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Is the boiled egg diet good and healthy for you?
If breakfast is your favorite meal of the day, then the boiled egg diet may be attractive to you. The weight loss program requires you to build at least one meal each day around traditional breakfast staples. But there are different versions of the egg diet, including a single-egg diet, and not all of them are healthy or can even work.
What is the egg diet?
There are different versions of this weight loss plan, but as you can imagine, they all require you to eat mostly egg-based meals. These are the most popular variations:
14-day egg diet: if you choose this version of the diet program, you will consume three meals a day. It will not consume any sandwich or drinks with calories. Every day, you eat a meal with eggs, but other foods can be built around other sources of lean protein such as chicken or fish. To supplement the protein in your dish, you can add low-carb vegetables like broccoli or spinach. Sometimes citrus fruit is allowed. This diet is sometimes called the “cooked egg diet” and requires you to eat your boiled eggs, instead of poached, scrambled or fried.
Related: Boiled egg diet: How many eggs should you eat in a day?
Egg and grapefruit diet: this is a variation of the egg diet of 14 days and lasts the same amount of time. In this version of the diet, you eat half a grapefruit at each meal with your egg or lean protein. No other fruit is allowed.
Diet for eggs only: this version of the weight loss program is a mono diet. Mono diets are extreme and unhealthy weight loss programs in which only one food is eaten over a prolonged period. According to sources, dieters in this program only eat boiled eggs and water for two weeks. As you can imagine, exercise in this plan is not recommended due to the extreme fatigue you are likely to experience.
“Medical” diet for eggs: this version of the egg diet requires that you eat an egg and a piece of bread, three times a day. You can also eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want. You will drink water, black coffee or other drinks without calories. Eggs can be prepared the way you want, as long as no calories are added. That means you cannot use butter or oil to prepare your egg. Some dieters believe that this version of the egg diet is used in medical settings to reduce a patient’s weight before surgery, but there is no evidence to support that rumor. While some bariatric doctors put their patients on a diet before surgery, it is often a liquid diet (including meal replacement shakes) and the program is supervised by a doctor or other medical expert.
Related: Egg diet plan
Keto Egg Diet: Ketogenic diets, also called keto diets, require you to increase your fat intake to put your body in a state of ketosis. So this version of the egg diet recommends that you eat eggs with butter and cheese for your body to produce ketones. The most popular proportion promoted on the Internet is from an egg to a tablespoon of fat (cheese or butter).
Some variations of the egg diet are better for you than others, but none of them provide balanced nutrition.
Is the diet of the egg healthy?
Surprisingly, some websites suggest that you talk to your doctor before starting the egg diet. If you do, your doctor is not likely to approve it.
Most versions of the egg diet are not sufficiently rounded to provide your body with the energy it needs to function properly, even though the eggs are full of healthy nutrients.
Eggs provide your body with proteins and fats. They also provide vitamin D, phosphorus, vitamin A and two B vitamins that your body needs to convert food into energy. Eggs are a very good source of riboflavin, selenium and choline.
But your body needs more than the nutrients in the eggs to function properly. For example, fiber increases healthy digestion and you are not likely to get the fiber you need when you are in this program. If you only eat eggs, it will also not provide your body with essential vitamins and minerals.
Also, you probably will not get the calories or carbohydrates you need in this program, especially in the mono version of the egg diet. There are about 75 calories, 5 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of carbohydrates in a single egg. It is unlikely that you will be comfortable eating the amount of eggs you need to reach the recommended guidelines for calorie and carbohydrate intake. Your body can suffer as a result.
Very low calorie diets and very low-calorie diets Carbohydrates can cause extreme fatigue and other symptoms such as moodiness, constipation, headaches and other stomach problems. You may also have bad breath or nausea.
Finally, the egg diet is likely to be counterproductive and, ultimately, cause weight gain instead of weight loss. Weight gain from repeated attempts at fad diets can lead to overweight or obesity.
Does the egg diet work?
Some websites and videos claim that you can lose between 20 and 25 pounds in the 14-day egg diet. Those are attractive numbers if you try to lose weight. But these claims are not based on any scientist Fic study or solid evidence, they are simply popularized internet claims.
Realistic weight loss in the egg diet
If I followed the egg diet perfectly, I would probably lose a few pounds, potentially up to five pounds in a week and a few more the following week. But the weight that would be lost would be mainly the weight of the water, not the fat, and that is an important inconvenience to take into account.
The loss of water in the egg diet occurs due to the change in carbohydrate intake. When you reduce or eliminate carbohydrates, your body does not need as much water to store the energy that carbohydrates provide. Then, your body drops the water and instantly you notice a change in the numbers on the scale and the way they fit your clothes. It sounds great, right? But when you start eating carbohydrates again, the water returns and your weight returns to normal. In addition, severe restriction of carbohydrates and calories can cause you to lose muscle mass, which can have a negative impact on your metabolism.
Finally, the egg diet is too restrictive. While you may be able to eat for two weeks by eating only one food (or only a small amount of food), the hunger and discomfort you are likely to feel will be overwhelming. Many dieters end up drinking junk food or simply abandoning the diet altogether. As you do not learn any healthy eating habits in this program (such as portion control, balanced meal planning or mindful eating), you are likely to return to the eating habits that caused the weight gain in the first place.
The egg diet: do it very well
If you love eggs, there’s no reason not to include them in a plan to lose weight. The eggs are convenient and versatile. Eggs are also cheap (compared to many other protein sources) and easy to find in any market or convenience store. They are an excellent food to include in a healthy eating plan or in a program to lose weight. But your meals should include a variety of foods to keep your body in tip-top shape.
You can read: Boiled Egg Diet: Lose 20 pounds in just 2 weeks
Use these tips to lose weight with eggs:
Replace 1-2 meals of meat each week with an egg-based meal. Enjoy a scrambled egg with steamed vegetables, or make an egg or egg white omelette with green leafy vegetables like kale or spinach and an ounce of cheese (try feta cheese, parmesan or goat cheese). While eggs contain some saturated fat, they provide less fat than many meat sources. You will benefit from a reduction of both fat and calories.
Replace a starchy meal each week with an egg-based meal. For example, if you cook spaghetti or a rice casserole once a week to take advantage of leftovers, do the same with a lean egg dish. Prepare a healthy quiche or frittata and serve it with a handful of mixed vegetables. A meal with lean proteins will help you feel fuller and fuller than a meal with starch and, as a result, you may eat less.
Keep boiled eggs in the refrigerator to grab them when you need a salty and tasty snack for less than 100 calories. Change the hummus to the egg yolk to get an extra boost of fiber with your protein for the same amount of calories. Chop the eggs and add them to your salad at lunchtime, or add them to a whole grain toast with an avocado smear in the morning for breakfast.
Mix whole eggs with egg whites to cut calories and saturated fat. Most of the fat in a hard-boiled egg is in the yolk. The yolk provides approximately 55 calories of fat and protein combined. Egg whites, on the other hand, are full of fat-free nutrition. You will consume 4 to 5 grams of protein, 17 calories and practically no fat in a single large egg white. Egg whites are also a good source of leucine, an amino acid that can help you lose weight.
Remember that fad diets that are seen on the Internet are generally not based on research.
And if you are very serious about losing weight, you must try now, nothing to lose, and all the world to gain.
