Is Potato Diet an Easy Fix? Complete Review

Updated on January 2nd, 2020
potato diet

Potato diet is one of the popular short-term diet plan, followed by a million people willing to shed some weight. Potato diet is the new fad!.

People with obesity usually try a lot of different diets, but only a few can promise to help them lose around a pound in a day. Potato diet is one of those few diet plans. If you are following this diet, then you are not allowed to consume anything other than potato.

Potatoes are full of vital nutrients but also lack many other essential vitamins, mineral, and nutrients. Though there are not enough studies conducted on the potato diet and its efficacies, it can help to lose weight, and also encourages a specific type of eating habit. However, it is not always the best diet to pursue. Find out why right here.

This article here will give you all the benefits and downsides of a potato diet.

Here is our scoreboard for Potato diet.

Diet Score: 4 out of 10

Rapid weight loss– 3

Acceptance- 2

Long term benefit- 1

Nutrition – 2

What Is Potato Diet?

potatoes recipe
Image:ShutterStock

Usually, people follow the potato diet for three to five days at a stretch and consume spud only. The idea of potato diet dates back to the year 1894.

But it became popular after the release of the book ‘Potato Hack: Weight Loss Simplified.’ The writer of this 2016 book Tim Steele explained the best ways to follow the diet and its effectiveness. According to the writer, this diet is right for your gut health and immunity. It also provides needed nutrients to feel energized.

But there is no scientific study which can prove all these alleged findings of the writer.

Rules

There are a lot of variations and types of potato diet. But in the book mentioned above, there are seven essential rules, which you can follow:

Rule 1:

Do not eat more than two to five pounds of potatoes in a single day.

Rule 2:

Continue the diet for three to five days. During this time, consume plain cooked potato only.

Rule 3:

No other food is allowed when you are following a potato diet. You should avoid adding seasonings like sauces, ketchup, cheese, butter, and cream, etc.

Rule 4:

You can add a pinch of salt. Try to avoid adding other spices or herbs.

Rule 5:

Plain water, tea, and coffee are allowed. Add a minimum amount of sweetener or sugar. Try to avoid adding cream or excessive milk in your tea or coffee.

Rule 6:

Avoid heavy exercise altogether. Try the light workout and walking.

Rule 7:

If you are following the specific and prescribed medication, then continue that.

According to other versions sweet potatoes are can also be a part of this diet. The cooking method is significant if you are about to follow the potato diet. Overly processed, fried can never be a part of this diet.

So, if you think you can shed a pound by consuming potato chips or French fries, then stop dreaming.

How Does It Help In Weight Loss?

losing weight
Image:ShutterStock

Potato diet helps in weight loss simply because it is low in calorie. According to studies, low-calorie diets support and accelerate weight loss. If you are consuming two to five pounds of potato in a day, that means the calorie intake amount is around 550 to 1300 calories. An adult needs far more calorie than this amount.

The presence of complex proteinase inhibitor in potato helps to reduce hunger and slow down the digestion as well. This theory is supported by a study conducted on mice but never tried on humans.

Potato diet is meant for short term solution, and it is not a long-term obesity remedy. Potato does not have all the necessary contents that your body needs to function correctly. If you follow the potato diet continuously or frequently, you may feel weak or can face other issue related to this diet.

Benefits and Downsides

Here are some benefits of the potato diet:

  1. Potato contains many valuable nutrients. It is an excellent source of minerals and vitamins like folate, iron, vitamin C, and potassium.
  2. Potato is not at all costly. It is affordable, and the entire diet is inexpensive.
  3. Anyone can follow a potato diet because it is effortless to support it. You just need to consume potatoes for three to five days.
  4. Potatoes are readily available in local markets. So you do not need to struggle to get it
  5. Potatoes are a great source of fiber. High fiber diets are great for guts and can prevent cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and obesity, etc.

Apart from all the benefits of the potato diet mentioned above, there are some significant shortcomings of this diet. Here are the downsides of the potato diet:

  1. Potatoes do not supply all the needed nutrients. In fact, no single food can deliver all the vitamins or minerals that we need. That is why generally we company many types of foods in our daily diet. Potatoes do not have zinc, calcium, and vitamin B 12.
  2. The entire potato diet is very restrictive. Following this diet can lead to unhealthy food habit. This diet often encourages fasting or tolerating hunger. But this can lead to severe troubles as potatoes are already low-calorie food. You may feel dizzy and uncomfortable.
  3. Potatoes do not contain fat, protein, and other essential nutrients. A single medium-sized potato provides no fat and a little amount of protein (4 gms). It also lacks B vitamins, Vitamin A, and calcium.
  4. But potato diet is meant for three to five days, so you will possibly not suffer from any nutrient deficiency. So do not extend the diet tenure or repeat the process frequently.
  5. Potato diet can lead to excessive muscle loss. Reducing calorie intake often accompany severe muscle loss, as well. All the fad diets usually have this issue.
  6. Following potato, diet slows down the digestion and metabolism. Your calorie-burning capacity also decreases drastically. It means when you start your regular diet after following the potato diet, and your body fails to adopt this change and cannot boost the metabolism. SO the chance of weight gain is very high. Metabolic slow down can continue for several years.
  7. Excessive intake of potato can lead to discomfort and nausea. You can feel a lack of hunger during this phase.

[Read: Potato Bread Benefits]

Sample Menu

Deciding the proper menu for potato diet can be challenging. Because you have to follow a strict and disciplined type of food during this phase. The use of spices and additives also restricted. So here is the sample menu for potato diet which can help you:

Sample Menu-Day 1

On the first day, you have to consume nine medium-sized potatoes, weighing around 3-3.5 pounds. Nine potatoes mean the calorie intake will remain around 750-800 calories. Gradually you have to increase the number of potatoes each day.

Breakfast:

Take two boiled potatoes. You can have a cup of black coffee if you wish. Add a small amount of sugar in your coffee.

Mid-Day Snack:

Take one chilled boiled potato.

Lunch:

Consume two mashed potatoes only.

Evening snack:

Have slices of raw potato.

Dinner:

Try oven two baked potato with a pinch of salt.

Sample Menu – Day 2

On the second day, add three more potatoes, which means you need to consume twelve medium-sized potatoes weighing around 4-4.5 pounds. The calorie intake will be around 1000-1010 calories.

Breakfast:

Baked, mashed potato and a cup of black coffee

Mid-day Snack:

Two boiled potatoes served cold

Lunch:

Add a pinch of salt with two steamed potatoes.

Evening snack:

Two cold potatoes, boiled.

Dinner:

Consume two baked potatoes.

Sample Menu-Day 3

On the third day, you need to have 15 potatoes altogether. It will give you around 1300 calories, and the total weight will be 3 pounds approximately.

Breakfast:

Baked potato fries and a cup of tea.

Mid-day Snack:

Three boiled potatoes, cold

Lunch:

Have three baked potatoes.

Evening Snack:

Three boiled potatoes, cold

Dinner:

Three steamed potatoes seasoned with salt.

Potato diet is more like a quick fix and is not meant for everyone. If the reason for your obesity or overweight is any medication or heredity and if you are suffering from any ailments, then it will best to consult with your doctor before starting any particular diet. Carefully observe the effect of this diet on your body. Changing a diet is a big leap, so take it slow.

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