Posted By Discussion Topic: Potatoes   Sasha@ 08-03-2011 @ 5:07 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jul 2011 I just looked into potatoes because in another post about blood pressure it said that potatoes help bring it down. I love potatoes but even I know that if I'm trying to lose weight (and lower my blood pressure!!!) then I'm supposed to avoid them like the plague. I read that people who regularly ate French fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, processed meat, meat, sugary drinks, sweets and refined grains were more likely to gain weight. And the food that contributed to weight gain the most?? French fries! One daily serving led to a 3.3-pound gain over four years. For potato chips, one daily serving led to an additional 1.7 pounds over four years. Boiled, baked or mashed potatoes led to an increase in weight of 0.57 lbs. small differences add up over time.        pod17 08-03-2011 @ 8:01 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jan 2010 eating french fries everyday for four years and you only gain 3.3 pounds?? I would've thought it'd be lots more. I think the point is if you add it to all the other things - then that accumulation results in a big weight gain. Like having one alcoholic drink every day PLUS one hour every night just sitting watching TV PLUS over sleeping or under sleeping (both of which I've heard add weight - the optimum sleeping time is between 6 - 8 hours.) WhittleAway 08-03-2011 @ 11:40 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jan 2010 French fries are just fat sticks, and beyond that they might even give you cancer..they can contain acrylamide, a toxic substance that forms in starchy foods when they are processed or cooked at high temperatures. Acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer in lab animals, we dont know about humans yet - but its enough to put me off. Frying and baking at high temperatures for a long time result in the highest levels of acrylamide. Boiled potatoes on the other hand are good - the skin contains vits, minerals and fibre - just dont douse them in butter. Sasha@ 08-04-2011 @ 3:35 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jul 2011 well french fries are definitely off the menu - i don't think they mix with xenical somehow! boiled potatoes are so boring, i'd rather not have them at all.        WhittleAway 08-06-2011 @ 5:10 PM                           reply Member Joined: Jan 2010 what about  some tesco light choices potato thins? They are potato and they are yummy, a bag of these really satisfy the crisp craving. They are in the crisp section - an area I normally avoid! They make a good snack obviously - not intended to go alongside a main meal.