Kevin Smith has shared what happened when he tried an extreme “just potatoes” diet after the heart attack he suffered in 2018.
Weight-loss trends come and go, with new plans constantly being promoted as the best way to slim down and improve health.
From keto and intermittent fasting to viral online fads, there is never a shortage of eating approaches claiming to deliver results.
Smith, now 55, previously spoke about the unusual plan he followed after doctors found he had suffered a heart attack caused by a complete blockage in his left anterior descending artery.
He later said the emergency was tied to both inherited risk and lifestyle habits, and it led him to rethink his health and eating habits.
As he looked to overhaul his routine after the life-threatening episode, the filmmaker decided to try the so-called “just potatoes” diet, which is exactly as strict as it sounds.
“I ate them for two weeks – straight up, just potatoes,” he explained while on the Joe Rogan podcast, of which clips are now re-circulating.
“You can bake them but you can’t use anything to cook them, you can eat as many as you want, you just can’t put anything on them, no butter, no salt, nothing.”
Smith said the real catch with the diet is that it quickly strips away the appeal people think potatoes have.
He said: “I was like oh my god, ‘I can do that, I love potatoes’.
“And then you realize you don’t like potatoes as much as you like salt and butter and milk, and everything that goes into mash potatoes.”
Smith said he stayed on the plan briefly and lost a significant amount of weight, later describing it as a lesson in how fasting affects the body rather than a sustainable long-term diet.
“It taught me more than just f*** I hate potatoes, it taught me to fast.”
In later interviews, Smith said he settled into a much more structured routine, including eating just one meal a day, usually around 3pm.
He has also said that, after the heart attack, he moved toward a mostly plant-based way of eating and focused on maintaining his weight loss rather than chasing another crash diet.
However, nutrition experts have warned that such a restrictive diet leaves major nutritional gaps. Speaking to the BBC, Nutritionist Fiona Hunter said: “A diet of just potatoes will be deficient in vitamins A, E and K, the minerals calcium and selenium, essential fatty acids, protein and dietary fibre. Although they may provide enough iron for a man, they will not provide enough iron for women.”
Smith is best known for writing and directing the 1994 indie film Clerks, where he also appeared as the trench coat-wearing, mostly silent character Silent Bob.