There are so many different types of diets in the world, but most of us will only try a handful, and only if we've heard good things about it from someone we trust.
Of course, every person will react to a diet differently, which is why we're always open to new suggestions.
We think that if that diet doesn't work for us, maybe the next one will.
Keep in mind, people don't go on diets just to lose weight. There are diets that suit all kinds of needs, such as diets that cleanse toxins in your body and so on.
One diet that's been getting a lot of buzz on the internet is the "Potato-only Diet."
This is how the starchy diet works in a nutshell: You can only eat plain potatoes, which means no salt, butter, oil, milk, or cheese toppings. The regime asks followers to eat potatoes for two weeks before adding other nutrients, like vegetables, to their diet.
What has attracted many people to try this is that there is really not limit to the amount of potatoes you can eat, but that's not a problem, because starch fills you up with healthy carbs fast.
Potatoes are not only a versatile vegetable, they also have a lot of health benefits. They're a rich source of essential vitamins and minerals like fiber, potassium and vitamin C.
These starches are also necessary for your gut, because they feed good bacteria that live in the large bowel and help with digestion.
According to YouTuber and author Andrew Taylor, the potato diet, also called the "Spud Fit Challenge," helped him beat clinical depression, anxiety, while also losing more than 50 kg (110 pounds) in just eight months.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith also said on his podcast that the potato diet helped change his life after suffering from a massive heart attack.
Jordan Nabigon, the CEO of Shared, decided to put this diet to the test and see if it's all it's made out to be.
Eating only potatoes sounds quite restrictive- and it is - but after hearing from a colleague that it's a good anti-inflammatory diet, Jordan decided to try it out.
"I wasn't overly concerned with losing weight but figured it would be a decent benefit," he said.
The first day was a breeze.
"By the end of Day 1, I went to sleep feeling great. I had a full belly, and had eaten a lot of potatoes. I slept really well that night. My nasal passage was super clear, no allergies bothering me and my shoulder (a nagging injury) felt better than it had in a long time."
When Day 2 came around, Jordan woke up feeling fine, but when he went to take a stab at eating a potato, he gagged.
"I struggled through Day 2, but mostly because I was fighting between hunger and not wanting to eat another potato."
It's always difficult to start a new diet, but what kept him going was that he still felt great overall.
By Day 3, things took a turn for the worst.
"I force-fed myself a bunch of cold mashed potatoes around 11:30 am. Shortly after, I started to feel sick. From 2 pm to 6 pm, I probably visited the bathroom about 12 times. I was in bad shape. I looked in the mirror at one point and thought to myself, 'My pupils can't actually be that small. I must just be imagining it.'"
Day 4 wasn't any better. Jordan was afraid to eat potatoes, but managed to make a potato soup from a recipe in the Potato Hack book.
Jordan almost made it to finishing off Day 5 without straying too much from the diet, but he caved.
"I was starving, craving non-potato food like you wouldn't believe," he recalled. "At exactly 6 pm on Friday night, 120 hours after my last non-potato meal, I ordered pizza, wings, jalapeno poppers, and a poutine (French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy."
Despite ordering so much food, he only managed to eat small portions of each food.
"My stomach was so full, and while I didn't feel 'good', I felt so much better than I did the past three days."
While Jordan lost more than 10 pounds in five days, he regrets participating in this diet.
"By Sunday, I'd gained back 6.5 pounds. Now, I'm 2-3 pounds lighter than I was when I started."
Jordan's experience might serve as a cautionary tale for some people, but don't swear off potatoes for good!
If you have a healthy diet, adding potatoes isn't a bad idea, but solely eating starch food for extended periods of time may not be the best idea for your overall health.
It's a good idea to check with your doctor before you take on a new diet.
[H/T: Newsweek / Men's Health]
