Thoughts on the potato diet • Hacker News Board

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#51

Post by friedman23 » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:02 PM UTC

safety1st wrote: post #30

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…

I wonder where the misinformation that potatoes were unhealthy / fattening came from? Was it from french fries and fried starches?

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#52

Post by avgcorrection » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:03 PM UTC

Short-term weightloss is a very low bar. Losing weight long-term is much more worthwhile and might not go well with “all (restrictive) diets”.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#53

Post by sph » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:03 PM UTC

Low protein and low fat, super carb heavy diet, what can go wrong?

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#54

Post by pwython » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:03 PM UTC

bejelentkezni wrote: post #12

This sounds like a great way to quickly deplete most of your vitamins and minerals.

Potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, B6, potassium, magnesium… Butter has vitamin A, D, E, B12, K2, etc. This diet doesn’t seem TOO crazy. Perhaps pairing it with a multivitamin supplement wouldn't hurt though.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#55

Post by ribosometronome » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:04 PM UTC

duffyjp wrote: post #18

Penn Jillette somewhat famously did this and lost 100+ pounds.

Quickly googling it shows articles of him claiming to lose 75 pounds over 3 months, without exercising. Even starting at 300 lbs, running a daily 2822 calorie deficit for 3 months seems insane.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#56

Post by sph » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:05 PM UTC

csours wrote: post #35

If this is interesting I highly recommend "The Hungry Brain". Some other thoughts: Obesity is not a disease of over-eating, it is a disease of managing hunger. "Losing weight" is a terrible goal. "Changing Body Composition" is a much better goal. Specifically change the proportion of fat to muscle. ---- If your immediate answer is "Those are the same thing but with different words!!!" then here are some questions to…

> Obesity is not a disease of over-eating, it is a disease of managing hunger.

Indeed it is, and the solution to managing hunger (i.e. returning your whole insulin and leptin system to a more optimal baseline) is NOT going for a 90% carbohydrate diet.

That's exactly why we have a bloody obesity epidemic. It's a fun thought experiment, but reading the comments in here people actually think this is genius and sustainable.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#57

Post by worker_person » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:05 PM UTC

dangus wrote: post #25

worker_person wrote: post #9

I did plain chicken and sweet potatoes for a month. No spices, boiled or baked. Water or Green Tea. Best I have ever felt. Ended six months of whole body agony. I try and follow AIP these days. (Potatoes aren't allowed, but Sweet Potatoes are.)

I gotta ask: why no spices?

It was an elimination diet. See what things were bothering me. Severe migraines and autoimmune issues. I was very desperate at that point.

Sweet potatoes didn't bother me at all, and kept me full.

After a month I slowly started adding things back in to see how I reacted. Made it easy to tell what foods were an issue.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#58

Post by strbean » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:06 PM UTC

safety1st wrote: post #30

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…

Eggs for breakfast and Marmitako for lunch and dinner, got it.

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#59

Post by worker_person » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:06 PM UTC

stu2b50 wrote: post #34

55555 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a diet for autoimmune disorders.

Genuinely I’m not quite sure I get the connection. Would spices in general cause issues with autoimmune diseases? Specific spices?

From. https://thrivingonpaleo.com/aip-spices-and-herbs/

What spices are NOT allowed on AIP? Allspice Anise Seed Annatto Seed Black Caraway Black Cumin Black Pepper Caraway Cardamom Capsicums Cayenne Celery Seed Chili Pepper Flakes Chili Powder Chinese Five-Spice Chipotle Chili Powder Coriander Seed Cumin Seed Curry Powder (typically contains nightshades) Dill Seed Fennel Seed Fenugreek Seed Garam Masala Juniper Mustard Nutmeg Paprika Pepper (from black, green, pink, or white peppercorns) Poppy Seed Poultry Seasoning Red Pepper Russian Caraway Star Anise Steak Seasoning Sumac Taco Seasonin

Re: Thoughts on the potato diet

#60

Post by steve_adams_86 » Mon, Jul 11, 2022, 6:06 PM UTC

The point about prep being time-consuming is no joke. I recently (maybe 4 months ago) started a fairly strict whole food diet, and the prep is insane. Whole vegetables take real time to wash, clean up, store, and prep for cooking. Then you need to cook it.

But like the potato diet, it's extremely easy to stay full and lose weight. Unlike the potato diet, there's a ton of variety. It also seems to have completely reversed a decline in health I'd been experiencing for over 5 years and I suspect the potato diet wouldn't have had the same effect, haha.