The Great Potato War

Hello team,

For those of you who didn't hear yet, I add a minor outrage at the idea that we couldn't have white potatoes in this challenge. The rule is you can have sweet potatoes and not white. This is based off of several ideas:

1. White potatoes are not paleo.
2. White potatoes make you fat.
3. White potatoes contain poisons called glycoalkaloids

You all know my thoughts on pure paleo, so we'll leave that alone, but how about the other two? I will start with #3 as it is the easiest to tackle. It is true that if you eat a bunch of raw potato peels, green potatoes, or sprouting potatoes, you will get enough glycoalkaloids to give you headaches, vomiting and diarrhea. But who the hell eats raw potato peels, green potatoes, or sprouting/rotten potatoes? If you do, I'm sorry, but your death had just enhanced the human gene pool.

So let's move onto #2. White potatoes have been demonized because they are high in carbs and spike your insulin. High Glycemic! Everyone run! If something is classified as "high glycemic" or has a high glycemic index (GI) everyone runs from it like the plague. First of all, the GI of a food can change. In fruit, the ripeness can make it have a lower GI. In potatoes, the variety and type of potato and the way it is cooked can change the GI. Hell, if I chew a food enough, that "processing" can raise the GI. What does all this mean???

GI has been misunderstood and adopted by jerkoffs who want to sell you a diet book. I'm not buying it.

White potatoes (ALL potatoes) are good energy. So treat them as such. I will consistently pound this through your head. Carbs=energy. If you need lots of energy, you need carbs. If you are sedentary and don't do much, you don't need them.

This does not mean eat white potatoes every damn day at every meal. It means don't freak out when you have some. And as with all carbs, gauge it on how much you need to lose weight. Are you someone who sits most of the day and then works out  for a half hour, three times a week? Then maybe you should chill out on the potatoes. And chill out on other carbs as well. Or are you someone who is on their feet all day and then works out like a monster six days a week? Potato your face off.

I will agree with the "sweet potatoes are better" comment, but damn it, I get sick of those things and I always need energy, so don't be surprised if you see me with a big plate of mashed potatoes all over my face.

You will often see me looking like this.