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Old 12-24-2008, 09:14 PM   #1  
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Question Why does everyone HATE on potatoes?

Honestly, I don't get it. Did potatoes make me fat? No way!
Maybe extra large burgers, and french fried potatoes, ice cream, chocolate syrup, being lazy and second helpings.

So I guess I have two questions, why does everyone HATE on potatoes?
And is there anyone else out there that notices this, and thinks it might just be a little extreme?

luv ya 3fc's potato eaters or not!
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Old 12-24-2008, 09:47 PM   #2  
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There is nothing wrong with potatoes. They are a great sources of potassium. They are also, however, full of carbos. So celebrate your potatoes...in moderation. Hurray! In moderation... Hurray!
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Old 12-24-2008, 10:18 PM   #3  
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I think Potatoes get a bad rap; most people did not become overweight from eating an overabundance of mash. Now, french fries are another thing; I learned that from a doctor who reminded me that one order of fries and gravy carried more than half my daily C's (I was a young teen at the time).

Health nutritionists and many doctors says potatoes are good for us, esp the new potatoes with the skins on. Like SHUMEANEY says, portion control and preparation are important; and watch the butter (measure, measure, measure). DH eats a medium (and he's trim), and I a small, new potato 2-3 dinners a week. On rare special occasions, like Christmas, we have mash and gravy made from lean meat.

So, go ahead and enjoy them, just watch how much and how often.

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Old 12-25-2008, 02:00 AM   #4  
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I don't have a problem with potatoes. I love them. They're chock full of vitamins and minerals and healthy stuff. The problem is that most people fry them, or serve them topped with butter and sour cream, or au gratin them with cream and cheese, or ... any of 6 dozen other unhealthy ways to serve them. But reasonable sized baked/roasted or boiled potatoes are good for you.

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Old 12-25-2008, 09:51 AM   #5  
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Well, 1 medium potato has 161 calories and 36.6 grams of carbs. That's plain, with nothing on it.

For me, and this is of course a personal choice, I just don't care to "spend" my calories/carbs that way. I don't really care for them all that much unless they ARE fried in oil or with butter. I also don't find them very satisfying. They bring on all kinds of cravings. Potato-y carbs make me want MORE carbs. It's just not worth it *to me*.

But like has already been said, in moderation, ain't a thing wrong with them.
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Old 12-25-2008, 10:35 AM   #6  
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I love potatoes, but they don't love me.

Some people (like myself) are extremely sensitive to foods with a high glycemic index. Potatoes are one of those foods; the glycemic index of a baked potato is 85, which is considered high. Foods high in GI will usually cause a rise and fall in insulin levels, which results in carb cravings and fatigue once the GI crashes.

Now I'm off to make mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner.
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Old 12-25-2008, 07:07 PM   #7  
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I think potatoes get a bad rap due to the carbs.

i seem to tolerate them ok in moderation, other starchy foods can trigger a binge for me.

they are actually touted as beneficial for kids with ADD and people with sugar addiction according to the Potatoes, not Prozac books.
i've not read the book, but found a site that has info about it.
http://www.radiantrecovery.com/index.html
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Old 12-26-2008, 12:41 AM   #8  
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White potatoes are a bit of a problem food for me. I'm probably not the only person on the planet (but sometimes I feel like I am) who could overeat plain, boiled or baked potatoes (and I love the skin too).

I try not to vilify any food, even sugar - which I also have difficulty consuming in moderation. My husband and I are visiting my family in Illinois, and I'd intended to stay on plan, or at least avoid my main nemesis, sugar. I did fairly well most of the day yesterday, and then I decided that I could have one piece of my mom's homemade caramels. If candy can be compared to narcotics, my mom's caramels are my heroine. Suffice it to say that one caramel led me down a sugar path that left me this morning with a sugar hangover, although compared to other Christmas weeks, I'm actually doing far better than I normally do - at least I haven't decided to dive into a full-on binge-fest until New Year's Day (though I've been tempted).

So, I don't think potatoes are ****-spawn, but I do tend to give them a fairly wide berth most of the time. When I do eat potato, I tend to do it in a situation in which the portion is limited for me. For example, I'll order a baked potato in a restaurant, plan on eating half and NOT taking the leftovers home. If I buy potatoes to make at home, I buy two small to medium potatoes (one for hubby and one for me).

Recently, my husband did some grocery shopping for me when I wasn't feeling well (usually we do it together), and the grocery list I made for him included two baking potatoes - and he decided to get a 5 lb bag because it was "cheaper" than the two bakers. I did fairly well limiting myself to one potato a day, but I learned that my husband also has a problem with portion control for potatoes. He was eating baked potatoes as a "snack" and the 5 lb bag of potatoes was gone in just a few days.

For some reason, I don't have nearly the same portion control issue with squash or sweet potato, but any starchy food has "abuse potential" for me, so I can understand why some people do view potato as not far different from candy, because for some people it isn't.
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Old 12-26-2008, 08:57 AM   #9  
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I stopped eating white potatoes when I discovered low glycemic eating and I felt better, but I've been rethinking that since now the newest "thing" is resistive starch, which is supposed to curb the desire to overeat, and white potatoes are loaded with this kind of starch, but I'm still approaching them cautiously as for many years I didn't actually realize (until I started eating according to the GI) that white potatoes kind of make me feel ill after eating them and they spike my blood sugar. But, yea, they are full of potassium and lots of other good things and they do taste good, better than sweet potatoes, in my opinion, which I tolerate but they just aren't satisfying to a person who grew up with white potatoes.
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Old 12-26-2008, 09:11 AM   #10  
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Frankly, I was overdosed on potatoes as a kid. We had them with every supper until I learned to cook myself.
I would be happy never eating boiled, mashed, or roasted potatoes ever again. Now unfortunately for me, french fries are a beast of a different nature...
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Old 12-26-2008, 09:52 PM   #11  
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I'm eating potatoes right now : red potato, chickpea, and broccoli curry, with veggie sausage added. Yummmmmmm.

But I was never one for baked potatoes, regardless of the topping. I like sweet potatoes, or the little red skin potatoes with the skin on.

It's kinda weird, because for the first 6 months or so of losing weight, I never had potatoes. No reason, I just never did for some reason. Now I'm having a little fling with potatoes. Red potato and green bean salad is another favorite.

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Old 12-29-2008, 10:59 AM   #12  
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I love potatoes almost any way they can be prepared.

I guess I've tried to stay away from them too, thinking that they were bad for me. If I can handle the calories, have room in my count, I love baked potato with slivers of sliced sweet onion or even just tobasco.

Gunna hafta have that soon.
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Old 01-12-2009, 06:47 AM   #13  
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I've got no problems with potatoes, but I prefer sweet potatoes, because 1) they are sweet and 2) they taste good without adding stuff. I have started putting them in my lunch instead of rice, for a while. It is toppings that are the problem, or eating a potato that is too big without the rest of the meal being balanced.

A 200 gram sweet potato is just under 200 cal, and that is a good carb for the lunches I make, which generally also have about 2 cups of veggies, 2-3 oz of chicken and some fruit. I guess it is easier to work in potatoes if you eat fewer, larger meals during the day, as I do, rather than frequent small ones. I've never tried that eating method, because I know it won't work for me. Also, I feel just fine with 50% or so of my daily calories coming from carbs, unlike so many people here who feel hungrier, or tired, or whatever when the eat too many carbs, and it hasn't affected my loss in any way that I can see.
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Old 01-12-2009, 08:33 AM   #14  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grneyedmustang View Post
I love potatoes, but they don't love me.

Some people (like myself) are extremely sensitive to foods with a high glycemic index. Potatoes are one of those foods; the glycemic index of a baked potato is 85, which is considered high. Foods high in GI will usually cause a rise and fall in insulin levels, which results in carb cravings and fatigue once the GI crashes.
Ditto for me. I love potatoes but my body responds terribly to food with a high GI. I also love rice, but its the same problem there. Potatoes and rice definitely didn't make me fat, but they are part of many foods I need to eat pretty minimally if I don't want to gain weight. I rarely ate potatoes fried or topped with butter, etc. In our cuisine they are mostly just boiled in spicy curries, and the curries are mostly extremely light - just made up of things like spices, tomatoes, etc. However I think generally speaking the reason so many people seem to hate on potatoes is because of what some others have said, the way they are most commonly served here in the US is very unhealthy - fried or topped with high-fat dressings.
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Old 01-12-2009, 10:29 AM   #15  
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I have no problems with a plain old white potato, but if I'm having potatoes as a side dish, I'd MUCH rather have a baked sweet potato which I find wonderfully sweet!
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