Can Eating Eggs Lose Weight?
Eggs are one of the most common and healthy foods in people’s daily lives, they are rich in high-quality protein, healthy fats, and many essential vitamins and minerals. And eggs can also help you lose weight.
Eating eggs for weight loss has been around for a long time, and it is said that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher lost 18 pounds on an egg and grape diet. But the biggest problem with this diet meal is that it tends to trigger gastrointestinal side effects and lead to constipation. So it is better to control it for two weeks and not too long.
In the next articles, we will describe how to use eggs to lose weight and how much is best to eat.
Why Did Eggs Help to Lose Weight?
1. Eggs are a nutritious low-calorie food
One egg contains only about 78 calories, and a typical egg diet meal contains 2-3 eggs, plus plenty of vegetables, for a meal of just over 300 calories. Even if you fry the eggs in butter or vegetable oil, the calorie count is not too high.
It is rich in protein and contains several important nutrients in addition to :
- Lutein and zeaxanthin: They are strong antioxidants and help keep your eyesight healthy
- Vitamin D: It promotes bone health and strengthens the immune system.
- Choline: Promotes metabolism and helps fetal brain development.
2. Rich in protein, can increase the feeling of fullness
One egg contains about 6 grams of protein. Compared to foods with low protein content, high-protein foods can reduce appetite and increase satiety. Studies have shown that eating a protein-rich breakfast allows you to reduce your calorie intake for the rest of the day.
3. Eggs can boost metabolism
Eating a high-protein diet can boost your metabolism through a process called the thermic effect of food. This is because the body needs to use extra calories to digest and process the nutrients in the food. Although carbohydrates and fats also boost metabolism, they do so to a lesser extent than protein.
The results of a 2014 study showed that:
- Protein increases metabolic rate by 15-30%
- Carbohydrates increase metabolic rate by 5-10%
- Fats increase metabolic rate by 3%
Eating a high-protein diet, including eggs, can help you burn off more calories.
Several Common Eggs lose Weight Diet Methods
Regardless of the type of egg diet, the common denominator is that it is primarily egg-based and you cannot eat any snacks outside of three meals a day. The following are a few of the more popular methods.
1. 14-day egg diet
With this method, you can eat three meals a day, 14 days as a cycle, and no high-calorie foods and drinks.
Specific eating method: One of the meals is mainly hard-boiled eggs, and the other two meals eat other high-protein foods, such as chicken and fish, etc. Don’t forget to pair it with some low-carb vegetables, fruits, or nuts, such as broccoli, spinach, strawberries, raspberries, almonds, etc.
2. Egg and grapefruit diet
This evolved from the first approach and lasts the same amount of time. In this version of the diet, eat half a grapefruit with eggs or other protein foods at each meal. No other fruit can be eaten.
3. Complete egg diet
This is a more extreme diet, the method is to eat only hard-boiled eggs for two weeks, and only drink plain water. This method is unhealthy because no other nutrients are consumed except protein, so it is not sustainable for a long time. Because you may feel exhausted, it is not recommended to exercise during this period.
4. The random egg diet
In this version of the egg diet, you can eat eggs and a slice of bread three times a day, and you can also eat fruits and vegetables as you wish. Allowed drinks include water, black coffee, green tea, or other zero-calorie beverages.
As long as there are no added calories, eggs can be eaten any way you want, raw, boiled, or baked, taking care not to fry them in any kind of oil.
5. Ketogenic egg diet
The ketogenic diet, also known as the keto diet, requires strict control of carbohydrate intake and increased fat intake to put the body in a state of ketosis. This version of the egg diet suggests that you eat eggs with butter, coconut oil, or cheese to make your body produce ketones.
You can choose what works for you based on your lifestyle and body, though it is difficult to provide balanced nutrition on either egg diet.
Which Foods Can Be Eaten And Which Cannot?
Because there is no one standard egg diet for weight loss, what you eat depends on the type you follow. In general, you can eat a lot of eggs, other lean proteins, and some low-carb vegetables and fruits.
1. Foods you can eat
- Eggs
- Other lean proteins, such as poultry and fish
- Fruits, such as grapefruit and citrus
- Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale
- Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, mushrooms, and peppers
- Zero-calorie beverages, such as water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea
2、Foods you can’t eat
- Wine and alcoholic beverages
- Sweets such as candy
- Refined carbohydrates, such as rice, bread, and pasta
- Fried foods
- Milk, juices, and other calorie-laden beverages
How Many Eggs You Can Eat Per Day?
Researchers conducted a nine-year follow-up survey of nearly 500,000 adults and showed that eating one egg a day reduced the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In addition, eating at least 12 eggs a week for three months did not increase cardiovascular risk factors in people with diabetes or prodromal diabetes, according to a 2018 study.
However, these participants were following a diet designed specifically for weight loss. Therefore, there may be health benefits to eating moderate amounts of eggs, as long as they are added to a balanced and healthy diet.
However, egg yolks are high in cholesterol, so the American Heart Association recommends that people with heart disease should ideally eat only 1-2 egg whites per day.
Conclusion
Eggs are a low-calorie food rich in protein and other nutrients, which boosts metabolism and increases satiety. Therefore eating eggs can help with weight loss, especially if you incorporate them into a low-carb or low-calorie diet.
However, the egg diet does not guarantee balanced nutrition, so it is only suitable for short periods. Also, egg yolks are high in cholesterol and people with cardiovascular disease are better off eating only egg whites and monitoring their cholesterol intake at all times.