Potatoes have to be up there as one of the best foods, but even despite how versatile they are, I can't imagine eating nothing but potatoes for an entire year.
It probably wouldn't be most people's choice of diet, but one man who decided to take on the challenge was Andrew Flinders Taylor, an Australian man who goes by Spud Fit on YouTube.
In 2016, Andrew decided to try and change his life by adopting a radical diet which consisted of nothing but potatoes.
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Why did Andrew adopt the potato diet?
The main motivation for Andrew's spud-filled diet came from a food addiction he had developed; an issue he likened to being an 'alcoholic', only with food.
In a 2019 interview, he explained: "My Spud Fit Challenge was only ever intended as a short term intervention to treat my own food addiction. My behavior with food mirrored that of an alcoholic with drinking so I decided to get as close as possible to treating it with the same abstinence model: I quit all food except potatoes."
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What did the potato diet consist of?
Well, to put it simply, potatoes.
Andrew ate all kinds of potatoes, including sweet potatoes, and added flavor with dried herbs or fat-free sauces. For creamier mash, he added oil-free soy milk.
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He didn't restrict himself when it came to potato quantity - an approach I imagine a lot of people will be adopting this holiday season. Instead, he ate as many potatoes as was necessary to satisfy his hunger.
The Aussie also supplemented his meat-free diet with a B12 vitamin.
What were the results of the potato diet?
After starting his diet at 334lbs, Andrew dropped 117lbs over the course of the year.
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He lost 22lbs in the first month of his diet even without exercise, but after that he added a 90 minute workout to his daily routine.
Other results of the diet included lower cholesterol levels, blood pressure and sugar levels, and Andrew also found he had a 'much better' mental state once the year was up.
Praising the results on his website, Andrew wrote: “I feel amazing and incredible! I’m sleeping better, I no longer have joint pain from old football injuries, I'm full of energy, I have better mental clarity and focus."
What did Andrew learn through his diet?
One of the major takeaways Andrew learned through his diet and his former food addiction was the approach of making his 'food boring', but his 'life interesting'.
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He found he was able to change the way he thought about food, writing on his site: "Over time, my neural pathways changed. Over time, junk food lost its appeal entirely. Eventually, I came to see the pizza, the cake, the [insert your trigger food here] as a punishment – not a reward.
"I could eat anything I wanted, because I changed what I wanted."
11 months into his diet, Andrew shared a video about a number of other things he'd learned through the diet.
- Potatoes are healthy - Andrew argued that it's often ingredients we add to potatoes that makes them less healthy, but the plants themselves feature fiber and healthy carbs
- Don't fear carbs - "I've eaten a lot of carbs this year, and I've lost weight," Andrew explained.
- We don't need so much protein - Andrew pointed out he'd been able to take on workouts even without adding protein into his diet
- What he didn't eat was just as important as what he did eat - this includes items like refined oils
- Eat spuds first - Andrew recommended sticking to your planned food first when cravings hit, then see if you still want the 'junk' afterwards
- Embrace simplicity
- Focus on actions, not results
Once his year came to an end, Andrew decided to reintroduce other unprocessed foods into his diet, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes - though he still eats a lot of potatoes.
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Though the diet worked for him, Andrew has encouraged people to do their own research and 'make educated decisions' when it comes to personal health.
Medical News Today notes that the food groups of a healthy, balanced diet include vegetables, fruits, grains, protein and dairy.
Topics: Health, Food and Drink, YouTube
Emily Brown