Being on the ketogenic diet or healthy low-carb diets has proven to be effective for weight loss. But at some point, your body will be adapted to using fat instead of glucose and calorie deficits. Your metabolic rate will slow down leading to a weight loss stall.
Consuming more calories than you need could cause weight gain and reduce the weight loss rate. But it’s not always the case for weight loss stalling. What option do you have when you’re not losing weight, yet you haven’t attained your goal weight?
A good option you can go for is egg fasts. By the end of today’s read, you will know what keto egg fasts are, what your meal plan on an egg diet looks like, the benefits of being on an egg diet, how to do egg fasts, risks of egg fasts and tips to ensure your egg fasts are successful. Without further ado…
Egg Fasting Results
You have been on ketogenic diets for a while, but you’ve reached a point where you are not shedding off any of the extra pounds despite diligently following your diet. Switching your meal plan may be what you need to achieve a healthy body weight. Before we take a look at the results to expect on an egg-based meal plan, let’s understand what it entails.
What is an Egg Fast?
So, what is an egg fast? This is a restrictive diet that focuses on consuming egg-based meals to achieve weight loss. This diet is meant for short-term weight loss rather than a lifetime eating habit.
This diet became popular after Jimmy Moore of Livin La Vida Low Carb tried the egg fast. What inspired him was the role of amino acids and choline in eggs in fat and weight loss. His 30-day egg fasting results were a weight reduction of 11.4 kg (25 pounds). Jimmy Moore’s diet plan consisted of 6 to 8 eggs per day, 6 to 8 servings of fat per day, 4 ounces of cheese per day, grass-fed butter, and low-carb beverages.
Why Eggs and Not Other Food Options?
Eggs are at the top of the list on the protein food chart. They are not only low-carb foods, but a good source of protein. Eggs are an animal protein meaning they are complete proteins. These provide you with essential amino acids that your body needs but cannot make on its own, and must source from the diet.
Why focus on increasing protein intake from eggs when trying to trigger weight loss? Research has shown that a high-protein diet reduces food and calorie intake because protein triggers hunger-suppressing hormones that promote satiety. Eggs are also rich in choline which helps the body burn fat.
The egg diet is a healthy short-term diet but is not advisable for people with egg allergies or health conditions like hyperlipidemia.
How Do You Go About an Egg Fast?
There are guidelines to follow when doing this fast. Following these rules can make the diet a balanced diet and see you out of your weight loss stall. Here are the rules of the fast:
- After waking up, you have half an hour to consume a whole egg, egg white, and yolk.
- Go for pasture-fed eggs because they are of higher quality.
- Eggs are your main source of healthy fat and animal protein. You are expected to eat 5 to 8 eggs a day.
- Your meal plan has to entail an egg-based meal every 3 to 5 hours. Food intake is mandatory whether you are hungry or not.
- Besides, eggs you are to incorporate another fat source into your diet. You can consume one tablespoon of butter or healthy oil like olive oil for every egg you consume. Grass-fed butter is best preferred.
- You are to consume an ounce of full-fat cheese per egg consumed. Cheese consumption should be from 100% pasture-raised dairy products.
- Food consumption should stop 3-5 hours before bedtime.
- Drink 8-10 glasses of water on this diet. Ketosis requires plenty of water for you to stay hydrated.
- Beverages termed as “sugar-free” like diet drinks and diet sodas or low-calorie sweeteners are prohibited. You can only have low-carb beverages like black coffee and tea.
What are some of the recipes you can make when on a keto egg fast?
What Recipes to Make on an Egg Fast?
The beautiful thing about the dawn of the technological age is how much information you have at your fingertips. There are so many websites with recipes for egg-based meals you can make so your fast is not boring. Here are some meals you can make:
- Cheese Omelets
- Egg salads
- Devilled eggs
- Poached eggs
- Scrambled eggs
- Egg wraps with cheese and butter
- Cheese egg pancakes
- Boiled eggs
- Cloud bread
- Baseless pizza
- Fried eggs
Why should you do an egg fast? What are its potential benefits?
Health Benefits of Keto Egg Fast
Here are some of the benefits of egg fasting:
Reduces Food and Calorie Intake
The best part of this healthy food is its protein content. Proteins in eggs promote satiety by lowering the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin and triggering the release of hunger-suppressing hormones.
Promotes Fat Loss
Do you know why eggs are considered among the best foods among weight watchers? The food contains low carb and high protein and fat content which can help trigger ketosis without compromising muscle mass.
Being in a fat-burning state triggers the loss of abdominal and visceral fat.
Weight Loss
Why are you considering egg fasting results? To break your weight loss plateau cycle! Eggs are among the keto-friendly foods, so following this diet can be good for your weight loss journey. Weight loss lowers the risk of developing obesity-related medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Insulin Regulation
An egg-based diet can be a good weight loss plan for diabetics who cannot control their blood sugar. Clinical trials have shown that vitamin K2 (in abundance in egg yolks) plays a key role in regulating blood sugar levels.
Vitamin K2 promotes the metabolism of osteocalcin, a protein found in your bones. A high amount of this protein leads to improved insulin sensitivity of adipocytes and skeletal muscles.
Antioxidant-Rich
Eggs also contain antioxidants that fight free radicals and reduce inflammation in the body. They contain lutein and zeaxanthin that promote eye health.
Is this diet healthy for everyone? Is a meal of eggs only good for everyone?
Disadvantages of the Egg Fast Diet
Before chasing egg fasting results, you need to know the risks that come with the diet.
Keto Flu
If you are a newbie to the keto diet, you may experience some symptoms related to ketosis. This happens because your body is not fat-adapted. The weakness and fatigue should subside once your body is used to using fat as its primary energy source.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies are common when your diet lacks in variety of foods. You are prone to folate deficiency found in dark green non-starchy vegetables.
Gastrointestinal Problems
Eggs lack the non-digestible carb fiber. Fiber is important for bulking waste and helping it move in your digestive tract. Lack of fiber in the diet leads to constipation.
You May Gain Back the Weight Lost
Egg fast is a short-term diet plan to help you fasten weight loss when you have hit a slump. However, it cannot be considered a healthy diet for the long term without strict medical supervision.
The issue is once you stop your egg-fast diet, the chances of you gaining back the weight lost are high.
Egg Fast Diets Are Not for Everyone
I know I said the diet can be a great short-term diet plan for weight loss. However, this doesn’t apply to everyone. Pregnant and lactating mothers should not try this diet because of their high nutrient demands.
Individuals with eating disorders should also avoid this restrictive diet. Finally, people with certain health conditions like diabetes and cholesterol hyper-responders should speak to their doctors before commencing this diet journey.
5-day Egg Diet Results
The recommended period of time to be on an egg-fast diet is 3-5 days. During this time, you can lose 5-10 pounds (2.3-4.5 kgs) within this time frame. Most of the weight lost is water weight and can be gained back once you are off this diet.
Water weight loss is experienced due to the depletion of glycogen stores. What happens in your body when you fast is your body converts glycogen to glucose for energy. Glycogen tends to hold onto water when stored. Using up glycogen in your stores is what leads to water loss.
You also experience a reduction in appetite, with the diet becoming easier with each passing day.
30-Day Egg Fast Results
It’s not advisable to do an egg fast for more than 5 days unless you are under strict supervision by your healthcare provider. These are the results expected if the diet is done well over a month:
- You can expect to lose 20-25 pounds in a month of egg fasting.
- Expect an appetite reduction over the fasting period.
- Your hair and skin become healthier because of the amino acids in eggs.
- Your vision will improve over time since eggs contain the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin which are important for eye development.
- You will experience better memory and concentration. Choline plays a significant role in memory, muscle, and mood control. One egg provides you with a 6% daily value for choline.
You may need to check your cholesterol levels throughout the course of your 30-day fast if you have heart disease or are a cholesterol hyper-responder.
Some risks come with the egg-fast diet that you can work around. In addition, there are a few things you can do to increase the success of your long-term egg fast.
Tips for A Successful Egg Fast
- Always choose healthy fat sources to go with your egg-based meal like avocado and coconut oil.
- Be creative with what you make on this diet. You may have eggs as your main ingredient but there are so many egg diet recipes to choose from.
- Stay hydrated.
- Incorporate bullet-proof coffee into your meal plan.
- Consider multivitamins when on a long-term egg fast to lower the risks of nutrient deficiencies.
- Always get electrolytes while fasting to keep them in balance.
- Alternate between a keto meal plan and an egg-fast plan when doing a long-term egg-fast diet. You can do egg fasting during the week and keto over the weekend.
- Ensure you get enough salt from your diet. It doesn’t have to be from regular salt. Consider broths for salt to help curb symptoms of keto flu.
- Give yourself time to transition from an egg fast to your regular low-carb diet. Don’t rush into very restrictive ketogenic diets after an egg fast. Take it easy.
- Be prepared. Ensure you know what you want to eat during your fast, have your egg fast diet recipes ready, and have the groceries needed. This will increase the success of your fast by lowering the chances of you cheating on your diet.
Why Am I Not Losing Weight on the Egg Fast?
The scale may not budge even after you start your egg fast. This is because you have a calorie surplus in your diet. You may be getting too many calories from the ingredients you use to make your egg-based meals. The rules of egg fast are very specific on how much cheese, butter, and oil you should be consuming with your eggs.
Another reason could be the beverages you consume during your fast. What are you adding to your coffee or tea? Are you using high-carb sweeteners in your drinks? How many carbs and calories does your coffee creamer contain? All these could be increasing your calorie intake.
Pay attention to the rules of egg fasting to experience weight loss benefits on this diet.
Key Takeaway
As agreed, you now know what an egg fast is, the rules of egg fasting, its benefits and risks, and egg fasting results for both short- and long-term plans. I’d advised speaking to a health coach to get all the right information on egg fasting before embarking on your diet journey.
Have you tried the egg fast diet before? If not, would you consider giving it a shot? If your answer is yes, tell us about your experience throughout the fast including what you ate, how long you fasted for, the rules you followed on the diet, and the results of your egg fast. Let’s chat in the comments!
