Don't blame it on the spud

Potato salad. PICTURE: Instagram

Potato salad. PICTURE: Instagram

Published Feb 3, 2017

Share

When it comes to weight gain, many people put the blame for extra kilograms on carbohydrates.

Going gluten free has become popular in recent years, with the focus initially on cutting out pasta, rice and bread. When that doesn't work, many cut out potatoes as well, according to Australian sports nutritionist Abby Shaw.

Ms Shaw wrote in Nine Coach, that many of her clients cut out carbs and then come to her saying they're not losing any weight.

A photo posted by Andrew Taylor (@spudfit) on Aug 20, 2016 at 3:25am PDT

'Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is probably not the potato that made you gain the extra few kilograms,' she said. 'My guess is it is what you are putting on the potato, or maybe how you are cooking the potato, or that the potato in fact been turned into French fries. Please don’t blame the spud!

READ:Vegan Lifestyle Gains Favour

The nutritionist said that the way you consume potato is the most important thing. So out with the chips and fried potato, in with having them whole and baked.

'Whole potatoes contain 10 percent or more of the recommended dietary intake of vitamin C, thiamine, niacin, pantothenic acid and potassium,' Ms Shaw explained.

She recommended cooking them in the oven or microwave whole with the skins on, and using herbs instead of salt. When roasting them, keep them separate from the meat to avoid fat dripping on them, and instead just spray them with a little olive oil.

One Australian man will tell you that eating only potatoes can lead to weight loss.

A photo posted by Andrew Taylor (@spudfit) on Oct 7, 2016 at 7:14pm PDT

Andrew Taylor ate nothing but potatoes for all of 2016, and managed to lose a staggering 50 kilograms in the process. He said not only had the humble spud helped shrink his expanding waistline, it had also eased feelings of depression and anxiety. 

Taylor said he embarked on his astounding diet after realising he had a food addiction.

READ:Hold back the years with sleep, coffee & seaweed?

If you're an addict you quit what you're addicted to,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Alcoholics quit alcohol, drug addicts quit drugs. But you can't quit food,' he said. After extensive research, he settled for the next best thing and quit all types of food except for potato.

'Potatoes came up as being the best choice. They've got the most amounts of scientific evidence behind them. 'They’ve got all the carbs and proteins and fats and minerals and fibre and everything else,' he said.

Related Topics: