderation has worked for you, I'm glad you've found something that helps you get healthier.
I've done the potato hack before and have nothing bad to say about it, but I've also been maintaining a 50lb loss going on 4 years now by eating all the foods I like in moderation. I also reversed the progression of pre-diabetes eating whatever I want, just in smaller calorie amounts.
The potato hack was a fun little experiment but it didn't do anything magical for me -CICO while continuing to eat all the foods I like is what improved all my health markers and got my bmi down to a 21
1 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
You haven't seen me then.
I eat a variety of foods and I lost weight and then maintained at current weight for last 3 years, doing nothing other than eating to a right calorie amount.
I feel far less deprived doing than I would eating only potatoes.
Far far less.
2 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
I can't understand how cutting out entire food groups is less deprivational than eating what you want in amounts which fit your needs.7 -
paperpudding wrote: »So. Much silliness. And contradiction - if you are drinking beer and eating pizza, you are not eating only potatoes.
No, everyone is not getting fat and sick - I know many people who are neither.
Nor does everyone who doesn't eat 'real food' whatever food you mean by that, die a slow and horrible death.
And, sure, heart disease and cancer are killing people. Something has to kill them - nobody lives forever.
Eating healthily and being a healthy weight will help you stay healthy and alive for longer - but it won't stop something killing you eventually. And it probably won't stop cancer killing you at all - most cancers are not related to dietary intake.
Sure, you lost weight eating mainly potatoes. You could equally have lost weight eating any other food, or combination of foods - as long as in calorie deficit. It's not the potatoes being special, it is the total calorie intake.
So much hyperbole.
I think you missed my first post. I didn't eat only potatoes. I only did that for a few days as an experiment after reading Penn Jillette's book.
My diet is mostly grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. There's nothing really extreme about it. I even drink beer and eat oil-free crackers. It became totally normal for me after about a week. Restaurants are the only difficulty, and I've even become fine just drinking water while everyone else eats.
So obviously, no, potatoes aren't a cure-all. I'm just pointing out that they are nutritionally complete so you hypothetically could survive on them if you had to.
And yes, it is the calorie intake. We're not in disagreement there. The only thing that's ever been shown to consistently prolong life in animal studies is calorie restriction.
And yes "everyone" is hyperbole. But compare the percentage of fat and sick people on the American diet to the percentage of fat and sick people on, say, the traditional Okinawan diet of 90% sweet potatoes and rice. The food is the problem.3 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
I can't understand how cutting out entire food groups is less deprivational than eating what you want in amounts which fit your needs.
Just anecdotally, I think it's harder for most people to eat small amounts of something than to just not eat it at all. It's easier to say "I don't eat that" than to say "Oh, I'll just have couple."
Take nuts for example. Nuts aren't bad for you at all. But you can scarf down 1000 calories in a few handfuls if you're not paying attention, and after you're done you still won't be full.
So "no nuts" could be an easier rule than "no more than a 1/4 cup of nuts a day".
For me it's shrimp. I occasionally have some seafood because it's tasty, but if you put a plate of shrimp in front of me, I'm going to eat the whole thing. So no shrimp, not "I'll just have a couple."
Works for me. Maybe moderation works better for you. I've just never seen anyone make a dramatic change with moderation.1 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
Can I ask you to clarify what you think eating in moderation is please
Sure. Let's see...
Counting calories.
Smaller portions.
Conscious effort.
There might be more, but I think most of us could agree that at least one of those things define a typical weight loss diet.
The difference for me now is I don't even think about any of that. I just eat when I'm hungry. Calories? More is better. Portions? More is better. Effort? As little as possible.0 -
paperpudding wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
You haven't seen me then.
I eat a variety of foods and I lost weight and then maintained at current weight for last 3 years, doing nothing other than eating to a right calorie amount.
I feel far less deprived doing than I would eating only potatoes.
Far far less.
Serious question. This is honest curiousity. I really don't mean to be rude.
You lost weight and maintained the weight loss for 3 years. Why are you still here?0 -
never heard of it? you just eat plain, cold potato's? kinda like the egg or cabbage diet? not sure i can restrict to just one food item, but do what works for you:) Best of luck0
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janicelo1971 wrote: »never heard of it? you just eat plain, cold potato's? kinda like the egg or cabbage diet? not sure i can restrict to just one food item, but do what works for you:) Best of luck
No, they don't have to be cold. Cook them, season them, bake them, mash them, just do whatever you can with a simple potato.
I guess it's kind of like the egg or cabbage diet, but you could actually survive off only potatoes indefinitely if you had to.0 -
paperpudding wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
You haven't seen me then.
I eat a variety of foods and I lost weight and then maintained at current weight for last 3 years, doing nothing other than eating to a right calorie amount.
I feel far less deprived doing than I would eating only potatoes.
Far far less.
Serious question. This is honest curiousity. I really don't mean to be rude.
You lost weight and maintained the weight loss for 3 years. Why are you still here?
I'm going on 4 years of successful maintenance and I'm here because MFP has an amazing group of people that I'm still learning from I also enjoy helping others who may be new to this whole whacky weight loss and maintenance thing!
8 -
...you could actually survive off only potatoes indefinitely if you had to.janicelo1971 wrote: »never heard of it? you just eat plain, cold potato's? kinda like the egg or cabbage diet? not sure i can restrict to just one food item, but do what works for you:) Best of luck
Have a look at the link Lemurcat posted. Potatoes fare better nutritionally than I might have guessed but you can't survive solely off them indefinitely.
Also, check out Success Stories. There are many many many dramatic changes with just moderation. It's a learnable skill.
PS I wish you success and good health no matter how you choose to proceed.0 -
paperpudding wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »I believe moderation is for people who want the exact opposite...
What do you mean? Honestly. I've never seen anyone do moderation in any way that isn't just low-level deprivation.
You haven't seen me then.
I eat a variety of foods and I lost weight and then maintained at current weight for last 3 years, doing nothing other than eating to a right calorie amount.
I feel far less deprived doing than I would eating only potatoes.
Far far less.
Serious question. This is honest curiousity. I really don't mean to be rude.
You lost weight and maintained the weight loss for 3 years. Why are you still here?
You really should stick around and peruse the boards, particularly the success stories section. There are countless people on this site who have lost weight using a moderation approach, and who have kept the weight off. There are also many people who find moderation challenging so they follow a particular way of eating that restricts certain foods/food groups - whether it be sugar, or LCHF, or paleo, or Low fat, etc. You seem to be of the impression that moderation means only eating smaller quantities of the same foods as before, even if those foods are not particularly satiating. There are some people who take that approach but what I did and what I advocate for on these boards is not specifically restricting a food but rather:
1. Set a reasonable calorie target based on an appropriate goal.
2. Eat a variety of foods within that target that provide nutrition (macro and micro nutrients), satiety, and enjoyment.
This enables me to still enjoy things like pizza, wine, caramel popcorn in addition to lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, etc.
I came to this site nearly four years ago, lost the weight I set out to lose and am currently maintaining. I'm still here (though the question wasn't addressed to me) because:
1. I still log my foods in the MFP database and plan to do so for the foreseeable future even though I'm no longer eating in a calorie deficit. I think that is a critical component to keeping weight off and why so many fail because they look at it as a temporary diet, not a life long habit.
2. I have a network of friends that I've built here over the years that I enjoy interacting with, that support me and that I try to support as well
3. I enjoy participating in these boards (most of the time) and trying to help people understand how to be successful the way so many helped me when I first started out.8
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