Does the Potato Reset Diet Work for Sustainable Weight Loss?

October 11, 2025 •

5 min read

The potato reset diet, or “potato hack,” gained recent popularity following its feature in Tim Steele's book, despite originating as far back as 1849. It promises rapid weight loss and gut health improvements by restricting your diet to just plain potatoes for several days.

Quick Summary

The potato reset diet is a short-term, highly restrictive fad diet that proponents claim can facilitate rapid weight loss by creating a significant calorie deficit. While it may result in initial weight loss, much of this is water weight and lean muscle mass. It is unsustainable, poses a high risk of nutritional deficiencies, and often leads to rebound weight gain.

Key Points

Initial Weight Loss Is Not Sustainable: While the potato diet can cause rapid, short-term weight loss, this is primarily due to water loss and muscle wasting, not sustainable fat loss.
Nutrient Deficiencies are Inevitable: Eating only potatoes leads to a severe lack of protein, healthy fats, and many essential vitamins and minerals crucial for long-term health.
Metabolic Rate Can Decrease: The extreme calorie restriction can slow down your metabolism, making it harder to maintain weight loss and potentially leading to weight rebound.
Unhealthy Relationship with Food: This highly restrictive diet can lead to psychological issues with food, including intense cravings and a higher risk of binge eating once it's over.
Experts Advocate for Balanced Eating: Most health professionals advise against the potato diet in favor of a balanced, varied diet that provides all necessary nutrients for sustainable and healthy results.

What is the potato reset diet?

The potato reset diet is a short-term, minimalist approach to eating that involves consuming only plain, cooked potatoes for a period of three to five days. Popularized by Tim Steele in his 2016 book The Potato Hack, the diet is built on the premise that potatoes, when eaten in abundance, are highly satiating and low in calories, creating an effortless calorie deficit. The strict rules outlined by Steele typically include:

Eating only plain, white potatoes (baked, boiled, or steamed) for 3–5 days.
Consuming approximately 2–5 pounds of potatoes daily to maintain satiety.
Avoiding all other foods, including most condiments, oils, and other vegetables.
Limiting intake to only water, plain tea, or black coffee.
Engaging only in light exercise.

The science (and flaws) behind the potato diet

While the diet lacks specific scientific studies, its potential for rapid weight loss is based on a few key factors, most of which are problematic for long-term health.

How initial weight loss occurs

The primary reason for quick weight loss on the potato diet is the severe calorie restriction. Depending on the quantity consumed, the daily caloric intake can range from approximately 530 to 1,300 calories, which is far below the recommended intake for most adults. This creates a significant energy deficit, leading to weight loss. However, a portion of this initial weight loss is often water weight, as the body uses up glycogen stores. When carbohydrate intake returns to normal, the body replenishes these stores, and the weight returns.

The role of resistant starch and satiety

Potatoes contain resistant starch, particularly when cooked and then cooled, as in a potato salad. This type of starch is not fully digested in the small intestine, acting like a fermentable fiber in the large intestine that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. The fermentation process produces short-chain fatty acids, which can help improve gut health and digestion. The high fiber content also contributes to the feeling of fullness and satiety, which is a key reason proponents claim the diet works.

Risks and drawbacks of the potato diet

Despite its simple appeal, health experts warn of the significant risks and drawbacks associated with this fad diet.

Nutrient Deficiencies: No single food, including the potato, contains all the nutrients required for optimal human health. The potato diet is severely lacking in protein, healthy fats, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin E, and certain B vitamins. Prolonged use can lead to serious health issues.
Muscle Loss: The extremely low calorie and protein intake can cause the body to burn lean muscle mass for energy, alongside fat. Studies show that very low-calorie diets can cause a significant percentage of weight loss from lean body mass.
Slower Metabolism: Severe calorie restriction can trigger the body's adaptive thermogenesis, causing the metabolism to slow down to conserve energy. This makes future weight maintenance more difficult.
Unhealthy Eating Behaviors: The restrictive nature of the diet can promote an unhealthy relationship with food, leading to disordered eating patterns like binge eating once the diet is over.
Unintended Weight Gain: Due to the metabolic slowdown and the unsustainable nature of the diet, it is very common for dieters to regain the lost weight, and sometimes more, once they return to their normal eating habits.
Digestive Issues: Some individuals on the diet report severe gas and bloating from the high-starch intake.

Potato diet vs. a balanced, sustainable diet

A balanced, sustainable approach to weight management is consistently recommended by health professionals over restrictive fad diets like the potato reset.


Feature	Potato Reset Diet	Balanced, Sustainable Diet
Duration	3–5 days, short-term.	Long-term lifestyle change.
Weight Loss	Rapid initial loss, largely water and muscle.	Gradual, steady, and sustainable fat loss.
Nutrient Intake	Extremely restricted, deficient in protein, fat, and many vitamins.	Varied and complete, providing all essential nutrients.
Expert Opinion	Not recommended due to risks and unsustainability.	Widely endorsed for long-term health.
Food Relationship	Can lead to disordered eating patterns and cravings.	Promotes a healthier, mindful relationship with food.

What experts say about the potato diet

Registered dietitians and other health professionals are nearly unanimous in their criticism of the potato diet and other mono-food diets. While they acknowledge that potatoes themselves are nutritious and can be a healthy part of a balanced diet, they emphasize that no single food can provide all necessary nutrients. Experts strongly advise against such restrictive plans, highlighting the potential for nutritional deficiencies, muscle loss, and the promotion of unhealthy dieting behaviors. Instead, they recommend focusing on a balanced intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats for lasting results and overall well-being.

Conclusion: Does the potato reset diet work?

In summary, the potato reset diet may "work" in the sense that it can cause a person to lose weight very quickly in the short term, but this weight loss is typically unsustainable and comes with significant health risks. The initial drop is largely due to severe calorie restriction and the loss of water and lean muscle mass, not just fat. For lasting health benefits and sustainable weight loss, the diet is a poor choice. It does not provide the balanced nutrition required by the human body and promotes a restrictive mindset that often leads to rebound weight gain. A balanced, varied diet, combined with regular exercise, remains the most effective and healthiest approach to long-term weight management.

If you are considering any drastic dietary changes, please consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian first.

Resources

Potato Diet Review: Does It Work for Weight Loss? - Healthline

Key takeaways

Rapid, but Unsustainable Weight Loss: The potato diet causes quick, initial weight loss primarily due to a severe calorie deficit, with much of the lost weight being water and muscle, not just fat.
High Risk of Nutrient Deficiencies: As a mono-food diet, it lacks essential nutrients like protein, healthy fats, and several vitamins and minerals, which can pose health risks if followed for an extended period.
Causes Metabolic Slowdown: Severe calorie restriction can lead to adaptive thermogenesis, a metabolic slowdown that makes it harder to maintain weight loss in the long run and increases the risk of weight regain.
Promotes Unhealthy Food Behaviors: The diet's extreme restrictions can foster a poor relationship with food and potentially lead to binge eating or other disordered eating patterns.
Experts Recommend Balanced Alternatives: Health professionals strongly advise against this diet, recommending a varied, balanced eating pattern combined with regular exercise for sustainable and healthy weight management.

Frequently Asked Questions

The diet is not a good long-term solution because it is nutritionally incomplete, lacking essential protein, fats, and various vitamins. It promotes unsustainable, restrictive eating habits that often lead to metabolic slowdown and rebound weight gain once normal eating resumes.

Yes, it is highly likely you will lose muscle mass on this diet. The extremely low intake of calories and, specifically, protein can cause your body to break down lean muscle tissue for energy.

While potatoes contain resistant starch that can benefit gut bacteria, the highly restrictive nature of the diet may be detrimental to overall gut and digestive health. A diverse diet with various fiber sources is a much healthier way to support your gut microbiome.

Common side effects include fatigue, 'brain fog', cravings, mood swings, nutrient deficiencies, and digestive issues such as gas and bloating.

No, there is no specific scientific research supporting the claims of the potato diet as a safe or effective long-term weight loss strategy. Its purported benefits lack clinical validation.

Some variations might allow sweet potatoes, but the original diet specifies white potatoes. However, as a mono-food diet, the core problems of nutritional inadequacy remain regardless of the potato type.

Weight loss on the potato diet is rapid but unstable, with a high chance of gaining it back. A sustainable plan leads to gradual, steady weight loss that is more likely to be maintained over time through healthy habits.