Man who ate potatoes for a year reports dramatic weight loss

A man who set out to eat nothing but potatoes for an entire year has said that in addition to shaving off more than 100 pounds, he’s come off antidepressants and his cholesterol levels have lowered. Andrew Taylor, of Melbourne, Australia, said that while he was criticized for his diet at first, it helped him break his addiction to unhealthy food, News.com.au reported.

Taylor, who used to binge on soda and deep-fried food, has posted his journey with potatoes on social media and said that his social life hasn’t suffered from his dietary restriction. He got into the habit of calling restaurants ahead of time to make sure potatoes were a menu option, News.com.au reported.

While he initially had trouble staving off other cravings, he has planned to cater a dinner featuring other foods on Jan. 1, 2017 to celebrate his accomplishments, but suspects he won’t be as interested as he once would have been.

“I do think the majority of what I eat will still be potatoes,” he told News.com.au. “I will have some more interesting toppings, I might make a bean chili or some coleslaw to put on top of the potatoes.”

Once his story went viral, Taylor received international criticism from dieticians and nutritionists who said he would be missing out on vital nourishment gained from eating other foods, but he claims his health continues to improve with each doctor’s appointment. He added that his doctor approved of his diet plan.

“If you want extreme results, you have to do extreme things,” he told News.com.au. “Yes it’s extreme, but what’s wrong with that?”

“You can’t quit food, but I wanted to get as close as possible and wondered if there was one particular food i could eat and potatoes came up best,” he told the news website. “You literally get everything you need from potatoes. Everybody knows they’ve got lots of carbs but they have enough protein and fat and potatoes are really good for fiber, vitamin C and iron.”