Egg diet

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Background


The egg diet has been around for some time now. Vogue published a famous diet on eggs and wine in the 1970s. In the era of the internet, the egg diet seems to have gained notoriety as the “egg-fest” in 2010 and was born out of the keto diet as a way to jumpstart a stalled weight loss.
Eggs are a pillar of nutrition and provide your body with protein, fat, vitamin D, phosphorus, vitamin A and two B-complex vitamins that your body needs to turn into energy. Riboflavin, selenium, and choline are also a very good source of eggs.
In a single egg, there are around 75 calories, 5 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of carbohydrate.


What is the egg diet?


The egg diet is a weight-loss system that needs you to build at least one dish around the classical staple of breakfast each day. It is a low calorie high-protein low-carbohydrate plan intended to help you lose weight without losing muscle mass.
There are various egg diet versions including egg-only diet. You will eat three meals a day without snacks, in all the variations of the plan, and only water or zero-calorie beverages.


How It Works


There are various versions of this weight loss plan and they all allow you to consume predominantly egg-based meals.
Are there different kinds of egg diets?


Traditional egg diet


A person can eat protein from other sources within the traditional egg diet. The most popular version of traditional egg diet is. It is similar to other high protein diets with a low carbohydrate content.
There are three meals every day but calorie snacks and drinks are not permitted. Eat one meal with eggs every day but other meals can be built around other lean protein sources such as chicken, turkey or fish. You can add low carbohydrate vegetables, such as kale, asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, mushroom and cauliflower, to supplement the protein on your plate.
High carb foods like pasta, bread, rice, junk food , sugary drinks, fried foods, fatty meats are out of the question.
You must only consume calorie-free beverages (i.e. water)

Egg and Grapefruit Diet
On this diet version you follow the same low carbohydrate guidelines as above, high in protein, plus you are eating half a grapefruit with your egg or lean protein at each meal. No further fruit is allowed.

Egg-Only Diet
This version only allows for water and eggs at any meal. For most people, it is very restrictive and likely difficult to follow for any length of time.

Eating one type of food is not a safe way to lose weight, because it can lead to deficiencies in nutrition.
As you could ever guess, exercise on this program is not recommended due to the extreme exhaustion you’re likely to experience.

“Medical” Egg Diet
The above variant of the egg diet needs you to eat one piece of bread and one egg, three times a day. Also you can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want. Allowed beverages include beer, black coffee or other zero calorie drinks. Eggs can be prepared in any way you wish so long as there are no calories added.
The plan shold be supervised by a doctor or other medical expert.

Keto Egg Diet:


Ketogenic diets, as well named keto diets, require you to raise your fat intake to get your body to a ketosis state. This egg diet version proposes eating buttered and cheeseed eggs to get your body to produce ketones. The most popular internet-promoted ratio is one egg to one tablespoon of fat (cheese or butter).

Some egg diet variations are better for you than others but none of them provide a balanced diet.


Is it healthy?
The diet is intended to limit the intake of calories and carbohydrates while quick increasing protein levels to lose weight. Unfortunately each egg diet variation amplifies to borderline-dangerous levels certain nutritional extremes.

Eating eggs is an excellent way to get low calorie quality protein. Perfect for losing weight! Those who ate a low-calorie diet and eggs for breakfast lost more weight in one study than those who followed a low-calorie diet too, but ate bagels for breakfast.

Pretty obvious  guidelines such as “no junk food” are important in getting people started on a weight loss eating plan. Because this diet advises you to restrict junk food, alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages and the like, you’re likely to drop your calorie intake dramatically when you stop eating those things. Diminishing calorie intake helps with weight loss.

Another plus for a boiled egg diet is that it encourages vegetable and fruit consumption at every meal. Apart from the lower calorie content of these foods, fruits and vegetables contain nutrients, water, vitamins and minerals. All of these constituents form part of a healthy diet.


What are the risks?


Nutrition
Short-term diets rarely cause significant weight loss. Actuality, fad diets such as the boiled egg diet can lead to yo-yo weight loss in which you drop weight on the diet, only to regain weight once your diet goes back to normal. The research shows that yo-yo weight loss  can in fact have a negative effect on your health!

Even though the boiled egg diet encourages lean protein, fruit, and vegetables usage, reducing out whole food categories is unsustainable over the long term. To comply with healthy eating and weight loss over the long term, it is important to choose an eating pattern that incorporates all foods. A healthy eating structure lets you take your favorite snacks occasionally.

Another problem to consider is how the diet for eggs is structured. Because the dieter is told to eat just three meals a day, they face the risk of becoming  hungry. Inspite of whether you’re trying to lose weight, too much hunger won’t help you solve your weight loss problem! Not only is unreasonable hunger an obvious sign that we don’t eat enough calories, it’s also going to make us want to overeat  on our next meal, contributing to more calories being consumed.

When eaten in moderation, eggs can be a safe source of protein but eating high quantities can increase the risk of certain medical conditions.

Cholesterol
Scientists in the past thought eating eggs would increase cholesterol. Which continues to be  controversial.

It has been recommended that the average individual should not ingest more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, and eggs carrying in 185 mg of cholesterol per piece implies that the individual  can only eat  1.5 eggs per day. A 2015 study also documented that men who consumed  more than six eggs a week had a 30%  higher risk of heart failure, while also increasing their risk of ischemic stroke.

Neither of the studies, however, specifically analyzed  the egg diet. They concentrated on the effects of eating eggs and took no account of other ingredients being included or excluded.

Take away message

Eggs can be a healthy protein source, and they shouldn’t be the only food a human eats.

The egg diet could at first cause weight loss but it is not a long-term healthy or secure weight loss plan. After a person returns to their usual routine of eating, they may gain again  the weight.

Furthermore, each and every restricted diet can constrain the consumption of vital nutrients in a person.
Having to make healthy changes, like avoiding  processed foods, reducing the consumption of meat and milk products and consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables, will help individuals sustain  a healthy weight over time.

The Mediterranean diet, The Flexitarian diet and the DASH diet represent long-term alternatives to boost health and possibly lose weight.

The most important thing is to make sure you  talk to your doctor  beforehand and avoid going to an extreme with your diet plan.

Related topics:

My Weigh Loss Transformation

Keto diet basics

References:

http://www.virtahealth.com

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

en.wikipedia.org

http://www.healthline.com

mport.com

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