Are potatoes bad for weight management?

We recently encountered a question from a weight loss client, who was wondering if potatoes were “healthy” or if they should be removed from her diet.

Potatoes are not always a diet disaster. One large potato has about 280 calories and 63 grams of carbohydrates. The most important thing about potatoes is the manner in which they are prepared. Deep fried potatoes or potato chips will accelerate an individual’s weight gain if they are part of a normal diet.

If you want to enjoy potatoes, our nutrition and weight loss experts recommend that you prepare them by baking or steaming them to avoid the additional calories of oil and salt. The moderate serving size is one medium-sized potato a day.