Baked Potatoes - Bad for Me

I work in a hospital and a few weeks ago we had a baked potato bar - I know there's not a lot of protein but everything else they had was not something I like (sweet and sour shrimp! yuck! and millions of calories to boot!) Anywho I had the potato with some chili and cheese on top for protein and a few vegies and a little sour cream. I ate the WHOLE potato. I thought then it was because my band wasn't tight. So fast forward to today - same options in the cafeteria (our options today were the shrimp and pizza). I chose the potatoe with the same stuff and ATE THE WHOLE THING! Now I haven't been able to eat a lot at one sitting for the last month because of my band being where it should be. So I'm assuming that along with peanutbutter and jelly (so sad cause I love them both) baked potatoes are a slider food for me. So new and old banders alike, jus****ch those baked potatoes. Happy weight loosing today! Wonderful people are beautiful no matter how much they weigh!

I'm not flaming you...but here's something I read on this board and it's stuck with me. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should". Yeah you added protein to it...but a potatoe was a terrible choice. I'm sure they had yogurt, side salad, protein bars, granola bars..ect. And eating the whole thing...Be careful. You don't want to stretch out or dialate your pouch. Good luck! -Nikki

I eat potatoes ALL the time... okay not all the time but at least one a month but I don't eat the whole potato.

I eat 1/2 and sometimes I too top it with chili.. I'm not sure why a potato has a bad rap but if you eat them in moderation they aren't bad for you. A sweet potato is a better choice but if you dont have that available to you.

When I make potatoes at home I top them with greek yogurt for sour cream, grilled chicken, and a some cheese.. and sometimes I add a little veggies to boot.

As long as your not eating a potato every day your okay.. I'm not a dye hard low carb person I eat  a healthy amount of carbs daily.

Don't feel bad.. next time I would eat half.. and I like to eat WHOLE real food compared to protein bars etc.. but that's just  me :)

I think it's ok to eat baked potatoes.  They are healthy food.  Since getting my band 6 weeks ago I have had baked potato a couple of times, but I have never put a whole potato on my plate and tried to stop myself from eating all of it.  I know I need to eat more protein than anything, so I have only cut a couple of ounces off a baked potato.  A baked potato with chili & cheese is a comfort food to be sure.  I just would not trust myself to stop with that any more than I would with a pint of B&J's  I would invite a co-worker to split lunch with you.  If that doesn't work, I would cut off a couple of ounces and add my chili or yogurt or whatever toppings you have in the amounts you intend to eat and either box up the rest or pitch it in the trash before temptation got the best of me.  People worry about wasting food or money by throwing food they shouldn't eat away, but it is no less waste if you eat it when you shouldn't.  I think you're asking for trouble if you put more on your plate than you intend to eat.  Even if you stop before it's gone, you're unlikely to stop before you have eaten more than you intended.  Use a desert plate or coffee saucer to serve yourself.  If they don't offer them, buy and keep a stack of desert-size paper plates at work.  You might also talk to the dietitian in the cafeteria and see if you can place your order ahead of time like the patients do and get a plate made up for you.  They may not be willing to do that, but if they do, be really appreciative.

Take care,
Cheryl

I eat potatoes occasionally... I see nothing wrong with them, but they're not a slider food for me.  I love a potato with chili and cheese, or cottage cheese with salt and pepper.  It's a baked potato.  Not like it's been made into hash browns, french fries, or chips.  If you don't make them a staple in your diet, there's nothing wrong with having one every now and then... AND, it was a pretty good choice considering your other cafeteria alternatives!

My Nut even tells me that potatoes are fine to eat.  Obviously you dont wont to eat them all the time but people have decided potatoes are bad because they are a complex carb and people have decided carbs are "bad".   Some people have more problems with carbs than others have but according to my Nut our brains require complex carbs to function.  As for being a slider yeah without a dense protein first I am not surprised it slid down.  I had a baked potato the other day with some grilled chicken on it and the chicken was enough to keep it from sliding for me.  Good luck and if it were me I wouldn't feel bad about eating the potato jus****ch the portion size.

I eat baked potatoes once or twice a week with my nutritionist's blessing. One of my goals in having this surgery was to eat healthier and for me that includes not leaving out any veggies and their important nutrients. 

Potatoes do have more carbs than some other veggies.  Often people that are doing low carb choose to eliminate or severely limit potatoes in their diets and that's fine. Potatoes just aren't something I'm interested in cutting out unless you are talking about french fries and chips.

As for the whole potato with chili and cheese -- volume-wise, that might be too much. If it's anything like the Wendy's version that would be about 10 ouncese of food; I think. To give you and idea; I can comfortably eat 1/2 of a Wendy's baked potato with chili and a sprinkle of cheese -- no fake cheese sauce.  I suppose I could eat the whole thing if I wanted to pick at it for an hour, but it's cold by then, and not very tempting.

As far as managing your weight; I doubt many people get fat off eating baked potatoes. (A good sized potato has about 150 calories.) The more likely culprit is fast food  and other higher calorie items.  Growing up, our entire family at potatoes 2x a day, every single day and none of us had a weight problem. It was when I stopped eating them that I started to gain weight.

Trixie

I don't eat potatoes every day - I hardly eat them at all because I like them so much and I do know that sweet potatoes are better which is what we eat at home alot. If I eat them at home it's usually the last thing on myplate I'll eat and I only eat 1/2 of a small one. And yes, they do have other alternatives at the hospital but sometimes it's nice to eat something hot for lunch. I usually just eat eggs/turkey/cottage and tomatoes for lunch but I felt like something different yesterday. I also know I should have not eaten the whole thing - that's not the point I was trying to make. The point I was trying to make was I was able to eat the whole thing without feeling full - and no I didn't feel full the whole afternoon but I didn't eat anything until dinner time either. I was just trying to share the point that for me and maybe others that potatoes may be a slider food and be careful and don't make the mistake I made yesterday. Thanks for all your helpful comments.

ps...the potato wasn't the size of a Wendy's potato and I only used a small spoon of chili and a little cheese. I was more concerned about the potato than the toppings.