Live data from Hacker News

Thoughts on the potato diet

dynomight.net

361–370 of 529 posts

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#361

There's actually some science behind this diet. Potatoes are the highest scoring food on the satiety index. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/15-incredibly-filling-f... Basically they're the most filling food per calorie. So if you subscribe to the idea that losing weight is mainly about how many calories you consume, a potato heavy diet should be effective. And an all potato diet, while monomaniacal, even more ef…

Potatoes are more filling per calorie than broccoli? Spinach? Also I wonder the comparison between potatoes and protein champions like hard-boiled eggs or fish. Maybe we could have a nice American eating competition to compare. Or just a detailed study where people eat short-term diets of each and measure their satiety and other vitals.

> Potatoes are more filling per calorie than broccoli? Spinach?

Way, way, way more filling. Regular vegetables have basically no fill value at all. Just a fancy form of water & vitamins. Potatoes are quite good at filling.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I went to the Irish potato famine museum in Ireland they said the average person needed a basketful of potatoes per day . That doesn’t seem like it’s high in the satiety index.

I can find claims that people were eating 14 pounds a day. That seems implausible. They'd have been really fat on nearly 5000 Calories per day.

If you're building a house or something 12 hours a day, you're going to burn that much.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I went to the Irish potato famine museum in Ireland they said the average person needed a basketful of potatoes per day . That doesn’t seem like it’s high in the satiety index.

Satiety index is per calorie. Needing a large volume per day indicates it’s low calorie per volume, which would support that claim.

That seems… counter intuitive. I would say something has a high satiety index if something small can fill you up.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#364
post #16

Excluding all other fruits and vegetables in favor of potatoes seems obviously misguided.

What comes to mind is that (A) there's value to ultra-simple single-food diets when it comes to adherence and (B) potatoes are something people are actually willing to eat compared to other veg, especially as their only option.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#365
post #13

Intermittent fasting has been the easiest thing for fine tuning control over weight for me. My Dad always says it's too hard, he gets hangry etc, but once you commit to it for ~2 weeks you don't even get hungry in the fast window anymore. The body gets very conditioned to eating patterns. Something to ease into. I'm not sure the average person can succeed on a diet predicated on greatly limiting the variety of foods…

Having done both time-based and food-based restrictions, I would say that both can work for some people but won't work for others. And I think the details matter a ton. E.g., I've happily done months of fasting where my eating window is circa 7a-1p. But I spent a month trying a switch to a 12p-6p so I could eat dinner with people and it was hell. I got mean in the 10a-12p range and that did not improve over the month…

You sound like me. I can't do a morning fast. It kinda sucks, as you notice, because it screws around with your ability to have a social dinner. But if I don't have breakfast, I'm not someone to be around before lunch.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eat 1 cup organic whole oats, half cup of milk, 4 diced strawberries, and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Should be good until 2-3 in the afternoon, at least in my experience.

1 cup oats, 1 cup skim 1% milk, strawberries, mix that in a container uncooked the night before/eat the next day. Overnight oats are great.

Oooo I'm going to do this! Saves time in the AM.

EDIT: Wait... uncooked!?

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#367
I remember a joke that is something like this. The local pastor is talking to young poor child Timmy asking about his life. P: So Timmy what do you have for breakfast? T: Potatoes. P: How about Lunch? T: Potatoes. The Pastor is getting concerned and asks how about dinner? T: Potatoes as well. P: So all you have to eat is potatoes? T: Oh no Pastor: P: Oh, that is good, what else do you have. T: Well I've also got my spoon.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#368

There's actually some science behind this diet. Potatoes are the highest scoring food on the satiety index. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/15-incredibly-filling-f... Basically they're the most filling food per calorie. So if you subscribe to the idea that losing weight is mainly about how many calories you consume, a potato heavy diet should be effective. And an all potato diet, while monomaniacal, even more ef…

When I went to the Irish potato famine museum in Ireland they said the average person needed a basketful of potatoes per day . That doesn’t seem like it’s high in the satiety index.

[deleted]

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1 cup oats, 1 cup skim 1% milk, strawberries, mix that in a container uncooked the night before/eat the next day. Overnight oats are great.

Oooo I'm going to do this! Saves time in the AM. EDIT: Wait... uncooked!?

100%. overnight oats - google it. Equal volume of oats and mils, and the oats just absorb the milk overnight and soften. Very convenient for breakfast, minimal dishwashing, good for 2-3 days in the fridge.

substitute yogurt instead of milk for big increase in protein!

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#370
post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems highly unlikely to me. I have reactive hypoglycemia, and can say that potatoes spike my blood glucose levels more than table sugar - they have a really high glycemic index, and anyone with blood sugar issues should totally avoid them IMO. And the thing about foods with a high glycemic index is that they cause you to feel hungry when your blood sugar rapidly drops back to baseline. I find protein and fat wa…

What is reactive hypoglycemia?

[L]ow blood sugar that occurs after a meal — usually within four hours after eating. This is different from low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) that occurs while fasting. - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/expe...

For me personally, it feels like you're having a panic attack, you get ravenously hungry and eat anything in sight, tremors and heart palpitations, confusion, irritability, dizziness. No fun at all. Thankfully not life threatening though, at least the "normal" kind.

Post reply on HN