Just to reiterate, the Starch Solution focuses on eating whole-food, plant-based foods like brown rice, oatmeal, potatoes, beans, and fruit — not highly-processed, high-fat starches like cookies, cakes, french fries, and potato chips. It's a common misconception that eating starchy foods will cause weight gain, registered dietitian Robyn Engman told POPSUGAR. "The starchy foods themselves do not cause weight gain. Whole foods like these are unprocessed, full of water, and high in fibre, so they actually keep you feeling satiated much longer," she explained.
Potatoes are a great example of a starchy carbohydrate that keeps you full and satisfied, but Engman said, sadly, potatoes get a bad rap and are deemed unhealthy because of our preparation of them. For example, we like to fry potatoes in oil and make potato chips or fries, or we top a baked potato with butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon. When people make mashed potatoes, they usually add butter and heavy cream. "The added fat may be the reason why your starchy, high-carb dishes are so caloric, which you then associate with weight gain."
Remember that "carbs are the number one energy source our body uses. Approximately half of our calories should be coming from carbs," said registered dietitian Carlie Saint-Laurent Beaucejour, MS, LDN, known as @mindfuleatingdietitian on Instagram. She added that it's more nutritious and satisfying to get our carbs from the whole foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and beans rather than the foods that have sugar added to them like cookies, cakes, pastries, sodas, and candy.